Operations Manager, Manufacturing & Lean Excellence

Brush Group; Colchester; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

BRUSH Group is seeking a Business Operations Manager to oversee Production, Planning, and Supply Chain, ensuring safe, efficient, and profitable operations. You will drive OTIF performance, manage backlogs, and lead cross-functional teams to deliver value while maintaining high SHE and quality standards.

The role requires proven senior operations leadership in engineering/manufacturing, with a track record of improving margins and implementing Lean/CI programmes.

Qualifications

• Senior operational leadership experience in engineering or manufacturing.
• Proven ability to improve gross margin and efficiency.
• Experience in engineered-to-order production.
• Strong production planning and capacity modelling knowledge.
• Lean methodologies and CI programme experience.
• Financial literacy with understanding of cost drivers and margin management.
• Engineering qualification desirable or significant relevant experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead Production, Testing, Planning & Scheduling, Stores, Supply Chain and Manufacturing Engineering teams to deliver the production plan safely, efficiently and profitably.
• Ensure On-Time-In-Full (OTIF) delivery performance meets or exceeds targets.
• Maintain visibility of backlog, work-in-progress and production loading.
• Be accountable for manufacturing gross margin performance.
• Strengthen supplier performance, reliability and risk management.
• Reduce exposure to long-lead and single-source components.
• Improve inventory control and stock turns.
• Lead Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement initiatives.
• Implement structured problem-solving tools (5S, 5 Whys, Root Cause Analysis, FMEA, Kanban).
• Establish measurable productivity and cost-saving targets.
• Ensure all manufactured products meet required industry standards and certifications (IEC, ATEX, ISO).
• Protect product testing integrity and certification compliance.
• Ensure full compliance with Health & Safety regulations.
• Promote a zero-harm safety culture.

Skills

Operational leadership

Gross margin improvement

Manufacturing experience

Production planning

Lean/CI

Financial literacy

Engineering background

Accountability

People development

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Engineering qualification desirable

Job description

BRUSH Group is seeking a Business Operations Manager to oversee Production, Planning, and Supply Chain, ensuring safe, efficient, and profitable operations. You will drive OTIF performance, manage backlogs, and lead cross-functional teams to deliver value while maintaining high SHE and quality standards.

The role requires proven senior operations leadership in engineering/manufacturing, with a track record of improving margins and implementing Lean/CI programmes.