Blair West
Group Head of Operations
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Blair West are supporting National Floor Coverings, to find a Group Head of Operations
This is a senior leadership position within a £22m specialist manufacturing business, responsible for operational performance across two UK manufacturing sites. Reporting directly to the CEO and sitting on the Executive Leadership Team and Operating Board, the role will lead the next phase of operational excellence, growth and continuous improvement across the Group.
The opportunity:
- Develop and deliver the Group's operational strategy across two manufacturing sites, aligning operational capability with ambitious commercial and growth objectives.
- Lead the Site Operations Managers, QHSE Manager and Technical Manager, creating a consistent, accountable and high-performing operational leadership team.
- Drive improvements across OEE, productivity, throughput, manufacturing costs and overall operational efficiency.
- Establish a culture of Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement, identifying and delivering initiatives across productivity, quality, waste reduction, inventory and process efficiency.
- Take overall responsibility for manufacturing capacity, resource planning and operational performance, ensuring the business can meet customer demand as it grows.
- Partner closely with the CEO, Board and wider leadership team to identify opportunities to improve profitability, margins and return on investment.
- Ensure consistently high standards across quality, health, safety and environmental performance, embedding a proactive approach to compliance and risk management.
- Work alongside the Technical Manager to strengthen manufacturing processes, product quality, technical capability and innovation.
- Improve customer-facing operational performance, with particular focus on OTIF, product quality, responsiveness and customer satisfaction.
- Develop succession plans and strengthen the capability of the wider operations function, creating a culture of accountability, engagement and continuous improvement.
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You’ll be the ideal candidate for this position if you have:
- Significant senior-level manufacturing operations experience, ideally gained within a complex, high-volume production environment.
- A proven track record of leading multi-site manufacturing operations, with responsibility for both operational performance and people leadership.
- Strong practical experience of Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement, with evidence of delivering measurable improvements in productivity, cost, quality or throughput.
- Experience leading shift-based manufacturing operations and managing the competing demands of capacity, labour, production planning and customer service.
- A commercially astute approach, with a strong understanding of manufacturing costs, margins, budgets, capital investment and operational profitability.
- Experience operating at Executive Leadership Team or Board level, with the credibility to influence strategic decision-making and translate strategy into operational delivery.
- Strong people leader experience and has successfully developed operational management teams and created cultures centred around accountability and high performance.
- A robust understanding of QHSE requirements within a manufacturing environment, with experience of embedding strong safety and compliance standards.
- The ability to use operational data and KPIs to identify problems, prioritise improvement activity and drive sustainable performance.
- Experience within flooring, textiles, surfaces, polymers, building products or a related manufacturing environment would be advantageous, as would Lean/Six Sigma qualifications.
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Our commitment
Blair West is an equal-opportunity employer. We embrace diversity and inclusion at every stage of the recruitment process. We are committed to fairness, equality, and ongoing diversity training for our team to give our candidates and clients a feeling of belonging during their experience with us. If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during their experience with us, please speak to their consultant.
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