Operations Excellence & Compliance Lead

Bedford Introduction Saab Uk; Fenny Stratford; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Saab UK in Bedfordshire seeks an Operations Manager to drive governance, compliance, trials, and business coordination across BlueBear and Saab UK, leading process improvements and KPI tracking. The role requires coordinating audits, export control, health & safety, and security while advancing continuous improvement throughout the organisation.

You will coordinate risk and business continuity activities, steer compliance programs, and support internal project activities.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership skills and ability to drive change within the organisation.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Highly motivated self-starter requiring minimal supervision.
• Experience implementing organisational change.
• Proven risk management experience including business continuity planning.
• Experience with Quality Management Systems and ISO 9001 compliance; ISO 27001 desirable.
• Awareness of export control, health & safety and environmental management.
• Experience in defence industry and UK MOD desirable.
• National Security Vetting clearance to SC level or ability to obtain it.
• Willingness to undergo workforce screening including security and reference checks.

Responsibilities

• Drive continuous improvement to achieve high standards.
• Focal point for process standardisation and ISO compliance.
• Coordinate export control, health & safety, security and related areas with Saab UK.
• Develop and track KPIs to support the Strategic Business Plan.
• Implement processes to capture customer feedback and report improvements.
• Coordinate internal and external audit activities.
• Lead risk and business continuity activities.
• Coordinate implementation of new compliance standards and tools.
• Deliver internal training on continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Support project activity and manage the Facility Coordinator duties.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Self-motivation

Change management

Risk management

ISO 9001

ISO 27001

Export control

Health & Safety

Environmental management

Defence industry

Security clearance SC

Background checks

Job description

Saab UK in Bedfordshire seeks an Operations Manager to drive governance, compliance, trials, and business coordination across BlueBear and Saab UK, leading process improvements and KPI tracking. The role requires coordinating audits, export control, health & safety, and security while advancing continuous improvement throughout the organisation.

You will coordinate risk and business continuity activities, steer compliance programs, and support internal project activities.