Plant Leader

AL8238 UK Grid Solutions Limited; Stafford; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

GE Vernova in Stafford, UK seeks a Plant Leader responsible for safety, operations, and financial success of the site. You will drive EHS excellence, ensure quality, delivery, and customer satisfaction, and develop a high‑performance team.

You will own the site's P&L, lead lean manufacturing, and push digital transformation using Industry 4.0 technologies to boost productivity and cost efficiency. Collaboration with Sales, Supply Chain, and Finance is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field.
• Leadership experience in manufacturing with P&L accountability.
• Experience in Grid Automation or related industry preferred.
• Strong Lean/Six Sigma and continuous improvement background.

Responsibilities

• Champion a Safety First culture as the site's primary EHS leader.
• Lead Zero Deviation strategy with regular safety walks and risk assessments.
• Ensure health, safety and environmental stewardship guide all decisions.
• Own site P&L, deliver sales, gross margin, and cash targets.
• Drive operations planning, inventory optimization, and cost productivity.
• Lead Lean manufacturing to reduce waste and improve productivity.
• Drive Industry 4.0 adoption for digital manufacturing and analytics.
• Maintain strong customer focus with on-time delivery and quality.
• Lead cross‑functional teams across Sales, Supply Chain, Finance, and Engineering.
• Develop talent, coach leaders, and build succession plans.

Skills

Leadership

EHS leadership

P&L responsibility

Lean manufacturing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Master’s degree or MBA preferred

Job description

Job Description Summary

The Plant Leader is responsible for the overall leadership, safety, operational performance, and financial success of the manufacturing site. This role provides strategic direction while ensuring excellence in Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS), quality, delivery, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and talent development. The successful candidate will foster a high-performance culture driven by accountability, continuous improvement, digital innovation, and employee engagement.

Key Responsibilities

Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Leadership – Highest Priority

Champion a Safety First culture by serving as the site's primary EHS leader and role model. Lead the implementation of the Zero Deviation strategy through visible leadership, regular safety walks, risk assessments, and proactive hazard elimination.

Ensure that employee health, safety, and environmental stewardship always take precedence over operational or financial objectives. Build a culture of accountability where every employee owns safety and EHS compliance.

Embed EHS requirements into all manufacturing processes, technologies, and Standard Work to ensure safety by design.

Financial & Operational Leadership

Own full responsibility for the site's Profit & Loss (P&L) performance, delivering targets for Sales, Gross Margin, Operating Profit, and cash generation. Develop and manage the annual operating plan, budget, and financial forecasts. Optimize inventory, working capital, cash conversion, and Variable Cost Productivity (VCP) to achieve financial commitments.

Drive operational performance through key Global Supply Chain (GSC) metrics, including: EHS performance, Quality (minimizing Cost of Poor Quality and achieving >98% First Pass Yield), On-Time Delivery (>95%), Operational Discipline, Inventory and cash conversion. Translate business strategy into executable manufacturing and supply chain plans aligned with customer demand, regional sales forecasts, and global business objectives.

Operational Excellence

Lead Lean Manufacturing initiatives to eliminate waste, reduce variation, and improve productivity. Institutionalize Standard Work and disciplined daily management practices. Foster a culture where quality is built into every process and continuous improvement is an everyday expectation. Ensure operational excellence across production, planning, logistics, maintenance, and support functions.

Digital Transformation & Innovation

Lead the site's digital manufacturing strategy by implementing Industry 4.0 technologies. Drive the adoption of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, analytics, and predictive technologies to improve productivity, quality, cost, and operational agility.

Identify and deploy innovative solutions that enhance manufacturing performance and decision-making.

Customer & Supply Chain Excellence

Maintain a strong customer focus by ensuring reliable delivery, superior quality, and responsive manufacturing operations. Optimize end-to-end processes from order entry through shipment to achieve reduced lead times and improved customer satisfaction. Collaborate closely with commercial teams to support business growth and customer commitments.

Cross-Functional Leadership

Promote a One Team culture by building strong partnerships across Sales, Supply Chain, Sourcing, Quality, Engineering, Industrialization, Finance, and regional leadership teams. Lead cross-functional problem‑solving to remove operational bottlenecks and improve end‑to‑end value stream performance. Ensure alignment between manufacturing priorities and overall business strategy.

Talent Development & Employee Engagement

Build an inclusive, high-performance culture that values collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning. Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-performing talent across hourly and salaried teams. Foster employee engagement through visible leadership, effective communication, and a psychologically safe work environment. Develop succession plans and strengthen organizational capability to support long-term business growth.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline; Master’s degree or MBA preferred. Major experience in manufacturing or industrial experience, preferably within Grid Automation or a related industry. Proven leadership experience in manufacturing operations, plant management, or supply chain leadership with full operational accountability. Demonstrated experience managing P&L responsibility and leading complex manufacturing organizations.

Preferred Qualifications & Leadership Competencies

Leadership & Collaboration: Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence stakeholders across multiple functions and organizational levels. Strong interpersonal, communication, and change management skills. Demonstrated ability to build trust, foster collaboration, and drive organizational alignment.

Operational Excellence: Deep expertise in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Standard Work, and continuous improvement methodologies. Proven success driving measurable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost.

Digital & Innovation Leadership: Strong understanding of Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, AI, robotics, automation, and digital transformation. Experience integrating digital technologies into daily operations to improve business performance.

Strategic & Financial Acumen: Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to translate data into actionable operational and financial decisions. Demonstrated ability to balance short-term execution with long-term business strategy while driving sustainable growth.

Additional Information

Relocation Assistance Provided: No

Addressing the climate crisis is an urgent global priority and we take our responsibility serious. That is our singular mission at GE Vernova: continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to help decarbonize it. If we want our energy future to be different…we must be different. Our mission is embedded in our name. We retain our treasured legacy, “GE,” in our name as an enduring and hard-earned badge of quality and ingenuity. “Ver” / “verde” signal Earth’s verdant and lush ecosystems. “Nova,” from the Latin “novus,” nods to a new, innovative era of lower carbon energy that GE Vernova will help deliver. Together, we have The Energy to Change the World. www.gevernova.com