Director Site Operations

Aurora Lifesciences; West Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Aurora Lifesciences is seeking a Site Operation Director in West Yorkshire to own safety, quality, delivery and cost at a regulated manufacturing site. You will lead through matrix teams, set the site plan, and drive sustainable scale-up with rigorous governance and financial discipline.

The role requires extensive site/general management experience in medical devices or regulated manufacturing, strong financial acumen and executive communication.

Qualifications

• Extensive site/general management experience in medical devices or regulated manufacturing.
• Experience leading organizational change and growth in a matrix structure.
• Strong financial acumen; experience managing budgets and CAPEX programmes.
• Credible with production teams, executives and the Board.

Responsibilities

• Build a high-performing site leadership team with clear roles, decision rights and performance expectations.
• Create a site operating model connecting Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Facilities, EHS and corporate functions.
• Define and own site-wide KPIs across safety, quality, delivery, cost, capacity and people performance.
• Use operational and financial data to identify risk, solve problems and drive improvement.
• Lead manufacturing scale-up through capacity planning, process improvement and workforce planning.
• Own the operating budget, capital plan and major investment decisions with financial discipline.
• Improve throughput, efficiency, yield and cost without compromising quality or regulatory compliance.
• Maintain audit readiness and compliance with ISO 13485, FDA requirements and EHS standards.
• Establish succession plans and strengthen technical capability across leadership.

Skills

Site leadership

Plant management

General Manager

Regulated manufacturing

Medical devices

ISO 13485

Lean manufacturing

Process improvement

Budget ownership

Executive communication

Job description

This is a General Manager-level opportunity for a senior operational leader who wants full ownership of a regulated manufacturing site and the mandate to shape its next stage of growth.

We are seeking a Site Operation Director to strengthen the leadership structure, establish clear accountability and translate corporate strategy into disciplined site execution. You will inherit a complex operation with significant potential and be trusted to build the organisation, systems and capability required for sustainable manufacturing scale-up.

The Opportunity

As Site Operation Director, you will hold overall accountability for safety, quality, delivery, cost, people and financial performance. You will lead through both direct and matrixed teams, ensuring every function is aligned behind a single site plan regardless of reporting line.

Your priorities will include:

• Building and developing a high-performing site leadership team with clear roles, decision rights and performance expectations.
• Creating a site operating model that connects Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Facilities, EHS and corporate functions.
• Defining and owning site-wide KPIs across safety, quality, delivery, cost, capacity and people performance.
• Using operational and financial data to identify risk, solve complex problems and accelerate improvement.
• Leading manufacturing scale-up through capacity planning, process improvement, infrastructure development and workforce planning.
• Owning the operating budget, capital plan and major investment decisions while maintaining strong financial discipline.
• Improving throughput, efficiency, yield and cost without compromising product quality or regulatory compliance.
• Maintaining audit readiness and compliance with ISO 13485, FDA manufacturing requirements and applicable EHS standards.
• Establishing succession plans, strengthening technical capability and closing leadership or organisational gaps.
• Developing robust business continuity, emergency preparedness and site-governance arrangements.

The Site Operation Directorwill create an accountable, quality-led culture in which issues are raised early, decisions are made at the right level and leaders remain close to the manufacturing floor.

Your Background

A successful Site Operation Director will bring substantial site, plant or general management experience from medical devices, life sciences or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.

You will have led organisational change, manufacturing growth and operational improvement within a matrix structure. Strong financial acumen, executive communication and experience managing budgets and capital programmes are essential.

This role would suit a leader who enjoys complex challenges, can bring structure to ambiguity and remains equally credible with production teams, functional experts, executive leadership and the Board.

Key Skills

• Site, plant or General Manager leadership
• Medical device or regulated manufacturing experience
• ISO 13485
• Manufacturing capacity planning
• Leadership-team development and succession planning
• Matrix leadership and cross-functional accountability
• Budget, CAPEX and financial-performance ownership
• Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement
• Quality, EHS and audit-readiness leadership
• Executive communication and stakeholder influence

For the right Site Operation Director, this is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of a site, strengthen its leadership foundations and lead manufacturing through a pivotal stage of growth.