Operations Director

Zachary Daniels; North East; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Bonus opportunity 10-15%

Direct exposure to the Board

Autonomy and ownership

Job summary

Zachary Daniels is seeking an Operations Director based in County Durham with regular travel to the Southern operation. You will own operational performance across multiple sites and third-party partners, shaping infrastructure, people and processes to support significant growth.

This role offers strong ownership, reporting to the Board and the opportunity to influence the operating model, including ERP implementations and cost-to-serve improvements.

Qualifications

• Senior operational leadership experience at genuine scale.
• Experience running multi-site warehousing, distribution or logistics.
• Proven ownership of budgets and cost bases with cost reductions.
• Strong commercial/financial understanding of cost-to-serve and margin.
• Track record of delivering major operational change and ERP/WMS implementations.

Responsibilities

• Take overall accountability for operational performance across multiple sites and third‑party partners.
• Lead and develop the existing operational management structure.
• Build the operating model to support significant business growth and capacity planning.
• Own labour costs, transport, storage and other controllables.
• Drive productivity, efficiency and cost-to-serve without sacrificing service.
• Manage relationships with third-party logistics providers and hold partners accountable.
• Lead commercial assessment of operating model and in-house vs outsourced decisions.
• Build robust business cases for the Board with clear financial analysis.
• Ensure readiness for future site developments and ERP implementations.
• Establish KPI cadence and use data to drive improvements and governance.

Skills

Senior operational leadership

Multi-site management

Budget ownership

Cost-to-serve understanding

ERP/WMS experience

People leadership

Stakeholder management

Board-level presenting & influencing

Transformational change

Travel willingness & UK driving

Job description

Operations Director | County Durham | FMCG Distribution | C.£95k+

Location: County Durham, with regular travel to the Southern operation
Salary: £85,000 - £95,000 + £5,000 car allowance + 10-15% uncapped bonus

The Opportunity

We're working with a growing UK business that is entering an exciting period of expansion and operational change.

As Operations Director, you'll take overall responsibility for the operational performance of the business across multiple locations and third-party partners, while helping shape the infrastructure, people and processes required to support significant future growth.

This is not a role for someone looking to simply inherit a well-established operation and maintain the status quo.

You'll be joining at a point where there is a genuine opportunity to build, improve and professionalise the operating model, with significant scope to influence how the business operates over the next few years.

Reporting directly to the Board, you'll have genuine ownership of the operation, its cost base, service performance, management structure and operational strategy.

What you'll be doing

• Take overall accountability for operational performance across multiple sites and third-party partners, covering service, cost, quality and safety.
• Lead and develop the existing operational management structure, creating greater accountability and capability across the team.
• Build the operational model required to support significant business growth, including capacity, labour, space, equipment and systems.
• Own the operational cost base, including labour, overtime, transport, storage and other controllable costs.
• Drive improvements in productivity, efficiency and cost-to-serve without compromising service or quality.
• Manage and develop relationships with third-party logistics partners, ensuring agreed commercial and service standards are achieved.
• Lead the commercial assessment of the current operating model, including evaluating the balance between outsourced and in-house operations.
• Build robust business cases and recommendations for the Board, supported by clear financial and operational analysis.
• Ensure operational readiness for future site development and changes to the operating model.
• Establish a strong KPI and performance-management cadence across the operation.
• Use operational data to identify bottlenecks, improve labour planning and make better commercial decisions.
• Lead the successful adoption and embedding of a recently implemented ERP system, ensuring data accuracy and operational discipline.
• Ensure the operation has the right structure, processes and people to support continued growth.
• Work closely with the wider leadership team to ensure new business and growth can be onboarded without compromising service or margin.
• Maintain high standards across health & safety, quality, compliance and operational risk.
• Develop a culture of continuous improvement and structured problem solving, moving the business away from reactive firefighting.

What we're looking for

This role would suit an experienced Operations Director, Head of Operations, General Manager or senior leader who has operated at genuine scale and is ready to take full ownership of a growing operation.

You'll ideally bring:

• Proven senior operational leadership experience across warehousing, distribution, fulfilment, logistics or a comparable environment.
• Experience managing multiple sites and/or significant third-party operations.
• Demonstrable ownership of an operational budget and cost base, with evidence of improving efficiency and reducing costs.
• Experience scaling an operation through significant growth and building the structure required to support it.
• Strong commercial and financial understanding, with the ability to understand cost-to-serve, productivity, contribution and margin.
• Experience managing third-party logistics providers and holding external partners accountable for both service and commercial performance.
• Experience presenting recommendations and business cases to Board or ownership level.
• A track record of delivering significant operational change - such as a new site, restructure, systems implementation, insourcing or major transformation.
• Strong understanding of operational KPIs, labour planning, productivity and performance management.
• Experience implementing or embedding ERP/WMS systems within a live operation.
• The ability to lead through managers rather than becoming absorbed in day-to-day operational issues.
• A hands‑on, pragmatic approach and the confidence to work in a business where there isn't a large central support infrastructure.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, from Board level through to operational teams.
• Willingness to travel regularly between the Northern and Southern operations, including occasional overnight stays.
• Full UK driving licence and right to work in the UK.

What's in it for you?

This is a genuine opportunity to join a business at an important stage of its growth and have a meaningful influence on how the operation develops.

You'll have:

• 10-15% uncapped performance bonus.
• Significant autonomy and ownership.
• Direct exposure to and influence with the Board.
• The opportunity to shape the operational structure and strategy for a growing business.
• The chance to lead major operational and commercial projects.
• A role with genuine scope to make a measurable impact on service, efficiency and profitability.