Head of Operations

Caravan Restaurants and Coffee Roasters; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

50% off food in Brew Bars

Dining discount across restaurants

Weekly roastery team lunch

On-site coffee access

Bike to work scheme

Mental health support

Financial health education and support

Leadership training and development

Internal career progression

Job summary

Caravan Restaurants and Coffee Roasters is seeking a hands-on Head of Operations to lead our roastery operation in London. You will own planning, packaging, procurement, production, fulfilment, and customer experience while driving cost management and quality standards.

You’ll lead the Operations and Customer Experience teams through a period of growth, embedding lean principles, SALSA, Fairtrade compliance and B Corp commitments, with a focus on scalable, efficient processes.

Qualifications

• Experienced operator in food, beverage or FMCG manufacturing.
• Lean thinking with track record of improvements (Lean/Six Sigma).
• Hands-on leader who can troubleshoot and drive execution.
• People leadership with ability to coach and motivate teams through change.
• Commercially minded with strong planning and data-driven decision making.
• Supply chain savvy with procurement, inventory and production planning experience; AI/automation a plus.
• Customer-focused with focus on service levels and experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop Operations and Customer Experience teams to build a high-performing, solution-focused culture.
• Own operational budgets, drive purchasing, resourcing, production and fulfilment efficiency.
• Oversee Health & Safety, risk management and compliance including SALSA and Fairtrade standards.
• Embed B Corp principles and drive sustainability improvements across the operation.
• Own S&OP processes and translate forecasts into production and capacity plans.
• Lead lean manufacturing and continuous improvement to reduce waste and boost efficiency.
• Drive major operational changes and automation projects from business case to implementation.
• Use AI and automation to simplify planning, reporting and workflows.
• Be hands-on on the production floor to resolve issues and keep operations moving.
• Own relationships with third-party production and logistics partners and ensure SLAs and quality standards.
• Support Customer Experience to deliver seamless journeys across D2C and B2B, including order-to-cash and escalations.

Job description

We’ve been passionate about great-tasting, 100%-traceable speciality coffee since roasting our first coffee in the basement of our original restaurant 16 years ago. Today, we’re a B Corp-certified roaster, producing fresh coffee from our North London roastery, supplying our nine restaurants, Brew Bars, and a growing customer base.

We’re looking for a hands‑on

Head of Operations

to lead our end‑to‑end roastery operation.

You’ll own the operational engine: planning, packaging & consumables procurement, production, fulfilment, customer experience and cost management. You’ll build a scalable, efficient operation that delivers consistently high standards of quality and service, whilst leading the team through a period of change and growth.

Head of Operations

Company: Caravan Restaurants and Coffee Roasters

Salary: Not specified

Hours: Full-time

Location: London

Job type: Permanent

Posting date: 13 Oct 2026

Closing date: 12 Nov 2026

People, Cost & Compliance

• Lead and develop the Operations and Customer Experience teams, building a high-performing, solution-focused culture.
• Own operational budgets and drive better purchasing, resourcing, production and fulfilment efficiency.
• Own site Health & Safety, risk management and compliance, including SALSA and Fairtrade standards.
• Embed B Corp principles and measurable sustainability improvements across the operation

Planning & Production

• Own the S&OP process, bringing clear decisions through the exec routine, turning demand forecasts into green coffee, packaging, capacity and production scheduling plans.
• Drive lean manufacturing and continuous improvement across the roastery, reducing waste, improving workflows and delivering measurable efficiency gains.
• Lead major operational change and automation projects, from business case through to implementation.
• Use AI and automation to simplify planning, reporting and operational workflows.
• Own Unleashed as the operational source of truth, ensuring accurate inventory, stock movements and master data.
• Be hands‑on when needed, stepping onto the production floor to solve problems and keep things moving.

Procurement & Supplier Management

• Own strategic relationships with third‑party production and logistics partners, holding them to agreed SLAs, quality and service standards.
• Ensure packaging and consumables are competitively priced and regularly benchmarked.
• Oversee quality assurance, complaints and compliance documentation.

Customer Experience

• Support the Customer Experience Manager to deliver a seamless customer journey across D2C and B2B, providing operational support with customer communication, order‑to‑cash, technical servicing, SLAs and senior‑level escalations.

The Person

• Experienced operator:
• Proven senior operations experience in food, beverage or FMCG manufacturing.
• Lean mindset:
• Practical experience with Lean/Six Sigma and a track record of delivering measurable improvements.
• Hands‑on leader:
• Comfortable getting into the detail, troubleshooting problems and making things happen.
• People leader:
• Able to build, motivate and lead teams through change.
• Commercially sharp:
• Strong planning, budget management and data‑driven decision‑making skills.
• Supply chain savvy:
• Strong understanding of procurement, inventory and production planning; AI/automation experience essential.
• Customer focused:
• High standards of service and experience leading customer‑facing teams.

Benefits

• 50% off all food in our Brew Bars
• Dining discount when visiting our restaurants
• Weekly roastery team lunch
• All of the coffee you can drink on site
• Weekly allowance of coffee for home
• Bike to work scheme
• Mental health and well‑being support
• Financial health education and support
• Leadership training and development
• Birthday & Anniversary Treat: on your birthday and work anniversary, you'll receive a Caravan voucher to spend in any of our restaurants
• Development and career progression: 80% of all our management roles are filled internally

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