Director of Operations

We have a full-time opportunity for a global manufacturing PE-owned company. The Director of Operations will have direct responsibility for the management and performance of a UK manufacturing site. This role will ensure that all plant operations continually meet or exceed organizational objectives aligned with the company’s vision, mission, and goals. Additionally, this role will support the company’s initiatives of profitable growth, customer focus, and operations excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Site Operations Leadership: Build, develop, and lead a results-driven, team-oriented, high-performing organization focused on consistent operations execution utilizing and deploying lean techniques. This will drive the achievement of the company’s financial goals and superior performance across all KPIs (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Inventory, People).
• Develop and execute the capacity plan to meet short and long-term customer demand.
• Coordinate and direct all functions of facility operations, including but not limited to manufacturing, asset utilization, inventory control, maintenance, cost control, manpower utilization, work standards, and administration.
• Proactively champion a culture focused on Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS), driving a zero-incident culture.
• Schedule and conduct regular plant meetings to keep employees abreast of the plant's outlook and discuss long-range goals.
• Develop systems and processes that track and optimize productivity, key metrics, and performance targets to meet operational performance objectives.
• Manage operating performance through the effective use of lean, continuous improvement and structured problem-solving processes (A3’s, 5-why’s, 8D etc.).
• Review and regularly report countermeasures and corrective actions towards achievement of plant operating KPI’s.

Financial Focus

• Deliver budgeted cost productivity by executing volume-adjusted budgeted spend, productivity, and efficiency improvement initiatives.
• Directly impact and contribute to the company’s EBIDTA goals by effectively managing plant-level Cost Center Financials, and driving margin improvement through cost reduction, year-over-year productivity improvement using continuous improvement and lean manufacturing practices.
• Work closely with the accounting team in overseeing cost accounting on new products costing- developing standards, analysis of variances, and the annual budget process.

Organizational Development

• Build and mentor a strong and effective organization, including organizational structures, processes, and systems, that is both operationally & financially capable.
• Responsible for building a performance culture, with the ability to hold their team accountable to their tangible goals while inspiring them to achieve stretch targets and develop as professionals.

Requirements:

• 15 plus years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience in roles.
• A minimum of four (4) years as Operations Manager or equivalent in a manufacturing company, with the responsibilities of production, purchasing, inventory control, production control, engineering, shipping, receiving, and warehousing.
• Strong preference will be given to candidates with previous Director, Manufacturing, Operations experience at companies with 100 M to 200M GBP in revenue.
• The ideal candidate will have 4+ years’ experience leading change in a manufacturing environment; 4+ years’ experience in the development and implementation of world-class lean manufacturing processes & practices.
• Experience in high-mix, low-volume machining, assembly, and test environments is desired.
• End-to-end supply chain knowledge is required – SIOP, Sourcing, Production Planning, Purchasing & Distribution.
• Ideal candidate will have knowledge of current technologies in manufacturing, engineering, materials management/inventory control, distribution, and logistics, purchasing, quality assurance systems processes and practices.
• Ideal candidate will have strong analytical skills, ability to understand financials and see through the numbers with respect to costs, budget, projections, and supply chain processes; strong personal presence.
• Ideal candidate will have proven ability to build high-performance teams, lead cross-functionally, develop & train employees.
• Ideal candidate will have a track record of leadership, performance results, organizational development, and operational improvement.
• Ideal candidate will have experience leading a site-level transformation, engaging employees to improve process maturity and business performance.