Director of Operations

Matter.; West of England; On-site; GBP 93,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

26 days annual leave

Pension (Aviva)

Private Medical Insurance

Job summary

Matter. is seeking a commercially astute Director of Operations to shape the long-term operational backbone of the business and lead international expansion across South Asia, with hybrid work in Bristol and up to 30% international travel.

The role focuses on building scalable manufacturing, supply chains, and in-country capabilities for large filtration systems. Reporting to the CTO, you will own all post-contract operations, drive performance, establish partnerships, and develop resilient,

Qualifications

• Proven senior operations leadership experience in industrial engineering, manufacturing or supply chain.
• Track record of scaling international operations and managing complex manufacturing.
• Strong ability to build supply chains and vendor networks across regions.

Responsibilities

• Translate strategy into scalable operational capability and execution plans.
• Take full ownership of post-contract operations including commissioning and handover.
• Lead end-to-end operations: production planning, procurement, supply chain, logistics, QA.
• Build a scalable ops organization capable of handling high-volume manufacturing.
• Drive KPIs, efficiencies, and performance improvements with the leadership team.
• Oversee manufacturing partnerships and in-country capabilities to support growth.

Skills

Senior ops leadership

Scale international operations

Manufacturing partnerships

Supply chain management

ERP/MRP systems

Global travel

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

Director of Operations

Application Deadline: 31 October 2026

Department: Operations

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Bristol

Reporting To: Chief Technology Officer

Compensation: £93,330 - £131,760 / year

Description

Do you want to help build a company with the capacity to disrupt whole industries and take on environmental issues on a global scale?

Do you want to join a purpose-driven engineering team tackling some of the world’s most critical challenges?

Matter. is a VC backed Cleantech scale-up and we have an opportunity for a commercially astute and execution-focused Director of Operations to shape the long-term operational backbone of the business. This role will deliver the international expansion to service markets across South Asia to meet the challenge of global micro pollution head-on.

Job Title: Director of OperationsLocation: Central Bristol - hybrid - up to 30% international travelSalary Range: £93,330 - £131,760

The Opportunity

We are a rapidly scaling UK‑headquartered engineering business specialising in the design and production of large, engineered industrial water filtration systems. Having completed successful technology development and early customer deployments, we are now transitioning into full commercialisation and preparing for significant growth over the next 12 months.

This role is pivotal in transforming our ability to deliver complex, industrial-scale water filtration systems across international markets, particularly within textile manufacturing hubs in South Asia.

To support this expansion, Matter is seeking an experienced and strategic Director of Operations to build our operational infrastructure, establish manufacturing partnerships, develop resilient supply chains, and lead the company toward scalable, high-quality production.

Within this role, you will lead our Operations function and their teams, bringing operational rigour, pace and process to a fast-growing organisation, ensuring our operational capability meets business goals.

You will have end-to end operational leadership, taking full ownership of all operations following contract award, ensuring successful project execution through to commissioning and handover.

You will ensure seamless delivery from supply chain and manufacturing through to on‑site installation, commissioning, and long‑term servicing—while building the infrastructure, partnerships, and in‑country capabilities required to support sustained global growth.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Strategy & Leadership

• Translate business strategy into scalable operational capability and execution plans aligned with rapid commercial expansion to support customer base largely in Asia but also Europe, the Americas and middle East.
• Take full ownership of all operations following contract award, ensuring successful project execution through to commissioning, handover and ongoing customer support.
• Lead end‑to‑end operations including production planning, procurement, supply chain, logistics, and quality assurance.
• Build and manage an operations organisation capable of supporting manufacture of large filtration systems in the 100’s per year manufacturing in 12–18 months.
• Work closely with the executive team to drive operational KPIs, efficiencies, and performance improvements.
• Act as a key member of the senior leadership team

Manufacturing Scale‑Up

• Identify, evaluate, and secure manufacturing partners in the UK, Asia and other regions as required with strong engineering capabilities and capacity for large industrial systems.
• Oversee technology transfer, ensuring manufacturing partners can produce systems to specification, cost, and quality targets.
• Establish scalable assembly, testing, and QA workflows suitable for regional and customer requirements.

Supply Chain Development

• Build a global supply chain strategy optimised for cost, lead time, reliability, and risk management.
• Oversee manufacturing strategy, ensuring quality, efficiency, and scalability.
• Own sourcing and supplier qualification for critical components, including mechanical assemblies, filtration elements, structural components, and instrumentation.
• Implement supplier performance management processes, audits, and quality control mechanisms.
• Develop redundancy and dual‑sourcing strategies to identify and mitigate supply chain risks that will support growth in Asia while maintaining UK operational security.

