Head of Operations

Force; Connacht; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Force, a growing engineering and manufacturing group, seeks a Head of Operations to lead its UK and Ireland sites from Sligo, Ireland and St Ives, Cambridgeshire. This senior role reports to the Managing Director and offers a clear path to Operations Director.

You will own the operational strategy across both facilities, build scalable systems, and drive improvements in planning, cost control, quality and safety.

Qualifications

• Proven senior operations or manufacturing leadership experience.
• Experience across two sites, ideally UK and Ireland.
• Experience with KPIs, performance management and operational controls.
• Strong commercial and financial awareness.

Responsibilities

• Set and deliver the operational strategy across both sites.
• Drive consistent standards with heads of Projects, Design, Production and Installation.
• Establish processes and governance for planning, cost tracking, quality control and change management.
• Lead continuous improvement using Lean or Six Sigma where possible.
• Own cost performance and productivity with finance, ensure safety culture and compliance.

Skills

Senior operations leadership

Multi-site experience UK & Ireland

Manufacturing / engineering

Lean Six Sigma

Job description

Head of Operations
Sligo, Ireland / St Ives, Cambridgeshire, UK

A growing engineering and manufacturing group is hiring a Head of Operations to lead its UK and Ireland sites. This is a senior leadership role with a clear path to Operations Director.

The role

You will own the operational strategy across both manufacturing facilities, working alongside the Managing Director and the senior leadership team. Your remit covers projects, design, manufacturing, installation and commissioning, with 9 managers reporting to you and around 55 staff across the two sites.

The focus is on bringing consistency, structure and accountability to how both sites run, and on building the systems that let the business scale.

What you will do

• Set and deliver the operational strategy across both sites
• Work with the heads of Projects, Design, Production and Installation to drive consistent standards
• Put in place strong processes and governance across planning and scheduling, cost tracking, quality control and change management
• Lead continuous improvement work, with Lean or Six Sigma principles a plus
• Own operational cost performance, working with finance on manufacturing costs and labour productivity
• Build a strong safety culture and keep both sites compliant

What we are looking for

• Proven experience in a senior operations or manufacturing leadership role
• A track record across multiple sites, ideally UK and Ireland
• Experience in manufacturing, project-driven engineering businesses, and installation and commissioning
• Experience putting KPIs, performance management systems and operational controls in place
• Strong commercial and financial awareness
• Experience working closely with design and engineering teams is an advantage

You will need presence and the ability to influence at board level, along with a structured, data-led approach and the drive to get things done.

The details

• Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 16:30
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Travel to the other site for one week roughly every 6 weeks