At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and develop high-performing teams while driving operational excellence.
- Company: Established operational business focused on service excellence and growth.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, performance bonus, and strong career development opportunities.
- Other info: Hands-on role requiring strategic thinking and operational management skills.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on customer experience and business success in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Proven leadership experience in production or service environments with a commercial mindset.
A commercially minded Operations Manager who will play a pivotal role in leading site performance, developing teams, and delivering outstanding service to customers.
Our client is a well-established and growing operational business with a strong focus on service excellence, continuous improvement, and customer delivery. Operating in a fast-paced environment, the organisation places equal importance on operational efficiency and commercial performance, ensuring high-quality outcomes for its customers while driving sustainable growth.
As Operations Manager, you will take full ownership of operational performance across a busy production and service environment, balancing commercial objectives with operational delivery. You will lead and develop a high-performing team, ensuring the business consistently meets customer expectations on quality, cost, and delivery while driving continuous improvement initiatives.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading, managing and developing operational teams to deliver high performance and a strong "one team" culture
- Driving operational excellence by improving processes, efficiency, and overall site effectiveness
- Taking a customer-facing approach to ensure service levels, delivery timelines, and quality standards are consistently achieved
- Managing budgets, forecasting volumes, and ensuring cost control across operations
- Partnering with cross-functional teams including engineering, logistics, and service functions to resolve issues and enhance performance
- Leading continuous improvement initiatives and embedding a culture of efficiency and accountability
- Supporting strategic planning and contributing to long-term operational and commercial decision-making
- Ensuring compliance with Health & Safety and regulatory requirements at all times
This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership role requiring a balance of strategic thinking and day-to-day operational management.
Profile
The ideal candidate will be a commercially aware operations leader with proven experience in managing teams within a production, service, or supply chain environment. You will bring:
- Strong leadership experience, with the ability to motivate, develop, and engage teams
- A commercial mindset with experience managing budgets, forecasting, and driving cost efficiencies
- A customer-focused approach, ensuring service excellence and strong client relationships
- Operational expertise within production, supply chain, or service environments
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with a continuous improvement mindset
- Experience of ERP systems and data-driven decision making
- The ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on operational delivery
- A driven, ambitious and career-minded approach, with a desire to progress and take on increasing responsibility
- Exposure to lean methodologies or continuous improvement frameworks would be advantageous.
Job Offer
Salary £50,000- £60,000
15% performance related bonus
Opportunity to lead and shape a high-performing team
A dynamic and fast-paced environment with strong career development potential
The chance to make a tangible impact on customer experience and business success
Operations Manager in Wakefield employer: Michael Page
Contact Detail:
Michael Page Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Operations Manager in Wakefield
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in your industry, attend events, and connect on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their values and how they align with your own. This will help you showcase your fit for the Operations Manager role and impress the hiring team.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your STAR technique for answering behavioural questions. Structure your responses around Situation, Task, Action, and Result to clearly demonstrate your experience and problem-solving skills.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up after interviews! A quick thank-you email reiterating your interest in the role can keep you top of mind and show your enthusiasm for the position.
We think you need these skills to ace Operations Manager in Wakefield
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV speaks directly to the Operations Manager role. Highlight your leadership experience and any relevant achievements in operational efficiency or team development. We want to see how you can bring value to our client!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to showcase your commercial mindset and customer-focused approach. Tell us why you're passionate about leading teams and driving service excellence – we love a good story!
Showcase Your Achievements: When detailing your experience, focus on specific examples where you've improved processes or led successful projects. Numbers speak volumes, so if you’ve managed budgets or driven cost efficiencies, let us know the impact you made!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It helps us keep track of your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any updates. Plus, we love seeing applications come through our platform!
How to prepare for a job interview at Michael Page
✨Know Your Numbers
As an Operations Manager, you'll need to demonstrate your commercial acumen. Brush up on key metrics related to operational performance, budgets, and forecasting. Be ready to discuss how you've used data to drive efficiencies in past roles.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Style
Prepare examples that highlight your leadership experience. Think about times when you motivated a team or improved performance. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your responses and make them impactful.
✨Customer-Centric Mindset
Since the role focuses on delivering outstanding service, be prepared to discuss how you've ensured customer satisfaction in previous positions. Share specific instances where you went above and beyond to meet client expectations.
✨Continuous Improvement Focus
Familiarise yourself with lean methodologies or any continuous improvement frameworks you've worked with. Be ready to talk about initiatives you've led that resulted in operational enhancements, and how you foster a culture of accountability within your teams.