Operations & Infrastructure
Supply chain, procurement, payments operations, construction, and infrastructure delivery — keeping processes, projects, and assets running reliably.
Career path patterns
How people actually get into these roles
The big picture
Operations and infrastructure roles exist in every sector — supply chain, procurement, construction, and payments operations are projected to grow steadily as organisations invest in resilience and delivery.
Common path patterns
Roles in this industry
An Operations professional ensures that the day-to-day processes and workflows of an organisation run efficiently, accurately, and in com...
Estimated salary: £22,000–£40,000 (analyst/associate level, UK). Operations Manager and senior roles £40,000–£65,000+.
View role →A Supply Chain Analyst supports the planning, monitoring, and optimisation of the flow of goods, materials, and information from supplier...
Estimated salary: £26,000–£40,000 (entry to mid-level, UK). Senior Supply Chain Analysts £40,000–£55,000. Supply Chain Managers and Heads of Supply Chain £55,000–£85,000+. FMCG, pharmaceutical, and financial services supply chain roles typically sit at the higher end of each band.
View role →A Procurement Analyst supports an organisation's purchasing function by analysing spend data, evaluating suppliers, supporting sourcing p...
Estimated salary: £26,000–£40,000 (entry to mid-level, UK). Senior Procurement Analysts £40,000–£55,000. Procurement Managers and Category Managers £55,000–£80,000+. Public sector roles often sit at the lower end of each band; financial services and pharmaceutical procurement at the higher end.
View role →An Inventory & Demand Planner is responsible for forecasting how much of a product customers will want, and ensuring the right amount of...
Estimated salary: £26,000–£42,000 (entry to mid-level, UK). Senior Inventory & Demand Planners £42,000–£58,000. Planning Managers and S&OP Leads £58,000–£80,000+. Pharmaceutical, FMCG, and technology sector roles typically sit at the higher end of each band.
View role →A Payments Operations Analyst monitors, supports, and improves the processes that enable an organisation to send and receive payments acc...
Estimated salary: £27,000–£42,000 (entry to mid-level, UK). Senior Payments Operations Analysts £42,000–£58,000. Payments Operations Managers and Heads of Payments £58,000–£90,000+. Fintech and challenger bank roles in London typically sit at the higher end of each band.
View role →A Quantity Surveyor manages the financial and contractual aspects of construction and infrastructure projects, ensuring that works are de...
Estimated salary: £26,000–£38,000 (graduate / trainee, UK). Chartered QS (MRICS) £40,000–£60,000. Senior QS and commercial managers £60,000–£85,000+. London and major infrastructure projects at the higher end. Contract day rates for experienced chartered QS typically range from £350–£600.
View role →A Renewable Energy Technician installs, maintains, and repairs renewable energy systems — primarily solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays, wind...
Estimated salary: £24,000–£35,000 (entry to mid-level, UK). Senior technicians and team leaders £35,000–£50,000. Field service engineers and O&M managers £50,000–£70,000+. Offshore wind roles attract a significant premium — entry-level offshore technicians typically earn £35,000–£50,000 with additional offshore allowances. Contract roles can earn significantly more for experienced technicians.
View role →A BIM (Building Information Modelling) Coordinator manages the digital information processes on a construction or infrastructure project,...
Estimated salary: £30,000–£48,000 (entry to mid-level, UK). Senior BIM Coordinators and BIM Managers £48,000–£70,000. BIM Directors and Digital Delivery Leads £70,000–£100,000+. Infrastructure and major project roles at the higher end. London and major cities command a premium over regional markets.
View role →An Infrastructure Project Coordinator supports the planning, management, and delivery of infrastructure construction and engineering proj...
Estimated salary: £26,000–£40,000 (entry to mid-level, UK). Senior Project Coordinators and Assistant Project Managers £40,000–£55,000. Project Managers £55,000–£80,000+. Senior Project Managers and Programme Managers £80,000–£110,000+. Major infrastructure, rail, and energy projects at the higher end of each band.
View role →
Operations & Infrastructure
Operations
An Operations professional ensures that the day-to-day processes and workflows of an organisation run efficiently, accurately, and in compliance with relevant standards. In financial services and tech, this typically covers trade processing, payment operations, client onboarding, case management, or platform support. Operations teams sit behind the customer-facing product and are responsible for accuracy, speed, and regulatory adherence in the processing of transactions, documents, and data. The role varies widely by sector and seniority. Junior operations analysts may handle high-volume processing tasks and exception management; senior operations professionals design workflows, manage vendor relationships, lead process improvement projects, and drive automation initiatives. Strong attention to detail, process discipline, and the ability to identify and resolve operational bottlenecks are core competencies across all levels.
Qualifications (summary)
No single mandatory qualification. CISI Introduction to Securities & Investment is useful for financial services operations roles. Lean Six Sigma (Yellow or Green Belt) is valued for process improvement-focused positions. ITIL 4 Foundation is relevant for technology operations roles. Project management qualifications (PRINCE2 Foundation, AgilePM) are beneficial for senior operations and change roles. Excel and data skills (SQL, Power BI) are increasingly expected even in non-technical operations positions.
Salary (if available)
£22,000–£40,000 (analyst/associate level, UK). Operations Manager and senior roles £40,000–£65,000+.
See industry eligibility & qualifications →
