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- Tasks: Lead a global team to ensure customers are ready for automated warehouse systems.
- Company: Join a pioneering company in warehouse automation with a focus on customer success.
- Benefits: Competitive pay, career development, and global opportunities await you.
- Why this job: Shape the future of customer operations and drive impactful change in automation.
- Qualifications: 12+ years in warehouse automation or related fields with strong leadership skills.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team committed to innovation and excellence.
The predicted salary is between 72000 - 108000 £ per year.
Are you ready to build a world class global function from the ground up? We are looking for a visionary Director of Customer Operational Readiness to lead a new organisation dedicated to ensuring our customers are fully prepared to operate, sustain, and optimise their automated warehouse systems from day one. These are large scale, high throughput, capital intensive automation environments — and you will be the strategic leader who ensures every customer achieves a smooth go live, a strong ramp up, and long term operational success.
We offer:
- Career Development
- Competitive Compensation And Benefits
- Pay Transparency
- Global Opportunities
Tasks and Qualifications:
What You Will Lead:
- Build and Lead a Global Readiness Organisation
- Define the vision, strategy, and operating model for a new global function.
- Recruit, develop, and lead regional readiness managers, operational consultants, training leaders, and transition specialists.
- Establish global standards, governance, and repeatable frameworks for customer readiness.
- Develop a Comprehensive Readiness Framework
- Create a structured methodology covering organisational design, staffing, training, maintenance, safety, IT/controls readiness, data preparation, spare parts strategy, and operational governance.
- Build maturity assessments, readiness scorecards, risk models, and tracking tools.
- Ensure consistent deployment of best practices across global projects.
- Engage Senior Customer Stakeholders
- Work directly with C-suite, VP, and Director-level leaders to align readiness activities with their operating model and strategic goals.
- Facilitate workshops, planning sessions, and executive reviews.
- Act as the customer’s internal advocate, escalating risks and aligning resources.
- Ensure Successful Go-Live & Transition to Operations
- Partner with Project Execution, Engineering, IT, and Commissioning teams to integrate readiness into project timelines.
- Lead pre-go-live assessments and sign off on readiness criteria.
- Ensure a seamless handover to Customer Service, Managed Services, and Lifecycle Support.
- Align with Service & Support Organisations
- Ensure service contracts, maintenance plans, spare parts strategies, SLAs, and KPIs match customer capabilities.
- Confirm training, documentation, and support resources are in place before go-live.
- Support value-added services such as remote monitoring and performance optimisation.
- Drive Continuous Improvement
- Capture lessons learned and feed them into product development, engineering standards, and service offerings.
- Champion proactive risk identification and mitigation.
- Build internal and customer-facing knowledge bases to accelerate future ramp-ups.
What You Bring:
Required Experience
- 12+ years in warehouse automation, supply chain operations, logistics, manufacturing, or related engineering/operations fields.
- Proven leadership experience building and scaling global or multi-regional teams.
- Expertise in operational readiness, commissioning, ramp-up, customer success, or large-scale transformation programmes.
- Strong understanding of automated material handling systems, industrial controls, and WMS/WCS/WES software.
- Executive presence with the ability to influence senior stakeholders.
- Excellent strategic planning, risk management, and cross-functional leadership skills.
- Ability to travel globally (20–30%).
Preferred Experience
- Background in solution integration, design-for-operations, or lifecycle service models.
- Experience in consulting, Lean/6-Sigma, or organisational change management.
- Familiarity with multi-year service contracts or outsourced operations models.
Success Looks Like
- High customer readiness scores and reduced risk at each milestone.
- Smooth go-lives and ramp-ups that meet throughput, availability, and SLA targets.
- Fewer start-up issues, escalations, and readiness-related delays.
- Seamless transition to service teams with minimal disruption.
- Strong customer satisfaction, referenceability, and long-term retention.
- Adoption of readiness standards across global project teams.
Technical & Core Competencies
- Deep expertise in warehouse automation and operational transition.
- Skilled in readiness planning, risk assessment, and performance tracking.
- Strong cross-functional collaborator across engineering, PM, software, and service.
- Executive-level communication and influence.
- Strategic, analytical, and structured problem-solver.
- Effective change leader who drives customer adoption and operational transformation.
Dematic is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Dematic prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, religion or belief, age, sex, national or ethnic origin, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
Director of Customer Operational Readiness in Banbury employer: KION
Contact Detail:
KION Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Director of Customer Operational Readiness in Banbury
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to industry contacts and attend relevant events. We all know that sometimes it’s not just what you know, but who you know that can help you land that dream job.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. We want to show that we’re not just a good fit for the role, but also for the team. Tailor your answers to reflect how your vision aligns with theirs.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Do mock interviews with friends or mentors. We can’t stress enough how important it is to articulate your experience and ideas clearly, especially when discussing operational readiness.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up after interviews! A simple thank-you email can go a long way. It shows your enthusiasm for the role and keeps you fresh in their minds. And remember, apply through our website for the best chance!
We think you need these skills to ace Director of Customer Operational Readiness in Banbury
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience in warehouse automation and operational readiness. We want to see how your skills align with the role of Director of Customer Operational Readiness!
Showcase Your Leadership Skills: Since this role involves building and leading a global team, don’t forget to emphasise your leadership experience. Share specific examples of how you've successfully managed teams and driven operational success in the past.
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it clear and to the point. Use bullet points where possible to make it easy for us to see your key achievements and qualifications at a glance.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity!
How to prepare for a job interview at KION
✨Know Your Vision
Before the interview, take some time to define your vision for the Director of Customer Operational Readiness role. Think about how you would build and lead a global readiness organisation. Be ready to share specific strategies and frameworks you would implement to ensure customer success from day one.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Experience
Prepare to discuss your past leadership roles in building and scaling teams. Highlight specific examples where you successfully led operational readiness or transformation programmes. This will demonstrate your capability to influence senior stakeholders and align with their strategic goals.
✨Understand the Technical Landscape
Brush up on your knowledge of automated material handling systems and related software. Be prepared to discuss how your technical expertise can contribute to developing a comprehensive readiness framework and ensuring smooth go-lives and transitions.
✨Engage with Real Scenarios
Think of real-life scenarios where you faced challenges in operational readiness or customer success. Be ready to share these experiences during the interview, focusing on how you identified risks, implemented solutions, and drove continuous improvement. This will showcase your problem-solving skills and strategic thinking.
