Operational Delivery Team Lead

vandenrecycling; Lisburn; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanden Recycling in Lisburn seeks an Operational Delivery Team Lead to manage a portfolio of supplier and customer accounts while guiding the wider team’s delivery. The role blends hands-on account management with leadership across Operations / Service Delivery.

You will shape priorities, standards and workflows, staying close to customers and suppliers to influence day-to-day delivery and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Strong service delivery or operational experience.
• Ability to balance priorities and stay calm under pressure.
• Clear communication and ability to lead meetings.
• Willingness to step into problems and drive ownership.
• Proactive, organised approach to work.

Responsibilities

• Review daily and weekly priorities and help focus the team’s resources where they are most needed.
• Allocate or rebalance work when urgent customer, supplier, logistics, compliance or operational requirements arise.
• Act as the first point of escalation for routine BC queries and operational questions.
• Take initial ownership of minor supplier and customer concerns, resolving them where possible.
• Lead operational and team meetings, ensuring priorities, decisions and actions are clear.
• Maintain visibility of open actions and follow up where progress or standards are slipping.
• Coordinate issue resolution across Service Delivery, Logistics, Contracts, Compliance and other relevant teams.
• Help implement SOP updates, BC improvements and practical changes to working processes.
• Identify recurring issues, unnecessary handovers or gaps in ownership and recommend practical improvements.
• Promote consistent standards, clear communication and strong ownership across Service Delivery.

Skills

Service Delivery

Team coordination

Prioritisation

Communication

Problem solving

Ownership mindset

Conflict resolution

Job description

Operational Delivery Team Lead

Location: Lisburn
Department: Operations / Service Delivery
Reports to: Service Centre Manager

We are looking for someone within the Lisburn team who is ready to take the next step in their development and play a bigger role in how Service Delivery operates day to day.

The Operational Delivery Team Lead is a hands‑on leadership role. Around 75% of your time will remain focused on personally managing a portfolio of supplier and customer accounts, with approximately 25% focused on helping lead and coordinate the wider team’s operational delivery.

This is an opportunity to gain genuine leadership experience, greater visibility across the business and more influence over priorities, standards and how we work—while remaining close to customers, suppliers and day‑to‑day delivery.

What you’ll take ownership of

• Review daily and weekly priorities and help focus the team’s resources where they are most needed.
• Allocate or rebalance work when urgent customer, supplier, logistics, compliance or operational requirements arise.
• Act as the first point of escalation for routine BC queries and operational questions.
• Take initial ownership of minor supplier and customer concerns, resolving them where possible.
• Lead operational and team meetings, ensuring priorities, decisions and actions are clear.
• Maintain visibility of open actions and follow up where progress or standards are slipping.
• Coordinate issue resolution across Service Delivery, Logistics, Contracts, Compliance and other relevant teams.
• Help implement SOP updates, BC improvements and practical changes to working processes.
• Identify recurring issues, unnecessary handovers or gaps in ownership and recommend practical improvements.
• Promote consistent standards, clear communication and strong ownership across Service Delivery.

What this role is—and isn’t

This role has genuine day‑to‑day supervisory responsibility. You will be trusted to set immediate priorities, direct and rebalance workload, challenge operational standards and follow through on agreed actions.

It is not a formal line‑management position. Appraisals, absence management, disciplinary matters, pay and employment decisions will remain with the Service Centre Manager. Where a significant or sensitive issue needs to be escalated, you will be expected to bring the relevant facts, explain what has already been done and recommend the next step.

What we’re looking for

• Strong Service Delivery or operational experience.
  
• The credibility and confidence to coordinate work across colleagues and challenge constructively.
• Sound judgement when deciding what to resolve directly and what needs to be escalated.
• The ability to balance competing priorities and stay calm when operational pressure increases.
• Clear communication and the confidence to lead meetings and give direction.
• A proactive, organised approach and a willingness to step into problems rather than pass them on.
• A strong ownership mindset and a fair, consistent approach when working with colleagues.
• The ability to combine hands‑on portfolio management with broader responsibility for team delivery.

You do not need to have formally managed people before. What matters is that you can demonstrate sound operational judgement, credibility with colleagues and the potential to lead through clarity, consistency and follow‑through.

Working pattern and flexibility

The role will normally be performed within agreed working hours. However, operational delivery can be time‑sensitive, so occasional flexibility may be needed to support urgent customer or supplier issues, shipment and documentation deadlines, month‑end requirements, or handovers with colleagues in other locations and time zones.

Why apply?

This is a genuine development opportunity for someone who wants to build their leadership capability without stepping away from operational delivery. You will gain broader exposure across the business, greater decision‑making responsibility and the opportunity to influence how Service Delivery operates and improves.