Operations Director UK (Manufacturing)

Lansdown Partners Executive Search Ltd; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A global manufacturing group in the UK is looking for an experienced Operations Director to lead their Bristol hub. This role involves driving operational transformation, developing leadership teams, and implementing lean methodologies. The ideal candidate will have a strong commercial focus, ensuring high customer service standards. This full-time role is vital for supporting the company's growth and innovation strategies while maintaining their long-standing reputation for quality and reliability.

Qualifications

• Experience in driving operational transformation in a manufacturing environment.
• Proven ability to develop leadership within operations teams.
• Strong commercial acumen and focus on customer satisfaction.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end operational transformation.
• Set and embed operational standards.
• Build a capable operations leadership team.
• Drive performance gains and build long-term capability.
• Align operations with growth and innovation strategy.

Skills

Leadership

Operations management

Lean methodology

Customer service excellence

Job description

Headquartered in Bristol, our client is a global manufacturing group, with a 2-site production powerhouse in the UK, producing quality, customised products, serving a global audience of clients via distribution centres in Europe and the US.

Established as a family business and with more than five decades of manufacturing and technical expertise, our client combines in-house production with distribution and managed services to serve resellers, enterprise and government customers worldwide.

Over 50 years of product and technical capability underpin its reputation for quality and reliability.

RECENT GROWTH

With strong family business roots, an exceptional culture, and a team of c.70 staff, our client has experienced high growth over the last 3-years and has excellent future prospects.

Recent site content and corporate listings highlight the company’s expansion of services beyond physical manufacture — notably into digital and turnkey services — signalling a deliberate move to broaden revenue streams and modernise customer offerings. These developments show momentum towards platform and services growth to meet changing market demands.

This role will be critical to translate that strategic momentum into operational capability: the newOperations Directorwill be asked not only to run day-to-day operations at our clients Bristol hub but to up-skill the Operations team in modern manufacturing practices, service delivery, and leadership — enabling the business to scale its hybrid physical/digital offering while maintaining the high standards that have defined the business for 50 years. We are looking for an inspirational and experienced Operations leader to develop the companyto deliver consistent customer experience excellence.

LANDSCAPE

Our client has delivered c.40% top-line growth over the last 12 months, driven by strong demand across its core manufacturing base and the expansion of it's digital services. This growth is underpinned by the securing of several significant long-term contracts, providing revenue visibility and stability over the medium term.

To support this expansion our client has secured additional funding and invested more than £1M in new manufacturing machinery. This has expanded capacity, strengthened operational resilience, and enhanced capability across its UK production sites, enabling the business to accommodate increased volumes while maintaining consistently high quality and service standards.

THE OPPORTUNITY - OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, UK

The Operations Director is a passionate leader, who is commercially driven to maximise productivity whilst developing and maintaining lean methodology. The candidate will take full accountability for driving a culture of excellence in every area of the Operations team, covering Customer Service, Purchasing, Artwork and Production personnel.

They will hold themselves personally accountable to the board for delivering the highest levels of OTIF, Quality and client NPS feedback. In addition, key quarterly company objectives, designed to move the company forward, are to be held accountable by this candidate with relentless enthusiasm to make the business continually more agile, lean and competitive.

Key accountabilities include:

• Personally lead an end-to-end operational transformation
• Set and embed world-class operational standards
• Build a stronger, more capable Operations leadership team
• Deliver rapid performance gains while building long-term capability
• Make operations a strategic enabler of growth and innovation

The candidate sought must be a natural leader that embodies a hungry, humble and smart ethos, and aligns to the corporate values of the business as well as the senior leadership team ways of operating and communicating.

This role is 100% office based in Bristol.

**Please note that due to the high volume of applications received only those with the correct background / experience will be contacted to pursue this opportunity.