Head of Operations & Supply
This stand-alone food manufacturing site is a well established operation, renowned for its quality of service and close working relationships with both suppliers and customers. It has received significant funding and new development in recent years and continues to be an essential part of the parent group operations (a highly regarded industry name.)
The site employs 40 people across Operations, Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality and Research. Manufacturing within a highly regulated sector, it operates to the highest levels of quality, health and safety. The Head of Operations & Supply role is the most senior position on site.
Role requirements
Operational Leadership
* Develop and execute operations strategies aligned with the overall business plan.
* Lead the creation and delivery of site operations plans, driving performance reviews
* Lead robust succession planning and talent development
* Champion a customer-focused culture, empowering site teams to maximise their capabilities and deliver excellence.
Planning & Performance
* Lead and drive integrated Sales & Operations Planning processes, engaging internal and external stakeholders to foster accountability.
* Establish and monitor key performance indicators and data-driven metrics to continuously improve plant operations.
* Drive cost control and budgetary discipline across P&L, capital investment and operational expenditure.
Continuous Improvement & Compliance
* Lead the deployment of Continuous Improvement, Asset Management and other programmes.
* Deliver ongoing savings through energy efficiency, process optimisation, and sustainability initiatives.
* Ensure full compliance with environmental legislation and EPA requirements.
* Drive on going Change Management process aligned with overall business strategy.
Communication & Engagement
* Champion a culture that reflects and upholds organisational values.
* Lead multi-channel communication strategies to strengthen engagement with customers and suppliers.
* Build a unified senior team.
* Communicate strategic insights effectively to senior leadership to support decision-making.
Credit & Financial Management
* Ensure budgeting, financial planning and customer accounts are managed in line with policy.
Maintenance & Asset Care
* Lead the implementation maintenance systems.
* Initiative CI tools to drive process development and improvement
* Ensure environmental compliance and legislative controls are consistently maintained.
Quality & Compliance
* Ensure full compliance with all regulatory requirements.
* Oversee and drive accountability in hygiene and calibration programmes to maintain plant standards and product integrity.
Environmental Health & Safety
* Champion Zero Harm initiatives and embed a safety-first culture across all operations.
* Promote safe work practices and continuous improvement in safety behaviours.
Experience
* A Third level qualification in a relevant discipline (Food, Science, Technology, Business or Engineering is desirable).
* Strong background in production/manufacturing
* Excellent interpersonal communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence at all levels.
* Develop, manage and sustain effective working relationships with stakeholders.
* Demonstrated ability to lead people and organisational change.
* Strong business acumen, customer focus, commercially astute and good problem solver.
* Strong technical ability with passion to deliver to excellent standards.
* Ability to work across teams in a fast paced, matrix organisation structure.