Oryx Executive Search
Head of Manufacturing
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About the Role
Our client is a world leader in the manufacture of advanced technology systems used in a variety of high growth emerging sectors.
With this growth expected to continue, the business is projecting to triple their revenues in the next 5 years so one of the key challenges is scalability within the Operations function. ie. developing people, structure and processes to ensure the facility is capable of delivering the anticipated growth.
Having recently built a new state of the art manufacturing facility located just outside of Bristol, the company is looking to recruit a new Head of Manufacturing who will lead manufacturing, assembly, test and warehousing. They will be fully accountable for leading end-to-end production operations, driving performance across Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery and People (SQCDP) metrics, whilst building leadership capability, improving production flow and embedding a culture of continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
As part of the Operations leadership team, the Head of Manufacturing will also play a key role in strategy deployment, cross-functional alignment and scaling manufacturing capability to support future growth. As a senior manager, they will participate in projects across the business / Group and act as a delegate for the Operations Director, as required.
Further responsibilities will include:
- Driving Lean manufacturing and CI initiatives to improve flow, efficiency and scalability.
- Supporting the development of existing and implementation of new business systems to enable scalability.
- Reducing waste across materials, processes and systems, supporting high-volume manufacturing readiness.
- Using SQCDP metrics and data insights to prioritise and deliver improvement initiatives.
- Delivering margin improvement through control of labour, rework, scrap, overtime and WIP.
- Improving product quality through robust root cause analysis and corrective actions.
- Standardising processes and systems to drive consistency and efficiency.
- Partnering with Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Logistics, Planning, Quality, Supply Chain and Commercial teams.
- Supporting New Product Introduction (NPI), ensuring manufacturability and production readiness.
- Leading pre-production builds and ensure smooth transition into full-scale production.
- Building, coaching and developing high-performing teams, including line managers and technical specialists.
- Identifying capability gaps and driving succession planning, hiring and skills development.
- Fostering a culture of accountability, engagement and continuous improvement.
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Required Experience
As this is a new state of the art manufacturing facility operating within a complex, low volume high tech market, the client is looking for the following experience in the new Head of Manufacturing:
- Degree in engineering, manufacturing or a related discipline plus Lean / Six Sigma training.
- An experienced and credible manufacturing leader with a track record of delivering results in complex, high-technology environments.
- Will have ideally worked with a high mix of products (ie. with a high volume of components) in a low to medium volume, high value equipment environment, involving assembly and test.
- Proven experience leading production or operations teams at scale.
- Strong background in Lean manufacturing, problem solving and continuous improvement.
- Skilled in developing leaders and building high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams.
- Data-driven, with experience using ERP, MES (Manufacturing Execution System) and production systems to inform decisions.
- Agile to be able to cope with a dynamic environment with dynamic customers.
- A genuine passion and interest for driving Operations.
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About the Company
My client is on an exciting growth journey and the candidate will be joining a company with the support, investment and infrastructure of a strong, established PLC, but with the culture of an innovative and ambitious company who genuinely values its people. This Head of Manufacturing role will suit an experienced, collaborative production/operations leader who knows what operational excellence looks like within a modern manufacturing facility. This is a genuine opportunity for someone to make a difference and leave a legacy as they build a production facility capable of tripling in size. In return, there will be a strong chance to progress within the business as it grows as well within the wider international group.
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