Head of Operations

Caravan Coffee Roasters and Brewbar; Southall; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

50% off food

Dining discount

Weekly roastery lunch

Coffee on site

Bike to work

Mental health support

Career development

Job summary

Caravan Coffee Roasters and Brewbar is seeking an experienced Operations leader to unify and scale our roastery, Brew Bars and D2C/B2B operations. You will drive lean improvements, oversee safety, compliance, and sustainability, and own the S&OP planning, inventory and master data.

A hands-on, change-oriented leader with strong budgeting and procurement know-how will excel. You will collaborate with senior leadership to optimise production capacity, automate workflows, and safeguard quality

Qualifications

• Senior operations experience in food, beverage or FMCG manufacturing.
• Lean/Six Sigma experience with track record of improvements.
• Hands-on leader capable of troubleshooting and driving change.
• Strong planning, budget management and data-driven decision making.
• Understanding of procurement, inventory and production planning; AI/automation experience is essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop Operations and Customer Experience teams.
• Own budgets and drive efficiency across purchasing, resourcing, production, and fulfilment.
• Oversee Health & Safety, risk management and compliance (SALSA & Fairtrade).
• Embed sustainability across the operation and own S&OP process.
• Drive lean manufacturing, automation projects, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Manage third-party production/logistics partners to SLA standards.
• Support customer journey and order-to-cash processes with operational input.

Skills

Lean mindset

People leadership

Problem solving

Data-driven decisions

Supply chain planning

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..

Responsibilities

• 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..
• 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..
• 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..
• 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..

To say thank you for choosing us, we also offer our teams

• 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

Experience: Required
Employment: Full-time