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About THX
THX is a founder-led specialist plant and equipment hire business serving the fit-out sector, built on a simple promise: no ordinary hire experience. The business has grown revenue strongly year on year, operates a modern fleet with 95% of assets under five years old, and employs around 190 people. THX has a clear and ambitious growth plan across the next few years. This role exists to lead operations through that journey.
The Role
- Reports To: Managing Director
- Location: Bedford, on site (multi-site presence as THX grows)
- Team: Warehouse, Workshop, Transport and Health & Safety; c.140 operational staff via departmental managers
- Seat: Senior Leadership Team member
Role Purpose
To lead THX operations through a significant growth journey while materially improving operational efficiency, safety and customer experience. The Operations Director owns the operational P&L levers (operational wages, haulage, workshop cost, fleet availability) and is directly accountable for improving operational wage efficiency as the business scales. The role is a genuine player-coach position: strategic at the SLT table, hands-on in the yard, and a developer of the management team beneath it.
Key Accountabilities
Operational efficiency and EBITDA
- Own the operational cost base and drive a material reduction in operations wages as a percentage of revenue, without degrading service.
- Embed and improve the operational efficiency scorecard: trips per driver, inspections per head, NCRs (process errors), and on-time in-full delivery, reported monthly into the board pack.
- Design an operating model that grows revenue faster than operational headcount, so volume scales through process, planning and technology rather than bodies.
- Work with the Commercial Director to strengthen cross-hire partner performance and commercial outcomes.
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Leadership and capability building
- Partner with the warehouse, workshop and transport managers to shape how the operation scales.
- Set clear KPIs and hold weekly operational cadence, feeding accurate data into the monthly board pack.
- Champion the HIRE values (Humility, Innovation, Refreshing, Energetic) and protect the THX customer experience as the business scales.
Fleet and asset performance
- Maximise return on the hire fleet: availability, utilisation, first-time fix, servicing schedules and asset lifecycle decisions in partnership with Finance and Procurement.
- Unlock the currently unutilised on-hire value potential identified in the fleet through better availability and turnaround.
Safety, compliance and infrastructure
- Own health and safety across all operational areas, ensuring compliance with UK regulation, FORS/transport requirements and industry best practice.
- Play a leading role in premises and depot decisions, ensuring operational needs shape the property strategy.
Process and continuity
- Document operational processes and systems so the business runs by method, not memory, and can withstand external scrutiny.
- Build a demonstrable multi-year track record of improving efficiency metrics across the operation.
- Partner with the Digital Transformation Director to automate operational workflows, with a bias to more volume through fewer touches.
Essential
- Proven senior operations leadership (Operations Director, Head of Operations or equivalent) in equipment hire, rental, plant, tool hire or closely related logistics-intensive businesses.
- Has operated at or scaled a business through a significant revenue growth phase, with demonstrable P&L accountability for operational cost lines.
- Track record of measurably improving operational efficiency: labour productivity, transport cost per drop, workshop throughput or equivalent.
- A genuine player-coach: credible at board level and equally credible on the depot floor, with evidence of developing inexperienced managers into strong ones.
- Strong data literacy: comfortable owning KPIs, building scorecards and presenting numbers confidently in a board environment.
- Deep understanding of warehouse, workshop and transport operations, including UK transport compliance and health and safety leadership.
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Desirable
- Experience in a private equity backed, owner-managed or high-growth environment, including exposure to operational due diligence.
- Experience of multi-depot expansion or greenfield site openings.
- Lean, continuous improvement or operational excellence methodology applied in a hire or distribution context.
- Experience implementing operational technology (telematics, routing, workshop management, ERP).
The Opportunity and Package
THX is a founder-led, fast-growing specialist hire business with a clear and ambitious growth plan across the next few years. This role offers a rare combination of SLT influence, genuine operational ownership and the chance to build the operations function that underpins the next phase of growth. The package comprises a competitive six-figure base salary, car allowance, performance bonus linked to EBITDA and operational efficiency, pension and benefits. For the right candidate there is scope to discuss long-term incentive participation aligned to the company's value creation plan, subject to performance and board approval.
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