Senior Operations Manager in North Shields

Baltic Recruitment are delighted to be continuing our partnering with OsecoElfab, a global manufacturer specialising in engineered rupture discs and explosion venting solutions for high-hazard industrial environments to assist with their search for a Senior Operations Manager.

Overall Purpose: The Senior Operations Manager is accountable for the safe, effective and efficient delivery of OsecoElfab’s products through operational excellence at the North Shields facility. This role provides leadership to the Production, Supply Chain and Facilities teams, ensuring customer demand is converted into revenue on time, with world class quality, competitive cost and optimal lead times. A core expectation of the role is to lead, develop and inspire operations teams, while creating a strong culture of curiosity, continuous improvement and learning, underpinned by Lean principles. Reporting into the VP of Global Operations, this role will work with the Board and cross functional leaders. The Senior Operations Manager translates business strategy into clear operational targets, capability plans and measurable outcomes across Safety, People Engagement, Quality, Delivery and Cost.

Key Duties:

• Operational Leadership: Lead day to day manufacturing operations at the North Shields facility, including salaried operations leaders, supervisors and approximately 50 direct labour employees within the operations function. Own operational performance across Safety, People Engagement, Quality, Delivery, and Cost. Ensure customer requirements are clearly translated into operational priorities through cascaded goals, metrics and accountability. Be accountable for achieving monthly, half year and full year revenue targets for the North Shields operation.
• Continuous Improvement & Lean Excellence: Embed Lean / Six Sigma thinking into daily operations, decision making and problem solving. Develop and sustain a culture of continuous improvement, curiosity and data led learning. Lead productivity, efficiency, gross margin and overhead improvement initiatives year on year through CI activity and capital investment. Own and continuously improve SIOP, factory planning/loading and quality systems, aligned with the 3 year business plan.
• People & Capability: Develop high performing operations teams and future leaders through clear expectations, coaching and feedback. Create a safe, engaging and well organised working environment within the operations function. Partner cross functionally to support employee engagement, development and site wide initiatives.
• Quality, Governance & Execution: Lead operational readiness for new product introductions, ensuring smooth integration into production. Manage and support Quality and ISO audits relating to operations. Ensure facilities, equipment and operational assets are maintained to a high standard. Use clear metrics, visual management and reviews to monitor business health and drive corrective action.

Key Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience gained through progressive responsibility in a manufacturing or operations environment.
• Extensive leadership experience in manufacturing operations, with responsibility for production performance, safety, quality, and delivery.
• Proven application of Lean / Continuous Improvement methodologies (e.g. Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen) to deliver measurable operational improvements.
• Strong people leadership capability, with experience building, developing and leading high performing operational teams.
• Demonstrated track record of driving operational excellence through structured performance management and continuous improvement.
• Strong background in manufacturing, supply chain, quality or manufacturing engineering.
• Proven experience leading operations teams in a manufacturing environment.
• Lean / Six Sigma qualification or strong applied experience is essential (e.g. Green Belt, Black Belt or equivalent).
• Solid understanding of Sales, Inventory, Operational Planning, (SIOPs), demand planning, capacity planning, Lean manufacturing, 5S and value stream mapping.
• Track record of delivering measurable improvements in engagement, safety, quality, delivery and cost.
• Confident communicator with the ability to influence across functions and levels.
• Comfortable managing complexity, balancing priorities and leading change.
• Hands on, improvement driven leadership style.
• Working knowledge of MRP / ERP systems and proficiency in MS Office.

The Package: Extremely competitive salary on offer, depending on level of experience. 37.5 hours per week, Monday-Friday. Company pension scheme. Private health care. Life assurance. Generous bonus scheme. Additional benefits.