OPERATIONS MANAGER Location: Surrey (Travel to North UK when required) Package: Circa £65k Bonus Share Options Benefits Sector: Manufacturing We are now seeking an Operations Manager to support our client’s continued growth. This pivotal role will focus on driving operational excellence, streamlining processes, and ensuring the efficient delivery of our products and services to market. The successful candidate will play a key part in maintaining their reputation for flexibility, innovation, and customer satisfaction, while helping to bring new and improved solutions to a global client base. This is a unique opportunity to take a leadership role spanning two established, innovative businesses. As Operations Manager, you will shape the way they deliver their products and services, ensuring quality, efficiency, and scalability. You will be empowered to modernise and optimise operations while being part of a forward-thinking senior leadership team. Overview We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Operations Manager to oversee all production, stores, testing, and calibration operations. As a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Operations Manager will play a pivotal role in driving operational excellence, ensuring efficiency, and maintaining the highest standards of product quality and customer satisfaction. This role is critical in aligning day-to-day operational performance with the companies’ strategic objectives, supporting innovation, and ensuring scalability as both businesses continue to grow. This is not a purely desk-based leadership role, but one where the Operations Manager is expected to be visible, accessible, and actively involved in daily operations. Responsibilities Lead and manage all production, stores, testing, and calibration operations across both businesses. Contribute to the development and execution of company strategy as part of the SLT. Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and operational excellence. Develop KPIs and reporting structures to provide visibility on operational performance to the Managing Director and SLT. Actively participate in production planning and scheduling, ensuring alignment between customer orders and shop floor activity. Oversee resource allocation to optimise output and manage costs. Oversee stores, inventory control, and supply chain processes to reduce waste and secure reliability. Lead testing and calibration processes to ensure compliance with ISO and other standards. Motivate and support operations teams across both companies; including talent development, succession planning, and building resilient teams. Implement lean principles, process improvements, and digital tools to enhance efficiency. Role Focus The Operations Manager's primary first-year objective is to transform the merged operations into a cohesive, high-performing unit. The focus will be on three core pillars: consolidating team structures to build a robust and capable workforce, securing a resilient and dependable supply chain, and systematically implementing lean methodologies to drive measurable efficiency. The ultimate measure of success will be the creation of a transparent, predictable, and scalable operational framework that consistently meets compliance standards, provides the Senior Leadership Team with clear performance insights, and directly enhances customer satisfaction to fuel future growth. Qualifications, Experience & Competencies Proven track record in operations management, within manufacturing or engineering environments. Strong leadership and people management skills, with experience leading multi- disciplinary teams. Experience in production planning, inventory management, and quality control. Hands-on experience with ERP systems is essential. Knowledge of ISO standards, health and safety, and regulatory compliance. Excellent problem solving, decision-making, and analytical skills. Strong commercial awareness with the ability to balance costs, quality, and delivery. Strategic thinker with operational execution capability. Excellent communicator, able to influence at all levels. Results-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset. Strong organisational and time management skills. Adaptability to work across two distinct but complementary businesses. Experience of Odoo is preferred. Executive Recruit is a boutique executive search firm specialising in helping organisations source and attract top-tier leadership talent. With a tailored approach, we partner with businesses to identify high-calibre executives who drive growth and transformation. Our expertise ensures clients find the right blend of experience and acumen to strengthen leadership and board effectiveness.