Operations manager

Operations Manager

Type: Onsite | Location: GBR – Chesterfield – G031 | Time: Full time

Purpose of Job

The Manufacturing Manager leads the plant manufacturing function, managing their team, and driving it to deliver world‑class results in terms of Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery and Team Morale.

Key Responsibilities

• Meet or exceed the targets set by the Plant Manager, ensuring production requirements and deadlines are achieved with excellent quality and service.
• Create and implement manufacturing improvement plans and new processes, working cross‑functionally with Engineering, Warehouse and CI.
• Coach and develop the team to reach their full potential and improve overall plant results.
• Utilise equipment and resources effectively, optimising labour and production capability.
• Analyse production data, identify losses and root causes, implement fixes, document standards and train teams.
• Lead and coach root‑cause problem‑solving.
• Communicate priorities to the team and escalates issues within ownership.

Key Activities – Safety

• Support the team to deliver safety targets and act as a safety role model.
• Ensure compliance with safety rules, policies and procedures.
• Maintain a clean and tidy work environment.
• Control line pre‑checks and address any issues immediately.
• Conduct safety conversations and share safety information with the team.
• Report and investigate near‑misses within 24h and support root‑cause analysis.
• Record and eliminate safety hazards, ensuring safety actions are completed on time.
• Report significant safety concerns to the Plant Manager and Safety Coordinator.

Key Activities – Quality

• Ensure products meet specifications and legal requirements, making decisions on product quality when QA representatives are absent.
• Investigate QA complaints (internal and customer) and respond promptly.
• Maintain current quality training for the team and ensure proper paperwork completion.
• Execute line clearances and enforce reject procedures; rework rejected products within 90days.
• Implement quality actions to eliminate recurrence and comply with GMP/Hygiene standards.
• Support site management during BRC, BSI etc. audits and internal quality reviews.
• Report quality concerns to the Quality team or Plant Manager.

Key Activities – Service

• Define long‑term run rates based on past performance and improvement plans, feeding data into S&OP.
• Develop a monthly rota with planning to optimise line and people utilisation.
• Ensure lines run to schedule, reviewing planning and line priorities daily and weekly.
• Participate in weekly commitment meetings to align the next three weeks of production.
• Coordinate planned downtime (trials, maintenance, training) with planning.
• Identify gaps in run rates, change‑over times and cleaning times, aligning realistic schedules with planning.

Key Activities – Performance / Costs

• Define and monitor manufacturing KPIs.
• Develop and deliver a manufacturing roadmap (CI, projects, etc.).
• Deliver quality output at or above run‑rate targets, safely.
• Escalate major issues to engineering, CI, QA and safety teams.
• Ensure change‑overs and line clearances occur within targeted time.
• Guarantee adequate material supply, escalating to Warehouse when needed.
• Accurately book materials and finished products.
• Analyse line downtime, root causes, actions and proposed fixes.
• Record line defects to drive continuous improvement and prevent breakdowns.
• Explain gaps vs targets in all KPIs and implement corrective actions.
• Track waste accurately and address any gaps vs target.
• Identify profit‑margin opportunities, develop business cases, and implement improvement projects via CI processes.
• Ensure cleaning, inspection, lubrication and TPM tasks are performed as scheduled.
• Run continuous improvement projects on waste, efficiencies, bottleneck removal to meet future targets.
• Promote manufacturing standards creation when new knowledge is gained.

Key Activities – Organisation

• Lead the team in continuous improvement initiatives.
• Prepare morning meetings with production and engineering: analyse every loss, stop and speed reduction as problem – root cause – action, solved with SPS tools.
• Deliver manufacturing results and action plans in cross‑functional morning meetings.
• Analyse line data (efficiency, stops, quality, safety).
• Manage vacation and sickness for Shift Leaders.
• Address long‑term crewing requirements.
• Conduct disciplinaries when required.
• Collaborate with Process Engineers to produce technical action plans and conduct projects.

Key Activities – Team Development

• Understand and communicate the plant vision to the team.
• Communicate any production‑impacting announcements.
• Set objectives for Shift Leaders and support objective setting for team leaders and equipment owners.
• Develop training plans and skill matrices.
• Ensure the team is trained to the correct skill levels and to all safety, quality and operational standards.
• Manage team performance and effectiveness.
• Conduct monthly 1:2:1 meetings with Shift Leaders.
• Assist in yearly performance reviews of Team Leaders.

Individual Success Measurables

• Manufacturing efficiencies, schedule adherence, cost, quality, safety and development.
• Targets aligned with the Plant Manager.

Qualifications and Experience

• Production Manager experience with proven excellent results.
• Minimum five years in TPM/technical manufacturing environment.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or higher.
• Desirable: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical or Automation engineering.

Skills and Knowledge

• Leadership and ownership, drive for results, sense of urgency, can‑do attitude, positive attitude.
• Strong integrity, trust, passion for winning.
• Excellent people‑management skills, coaching, mentoring, developing managers and staff.
• Planning, team organisation and direction setting.
• Initiative and action‑oriented mindset.
• Self‑motivation and ability to motivate others.
• Pro‑active thinker capable of problem‑solving in operations.
• Advanced problem‑solving (8‑D, UPS, A3), troubleshooting, basic FI tools – fishbone, why‑why, WPA.
• Strong mechanical and electrical knowledge matching Process Engineers.
• Lean‑manufacturing tools expertise and coaching.
• Approachable and respected by team members, able to give and receive feedback.
• High work standards, attention to detail.
• Willingness to confront substandard work/behaviour/appearance.
• Managing and measuring teamwork.
• Building effective teams.
• Understanding of production processes.
• Business acumen, good planning, project management skills.
• KPI, target and objective setting.
• Experience creating, managing and utilising a budget.
• Knowledge of QA standards.
• Knowledge of safety requirements and standards.
• Understanding of CI and TPM.
• Basic computer skills: Excel, Oracle, MyShopFloor, Outlook.