In‑Country Operational Capability

• Build and scale local operational presence in target markets (partners, teams, service capability).
• Establish regional hubs or partnerships to support installation, maintenance, and after‑sales service.
• Navigate local regulatory, cultural, and commercial environments effectively.

Commercialisation & Product Readiness

• Translate engineering designs into commercially manufacturable products with clear documentation, BOMs, and workflows.
• Support product standardisation and modularisation to reduce manufacturing complexity and cost.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to resolve manufacturability issues and drive continuous improvement.
• Develop a global service and maintenance model to support installed systems.
• Build recurring revenue streams through service contracts and upgrades.
• Ensure long‑term system performance and customer satisfaction.

Operations Management

• Establish operational framework, systems, tools, and processes including ERP/MRP, inventory management, logistics and quality management systems.
• Manage UK operational activities including pilot manufacturing, warehousing, and supply chain operations.
• Oversee international logistics including shipping, customs, compliance, and distribution into Asian markets.

Team Building & Leadership

• Recruit and lead a high‑performing operations team across procurement, production engineering, supply chain, and quality.
• Create a culture of accountability, safety, continuous improvement, and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Provide strong leadership to support the company’s growth trajectory and evolving organisational structure.

Health, Safety & Compliance

• Own and implement best‑in‑class health, safety, and environmental standards across all operations.
• Ensure compliance with UK and international regulations, including site‑specific requirements.
• Lead on building a strong safety culture across internal teams and partners.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

About You

We recognise that the breadth and depth of experience required for this role can be gained through different career paths. While we are ideally looking for an experienced Operations Director, we would also welcome applications from strong candidates who may be earlier in their leadership journey but have significant, relevant experience in areas such as engineering operations, manufacturing, production or supply chain.

This could include candidates currently operating at Head of Operations, Manufacturing or Supply Chain level who can demonstrate the technical expertise, commercial awareness, leadership capability and ambition to take on a broader operational remit as the business scales.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Required

• Proven experience in a senior operations leadership role within industrial engineering, water treatment, filtration, or complex manufactured equipment.
• Demonstrated track record of scaling international operations from low‑volume to commercial production.
• Strong expertise in managing manufacturing partners, supply chains, and complex assemblies.
• Experience building supply chains and vendor networks including in Asia.
• Deep understanding of quality systems, compliance, safety, and industrial manufacturing best practices.
• Ability to translate high‑level engineering concepts into repeatable, scalable manufacturing processes.
• Excellent leadership, strong commercial/financial acumen and stakeholder management skills.
• Willingness to travel internationally 20% – 30%.

Desirable

• Experience commercialising engineered industrial equipment from prototype to full rollout.
• Knowledge of water treatment or process engineering industries.
• Experience implementing ERP/MRP systems for scaling organisations.
• Background working with both SMEs and large manufacturing partners.

Benefits

• Flexible working environment, with core hours of 09:30-16:00 and hybrid working available, based at our central Bristol HQ.
• Annual Leave – 26 days + public holidays + entitlement will increase with length of service, 1 day for every year up to 32 days pa.
• 1 extra day of leave to celebrate you on your birthday.
• Ability to swap up to 3 Bank Holidays in a year for days of cultural or religious significance.
• Enhanced family leave (maternity & paternity) - 13 weeks full pay (maternity) or 4 weeks full pay (paternity) - available for those who have worked continuously for 26 weeks by the end of the Qualifying Week.
• Sick Pay - Short Term Sickness is full pay for 10 days in any 12‑month rolling period / Long Term Sickness is full pay for any instance of a consecutive period of sickness longer than a week (7 consecutive days) up to 13 weeks.
• Pension scheme (Aviva) – 5% employer contribution.
• Private Medical Insurance (BUPA) – you and your family (Level 1 cover).
• Medical Cash Plan (Unum) - you and your family (Level 1 cover).
• Critical Illness Cover (Unum) - after 13 weeks of Illness 75% of wages paid up to 2 years.
• Dental Plan (BUPA) – you and your family (Level 1 cover).
• Life Assurance (Unum) - one-off payment of 2 times your annual salary to next of kin.
• Virtual GP.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Onsite kitchen, dining, breakout areas & healthy snacks.
• Monthly lunch clubs.
• Regular team events and parties.
• On‑site parking for bicycles and cars.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Ethical discounts through Lumina.
• Training & Development support incl. 5% of contractual hours used for self-development.
• Professional membership - one per year where relevant to role.