Senior Operations Manager

OsecoElfab; North Shields; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Collaborative work culture

Opportunity for personal and professional growth

Job summary

A manufacturing company based in North Shields is seeking a Senior Operations Manager to lead operational excellence and ensure timely delivery of products. The role includes managing manufacturing teams, driving continuous improvement initiatives, and overseeing quality standards. Candidates should have a strong background in Lean methodologies and prior leadership experience in manufacturing. This position offers a chance to influence business strategy and cultivate an engaging work environment.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience in manufacturing operations.
• Strong background in Lean / Continuous Improvement methodologies.
• Ability to manage complexity and lead change effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily manufacturing operations at the North Shields facility.
• Drive revenue targets through operational excellence.
• Develop teams and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Skills

Manufacturing experience

Supply chain management

Lean / Six Sigma

Communication skills

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

MRP / ERP systems

MS Office

Job description

It's fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they are doing! We're committed to bringing passion and customer focus to the business.

The Senior Operations Manager is accountable for the safe, effective and efficient delivery of OsecoElfab’s products through operational excellence at the North Shields facility. This role provides leadership to the Production, Supply Chain and Facilities teams, ensuring customer demand is converted into revenue on time, with world class quality, competitive cost and optimal lead times. A core expectation of the role is to lead, develop and inspire operations teams, while creating a strong culture of curiosity, continuous improvement and learning, underpinned by Lean principles. Reporting into the VP of Global Operations, this role will work with the Board and cross functional leaders. The Senior Operations Manager translates business strategy into clear operational targets, capability plans and measurable outcomes across Safety, People Engagement, Quality, Delivery and Cost.

In addition to the outlined responsibilities, all employees are expected to consistently uphold and embody our company's core values and behaviours in their daily work, fostering a culture of integrity, collaboration, and excellence.

Key Job Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Lead day to day manufacturing operations at the North Shields facility, including salaried operations leaders, supervisors and approximately 50 direct labour employees within the operations function.
• Own operational performance across Safety, People Engagement, Quality, Delivery, and Cost.
• Ensure customer requirements are clearly translated into operational priorities through cascaded goals, metrics and accountability.
• Be accountable for achieving monthly, half year and full year revenue targets for the North Shields operation.

Continuous Improvement & Lean Excellence

• Embed Lean / Six Sigma thinking into daily operations, decision making and problem solving.
• Develop and sustain a culture of continuous improvement, curiosity and data led learning.
• Lead productivity, efficiency, gross margin and overhead improvement initiatives year on year through CI activity and capital investment.
• Own and continuously improve SIOP, factory planning/loading and quality systems, aligned with the 3 year business plan.

People & Capability

• Develop high performing operations teams and future leaders through clear expectations, coaching and feedback.
• Create a safe, engaging and well organized working environment within the operations function.
• Partner cross functionally to support employee engagement, development and site wide initiatives.

Quality, Governance & Execution

• Lead operational readiness for new product introductions, ensuring smooth integration into production.
• Manage and support Quality and ISO audits relating to operations.
• Ensure facilities, equipment and operational assets are maintained to a high standard.
• Use clear metrics, visual management and reviews to monitor business health and drive corrective action.

This job description provides a comprehensive overview of the main responsibilities expected in this role. However, it is not an all-encompassing list and may be updated in the future to reflect changing role requirements and business needs.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong background in manufacturing, supply chain, quality or manufacturing engineering.
• Proven experience leading operations teams in a manufacturing environment.
• Lean / Six Sigma qualification or strong applied experience is essential (e.g., Green Belt, Black Belt or equivalent).
• Solid understanding of Sales, Inventory, Operational Planning (SIOPs), demand planning, capacity planning, Lean manufacturing, 5S and value stream mapping.
• Track record of delivering measurable improvements in engagement, safety, quality, delivery and cost.
• Confident communicator with the ability to influence across functions and levels.
• Comfortable managing complexity, balancing priorities and leading change.
• Hands on, improvement driven leadership style.
• Working knowledge of MRP / ERP systems and proficiency in MS Office.

Education and Certification Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience gained through progressive responsibility in a manufacturing or operations environment.
• Extensive leadership experience in manufacturing operations, with responsibility for production performance, safety, quality and delivery.
• Proven application of Lean / Continuous Improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen) to deliver measurable operational improvements.
• Strong people leadership capability, with experience building, developing and leading high-performing operational teams.
• Demonstrated track record of driving operational excellence through structured performance management and continuous improvement.

If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us! Not the right fit? Let us know you're interested in a future opportunity by clicking Introduce Yourself in the top-right corner of the page or create an account to set up email alerts as new job postings become available that meet your interest!