Production Director

Marcus Webb Associates Limited; England; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative R&D company in the South West UK is seeking a Director of Production to build and scale a new manufacturing facility. The ideal candidate will have experience in Aerospace and Defence sectors, with proven leadership skills. Responsibilities include team formation, process design, and managing the production of complex systems. A strong understanding of lean manufacturing processes is essential, along with the desire to drive cultural change in a rapidly growing environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in building and scaling teams and facilities from early stage to operational maturity.
• Experience developing and overseeing supplier relationships for a responsive UK supply chain.
• Strong organisation, leadership, and project management capability.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for team formation, process design, and facility setup.
• Build and develop an operations team to meet production goals.
• Implement new production lines for complex systems.

Job description

Director of Production

South West UK

£100,000 - 160,000+ benefits (salary flexible)

This is a very exciting time for an experienced production / manufacturing professional to be joining a successful and expanding R&D company as it builds and opens a new manufacturing facility in the heart of the South West UK. The company is involved with the design, development and manufacture of innovative systems for the Aerospace & Defence marketplace.

Director of Production position requires

• Proven experience in building and scaling teams and facilities from early stage to operational maturity
• Experience of the design of assembly processes and implementation of capital equipment to enable production ramp-up over time
• Strong organisation, leadership and project management capability, including external stakeholder management
• Excellent understanding of lean manufacturing processes and quality systems
• Experience of manufacturing complex electromechanical products would be ideal
• Defence, Aerospace, Marine, Automotive or F1 industry experience is required

Director of Production – more:

As Director of Production and manufacturing this role is responsible for team formation, process design and facility setup achieving scalable and flexible manufacturing systems to support rapid iteration, prototyping and small-to-medium batch production.

This will involve working with 3rd parties to implement new production / assembly lines to facilitate the manufacture of their complex systems. In addition, you will have responsibility for building and developing an operations team to meet short term production goals and long-term growth, whilst maintaining product quality, lean processes and continuous improvement.

Skills / Knowledge required: Director of Production

• Ideally an HND / Degree in Automotive Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering / Production Engineering or similar
• Experience of building and scaling teams and facilities from early stage to operational maturity
• Proven leadership in Aerospace, Defence, Automotive, F1, Marine or other highly regulated product manufacturing environment
• Experience developing and overseeing supplier relationships to develop a responsive, resilient UK supply chain with rapid turnaround
• Strong organisation, leadership, people management and project management capability
• Self-starting, enthusiastic, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability
• Knowledge of a broad range of manufacturing systems, data lead problem solving and production processes would be useful (e.g. Additive manufacturing, digital twins, Kaizen / Continuous Improvement, Lean Manufacturing, Timing studies, APQP, PPAP, 8D, 5S, PFMEA etc)

This is a key position for the business and they are looking for a production leader who blends technical depth with entrepreneurial drive. The acceleration and growth will be rapid; hence, they will be keen to hire a manufacturing professional that will embrace and endure the transition and cultural changes associated with such a positive change.

Location:

Commutable from Oxford, Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Reading, Andover. The company will also support relocation.

The successful candidate must be eligible for UK government security clearance to SC level.

The role also requires occasional travel to other sites outside of the UK.