Opta Search
Plant Director
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THE OPPORTUNITY
Opta Search has partnered exclusively with a major international manufacturing business to appoint a Plant Director at one of its larger UK production sites in the North West of England.
The site is a multi-shift operation of more than 150 people, running 24 hours a day, supplying blue-chip customers. It is one of the group's more significant UK plants and carries genuine strategic weight within the wider European business.
The client's identity, site location and product detail are released to shortlisted candidates under NDA.
PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
To take full P&L and operational accountability for the site, delivering safety, quality, service and cost performance today, while building the leadership depth, succession pipeline and culture the site needs for its next phase of growth.
This is a hands-on general management appointment. You will bring a strong operational mindset paired with solid commercial and financial acumen, and be comfortable leading an established, capable senior team through change.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Site leadership and P&L: own full operational and financial performance, including budgeting, cost control, capital planning and margin improvement.
- Safety and compliance: lead EHS performance and maintain the quality and regulatory standards expected by blue-chip customers.
- Manufacturing performance: drive OEE, waste, yield and on-time delivery across a 24/6 operation.
- Leadership team management: lead and develop a senior team spanning continuous improvement, EHS, site operations, engineering, quality and supply chain, working alongside HR and commercial colleagues.
- Succession and talent: build a credible succession plan for the site and develop a successor for this role, without compromising performance.
- Culture: establish clear standards of engagement, accountability and communication at every level.
- Continuous improvement: embed CI discipline and structured problem-solving as the site's operating model evolves.
- Group interface: represent the site with the European leadership team and contribute to wider business unit strategy and cross-site initiatives.
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EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- Proven site leadership in a multi-shift manufacturing environment of comparable scale and complexity, whether as a Plant Director, Plant Manager, Plant General Manager or Site Director, or as a strong Operations or Production Manager ready to step up.
- Demonstrable financial acumen: full P&L ownership, budgeting, and cost or margin management.
- Track record of leading and developing an established senior leadership team, and of building bench strength beneath them.
- Evidence of driving cultural and performance change in an operational setting.
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SECTORS WE CAN CONSIDER
We are deliberately open on sector background. Relevant experience includes:
- Packaging: flexibles, paper, cartons, labels, rigid or closures
- Plastics and polymer processing: extrusion, injection or blow moulding, film and conversion
- Print and print-related manufacturing
- Food, drink and wider FMCG manufacturing
- Automotive, industrial and other B2B manufacturing operating to high-volume, regulated standards
What matters most is scale, multi-shift complexity, full P&L ownership and a genuinely developmental leadership style. The client has successfully integrated site leaders from outside its own sector.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
- A strong, credible communicator at every level, from shop floor to European leadership.
- Pace and resilience. This is a business that is actively evolving rather than static.
- A genuinely developmental leader, not simply a performance manager.
- Commitment to being on site five days per week, and to relocating to the area if not already local.
A range of profiles will be considered, from experienced plant directors with a settled track record to strong performers on an upward trajectory. Character, communication and appetite for change carry as much weight as the CV.
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