Group Operations Director (Ref: PK9467)

NEW VACANCY! (PK9467)

£EXPERIENCE DEPENDANT + 25 Days Holiday + Bank Holidays + Company Car + Pension

LOCATION: EAST MIDLANDS (Regular travel between company sites will be required)

My client will only accept applicants that have: Multi Site Operations Lead Experience that come from a manufacturing background (ideally Food or Packaging) with proven experience of driving business performance

Our client is one of the leading independent manufacturers of flexible packaging in the UK, looking to recruit a Group Operations Director to join their team.

This is a newly defined, hands-on operational leadership role. The Operations Director will take responsibility for manufacturing performance across all sites and drive a step change in output, yield, product consistency and process discipline.

Our client needs someone who leads from the shop floor, not from behind a desk: visible on site, close to the process, and able to fix problems quickly while building the systems and people that stop them reoccurring.

You will provide leadership and direction across the Company's manufacturing operations, ensuring that sites operate safely, efficiently and consistently while achieving agreed production, quality, service and financial objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Production performance
• Own safety, output, yield, uptime, quality and cost across all sites
• Establish clear KPIs (e.g. OEE, throughput, yield, downtime, energy per tonne, cost per tonne) with daily and weekly performance reviews at every site
• Lead turnaround of underperforming plants, including wash lines, extrusion and blown film operations
• Introduce and embed standard operating procedures, root cause analysis and continuous improvement (Lean / Six Sigma or equivalent)
• Improve process control across sorting, washing, decontamination, extrusion and film blowing
• Work with the Engineering Director to raise maintenance standards, move from reactive to planned and preventive maintenance, and reduce unplanned downtime
• Support commissioning and ramp-up of new lines and sites to agreed timelines and performance targets

People & Leadership:

• Set clear objectives and goals for every key operational role; make sure existing talent, including engineering resource, is properly directed and managed
• Build a strong safety culture and ensure full compliance with health and safety legislation
• Identify capability gaps and put in place training, succession and recruitment plans

Compliance & Quality:

• Ensure effective fire prevention, emergency planning and combustible material management across recycling and storage operations
• Ensure compliance with food-contact regulations, customer requirements and certifications (e.g. BRCGS Packaging, ISO 9001/14001/45001, EFSA/FSA food-contact approvals)
• Support customer audits, migration testing and product approval processes
• Maintain environmental permits and waste regulatory compliance across all sites

About You:

• Senior operations leadership experience (Operations Director, Head of Operations or senior multi-site General Manager) from a manufacturing background
• Must have multisite Operations Lead Experience
• Proven track record of turning around underperforming plants and delivering measurable gains in output, yield and cost
• Hands-on, visible leadership style; comfortable on the shop floor and credible with Operators and Engineers
• Experience of multi-site management and leading Managers through change
• Working knowledge of continuous improvement tools and structured problem solving
• Strong health and safety leadership
• Experience with food-grade or food-contact materials, BRCGS Packaging and customer audits
• Experience of commissioning new plant or production lines
• Resilient and pragmatic, with a strong sense of urgency
• Data-driven, but action-oriented
• Clear communicator who builds accountability and trust
• Willing to travel extensively between sites