Head of Operations

Head of Operations

Our client is seeking an Operations Manager to lead day-to-day manufacturing across a multi-site operation. This role suits a hands-on operational leader who enjoys building structure, improving performance, and developing teams in a fast-paced, customer-led environment.

Working as part of the senior leadership team, the Operations Manager will take ownership of production delivery and site performance, embedding clear routines, standards and accountability to support sustained growth.

Key responsibilities

• Lead daily operations across production and logistics functions, ensuring plan adherence, service levels and efficiency targets are achieved.
• Implement robust daily management routines, including shift handovers, performance reviews, problem solving and action tracking.
• Drive standard work and SOP discipline to reduce variation, improve quality and increase throughput.
• Develop supervisors and team leaders, building capability, succession and stronger retention through consistent expectations.
• Deliver continuous improvement projects across safety, quality, productivity and flow, from quick wins to structured initiatives.
• Improve operational visibility through meaningful KPIs, visual management and reporting that teams understand and act upon.
• Partner with maintenance, quality and H&S to ensure compliance, audit readiness and proactive risk management.
• Support operational business cases for capex and layout or process changes that improve capacity and cost.

What the ideal candidate looks like

• Proven experience leading manufacturing operations, ideally within multi-shift environments.
• Strong track record of delivering measurable improvements through lean / CI methods and practical standardisation.
• Confident leader who brings calm control when it s busy, and drives improvement activity when it s quieter.
• Comfortable influencing cross-functional stakeholders, aligning teams and landing change without drama.
• Commercially aware, can build a case for investment and prioritise improvements that matter.
• Engineering or manufacturing qualification is desirable, equivalent operational experience is equally valued.

Why this role

• Significant opportunity to shape the operating model and introduce best-practice cadence and consistency.
• Genuine scope to develop the team and reduce reliance on single points of failure.
• A business investing in growth, equipment and capability.

Consortium Professional Recruitment Ltd are a professional level recruitment consultancy specialising in the delivery of high relevance recruitment services on behalf of our clients across the UK. We regularly receive large responses to our advertising which can make providing individual feedback to every applicant challenging. If you haven t received a reply from us within 14 day of your application, we regret to say your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. We have a policy of retaining your details for future vacancies unless you request otherwise. To learn more about our services, please visit (url removed)