Business Unit Director

Parkinson Lee Executive Search is delighted to be exclusively retained on a confidential mandate to appoint a Business Unit Director for a global engineering and manufacturing group.

This is a unique and senior leadership opportunity to lead the performance, growth, and market positioning of three strategically important business units within the company’s portfolio.

With full P&L accountability, the Business Unit Director will take a central role in shaping strategy, driving operational efficiency, and building commercial success across multiple units.

This is a high-impact, visible role with significant scope to influence business direction and long-term value creation.

Role Summary

Reporting to the Group Executive Team, the successful candidate will be responsible for:

Strategic Leadership:

• Develop and execute growth strategies aligned with group objectives.
• Build and position the brand within new and existing markets.
• Drive innovation, sector expansion, and product portfolio development.

Financial Ownership:

• Full P&L responsibility across all three business units.
• Deliver against revenue, margin, and profit targets.
• Lead annual budgeting, forecasting, and performance tracking.

Operational Oversight:

• Embed scalable, efficient processes and systems.
• Oversee supply chain, procurement, and resource planning.
• Ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, and safety standards.

Commercial Growth:

• Define and implement commercial strategies including pricing and market entry.
• Cultivate strong customer relationships and drive market responsiveness.
• Lead business development and sales efforts within each unit.

People & Culture:

• Build and lead high-performing cross-functional teams.
• Define organisational structure and succession planning.
• Champion a culture of engagement, accountability, and delivery.

Candidate Profile

We are seeking an experienced and commercially astute executive who can demonstrate:

• A successful track record of multi-unit P&L ownership.
• Strong commercial leadership, with a data-driven and customer-centric mindset.
• A strategic thinker who thrives on pace and complexity.
• A track record in engineering or manufacturing sectors, ideally with exposure to tier 1 customers (Automotive / Aerospace)
• Outstanding people leadership and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven experience in product development and go-to-market execution in emerging or adjacent sectors.