Head of Operations — Site Leader, Advanced Materials

Cranleigh Scientific; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Car or car allowance

Private medical insurance

Pension with employer matching

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Flexi-time scheme

Life assurance

On-site health services

EV charging & parking

Job summary

Cranleigh Scientific is recruiting a Head of Operations for an advanced materials manufacturing site in Cambridge. You will lead manufacturing, quality, CI and safety, delivering safe, efficient production and driving improvements aligned with business growth.

Reporting to the Plant Manager, you will own production planning, budget control and capability development, with a clear path to running the site in the future.

Qualifications

• A degree in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry (essential).
• Significant senior manufacturing management experience in chemical manufacturing, aerospace or automotive.
• Track record of leading integrated teams across production, quality and continuous improvement.
• Proven delivery of measurable gains in safety, quality, productivity and cost.
• Hands-on experience of Lean, Six Sigma and CI programmes.
• Strong commercial awareness and confident budget management.

Responsibilities

• Lead all manufacturing operations to deliver safe, efficient and compliant production against targets.
• Drive improvements in productivity, throughput, yield, OEE and capacity utilisation.
• Own production planning, resource allocation and workforce utilisation.
• Work with Technology, Sales, Planning and Supply Chain leaders to align priorities and support growth.
• Support capital investment, automation and facility upgrade projects.
• Provide strategic leadership for Quality and embed a culture of ownership and customer focus.
• Lead investigations into non-conformances, audits and corrective actions.
• Own the site's Continuous Improvement strategy and track performance metrics.
• Provide visible leadership across operational teams and develop training frameworks.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

CI programmes

IT & data skills

Budget management

Leadership

Education

Degree in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry

Tools

Quality Management System (QMS)

Job description

Cranleigh Scientific is recruiting a Head of Operations for an advanced materials manufacturing site in Cambridge. You will lead manufacturing, quality, CI and safety, delivering safe, efficient production and driving improvements aligned with business growth.

Reporting to the Plant Manager, you will own production planning, budget control and capability development, with a clear path to running the site in the future.