General Manager

Kaizen Talent Solutions; Newport; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Kaizen Talent Solutions in South Wales has partnered with a premier British manufacturer to recruit a General Manager who will own P&L and oversee a modern plastics facility. You will define the operational environment, mentor a newly structured management team, and drive world-class standards across production, engineering, supply chain and health & safety.

The General Manager will focus on leveraging plant capacity, driving volume, improving throughput, and expanding sales turnover to deliver

Qualifications

• Experience leading a manufacturing operation with P&L ownership.
• Lean/manufacturing excellence experience.

Responsibilities

• Take full P&L and operational accountability for the site.
• Lead production, engineering, supply chain, and health & safety to world-class standards.
• Mentor and develop a newly structured management team.
• Drive capacity utilisation, throughput improvements, and profitable growth.
• Present and implement a multi-year investment roadmap with the Board.

Job description

Established for over half a century, our client is a premier British manufacturer specialising in the design, tooling, manufacture, and complex assembly of niche plastic products. Serving highly demanding industrial sectors, they pride themselves on innovation, engineering excellence, and creating high-value customer partnerships.

Recently acquired by a major international, publicly listed polymer solutions group, the business has the financial muscle to realise its ambitious plans driven by diversification and vertical integration. This is an opportunity to join a stable business with long-term capital backing.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a high-calibre, commercially astute General Manager to take full operational and financial ownership of their modern facility in South Wales.

You will hold full P&L and operational accountability for the site, with the autonomy to define the operational environment, mentor a newly structured management team, and relentlessly drive world-class manufacturing standards across production, engineering, supply chain, and health & safety. The primary focus of the General Manager will be to fully leverage available plant capacity by driving volume, improving throughput, and expanding sales turnover to deliver maximum profitability.

Key Areas of Focus & Responsibilities

• Develop the management team: Act as a mentor to coach, develop, and align the site's managers into a cohesive, barrier-free leadership team, breaking down functional silos.
• P&L & cost management: Own the site financial performance, managing budgets and capital investments while driving robust cost control across labour, materials, scrap, and overheads.
• Operational Excellence: Embed a data-driven, lean manufacturing culture to measurably optimise site OEE and eliminate waste.
• Supply Chain integration: Oversee the end-to-end site supply chain, linking customer demand, scheduling, and logistics, to ensure exceptional OTIF delivery.
• Strategic & customer leadership: Act as the senior on-site presence, hosting key customer audits, championing a proactive safety culture, and collaborating with the Board to deliver the site’s multi-year investment roadmap.

Who We Are Looking For

• A proven track record leading autonomously a manufacturing operation through a management layer, ideally within plastic injection moulding or complex assembly environments.
• Direct experience managing a manufacturing P&L or substantial budgetary responsibility for an autonomous site.
• Extensive leadership skills with a history of coaching, mentoring, and delivering progressive cultural change that enhances employee capability.
• Hands-on expertise driving sustainable site performance improvements through the implementation of lean/world-class manufacturing methodologies.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to work with imperfect information to make sound, data-driven decisions.
• Strategic capability balanced perfectly with a pragmatic, hands-on approach fitting of an agile, fast-paced environment.

What We Offer

To help you succeed, you will be supported by an organisation entirely committed to investment, automation, and developing its people. This role offers the autonomy of running your own site alongside the security, resources, and career progression pathways provided by an expanding global group.

Are you the one we're looking for?