It means : in the context of/as part of/within the scope of.
For example :

Dans le cadre de notre projet d’implantation en Chine, nous avons décidé d’accélérer la production des modèles X

could be translated

In the context of our Chinese expansion project, we decided to accelerate the production of X models

I think it should be “dans le cadre”.
It means “in the context” or “as part of”.

“Dans le cadre des opérations” => “In the context of operations”

http://www.linguee.fr/francais-anglais/traduction/dans+le+cadre+de.html

Cadre might be feminine nowadays when referring to a female manager/officer/executive (e.g. une cadre supérieure) but preceded by dans, it is an obvious grammar mistake (See TLFi B.-3.), cadre means “frame” here and dans le cadre, “within the limits/context”.

Surprisingly, it is not that rare and I found it in a official French writing:

Avis relatif à l’extension d’un accord conclu dans la cadre de la convention collective nationale des bureaux d’études techniques, cabinets d’ingénieurs-conseils, sociétés de conseils

I would say it is very close to the word frame in English, and its usages as in: the legislators who frame the regulations, to frame a proposal, frame of reference, and just the meaning of structure: an appropriate frame through which to explore dramatic situations.