Senior Site Operations Leader - Advanced Materials

Cranleigh STEM; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car or car allowance

Private medical insurance

Company pension with matching up to 20

25 days' holiday + bank holidays

Flexi-time scheme

Job summary

Cranleigh STEM, a leader in advanced materials manufacturing, invites a Head of Operations to join its Cambridge site. You will oversee Manufacturing, Quality Assurance, and CI teams, setting the standard for safety, quality and efficiency while driving growth and capital projects.

You will lead multi-disciplinary teams, shape CI strategies, and partner with HR for capability and succession. A high-visibility role with a clear path to Plant Manager, based in the UK Cambridge site.

Qualifications

• A degree in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry (essential).
• Significant senior manufacturing management experience in chemical manufacturing, aerospace or automotive. Candidates from food manufacturing will also be considered.
• A track record of leading integrated teams across production, quality and continuous improvement.
• Proven delivery of measurable gains in safety, quality, productivity and cost.
• Hands-on experience with Lean, Six Sigma and CI programmes.

Responsibilities

• Lead all manufacturing operations to deliver safe, efficient and compliant production against safety, quality, cost and delivery targets.
• Drive improvements in productivity, throughput, yield, OEE and capacity utilisation.
• Own production planning, resource allocation and workforce utilisation.
• Work with Technology, Sales, Planning and Supply Chain leaders to align priorities and support business growth.
• Support capital investment, automation and facility upgrade projects.
• Provide strategic leadership for Quality, embedding a culture of ownership and customer focus.
• Maintain and continuously improve the site's Quality Management System.
• Lead investigations into non-conformances, customer complaints and process deviations.
• Lead internal, customer, certification and regulatory audits.
• Own the site's Continuous Improvement strategy and champion Lean, Six Sigma and Value Stream Mapping.
• Set and track performance metrics that drive accountability and lasting improvement.
• Provide visible, motivating leadership across all operational teams.
• Build training and competency frameworks, career pathways and succession plans.
• Partner with HR on workforce planning and long-term capability.
• Champion a culture where safety comes first and lead incident investigations.
• Manage the operational budget with strong cost control and business cases for capital investment.

Skills

Chemical Engineering

Chemistry

Lean Six Sigma

Operations leadership

Budget management

Data analytics

Leadership

Education

Degree in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry

Tools

QMS

Laboratory QC

Job description

Cranleigh STEM, a leader in advanced materials manufacturing, invites a Head of Operations to join its Cambridge site. You will oversee Manufacturing, Quality Assurance, and CI teams, setting the standard for safety, quality and efficiency while driving growth and capital projects.

You will lead multi-disciplinary teams, shape CI strategies, and partner with HR for capability and succession. A high-visibility role with a clear path to Plant Manager, based in the UK Cambridge site.