Operations Manager
Location: Kettering, Northamptonshire
Salary: Up to £50,000 per annum (DOE)
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Benefits
25–30 days annual leave (service related)
Life assurance
Group personal pension
Income protection
Free on-site parking
Flexible working hours
Potential for international travel
The Company
Our client is a long-established and highly respected UK-based engineering and manufacturing business with over 100 years of heritage. Originally founded to set technical standards within a specialist manufacturing sector, the organisation has evolved into a global provider of high-quality testing equipment and technical solutions.
Operating from a modern manufacturing facility in Northamptonshire, the business designs, manufactures and exports precision physical testing machinery to leading brands worldwide, supporting quality and performance standards across multiple industries.
The Role
The Operations Manager will take full responsibility for the end-to-end coordination of production, service, logistics and operational delivery. The focus of the role is to ensure customer commitments are achieved on time, to the required quality standards and within agreed margin expectations.
This is a hands-on leadership role requiring a strong engineering background, proven production management experience and sound commercial awareness. The successful candidate will act as the key link between engineering, production, sales and customers, ensuring that sold projects are delivered profitably, efficiently and reliably.
The role also includes a customer-facing element and will contribute operational and technical insight into business development and strategic marketing activities.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Delivery & Planning
Own and continuously improve end-to-end delivery performance from order acceptance through to shipment, installation, commissioning and service
Lead integrated planning across sales, engineering, production, service and procurement to ensure clear visibility of priorities, capacity and risk
Act as escalation point for delivery issues, ensuring early communication and effective mitigation
Production & Service Oversight
Lead and support team leaders across:
Mechanical production and assembly
Electrical build, calibration and commissioning
Global service and technical support
Logistics and order fulfilment
Ensure all production, calibration and service activities follow agreed processes and quality standards
Maintain clear logging and escalation processes for design, supplier or manufacturing defects
Commercial & Financial Performance
Deliver financial objectives through effective operational decision-making
Reduce avoidable cost leakage through improved planning, sourcing feedback and make-versus-buy decisions
Collaborate closely with Sales, Engineering and Procurement to ensure commercially robust project delivery
Report on operational financial performance against budget
Customer & Market Engagement
Act as senior operational contact for key customers, reinforcing confidence in delivery and service performance
Support the development of service offerings, training, upgrades and aftermarket opportunities
Provide operational and technical input into marketing materials and product positioning
Leadership & Team Development
Lead, coach and develop team leaders to improve planning discipline, accountability and performance
Promote a commercially aware and customer-focused culture across production and service teams
Support skills development, training documentation and succession planning
Continuous Improvement
Improve operational consistency while maintaining a pragmatic, non-bureaucratic approach
Ensure effective feedback loops between production, service and engineering teams
Drive ongoing operational efficiency and process improvements
About You
Essential
Engineering background (mechanical and/or electrical)
Proven experience in production or operations management within a manufacturing environment
Experience leading technical or production teams
Strong planning, coordination and problem-solving skills
Commercial awareness with understanding of margin and cost control
Confident communicator, comfortable engaging with both internal teams and customers
Experience working within a low-volume, high-value manufacturing environment
Desirable
Experience within test equipment, machinery or capital equipment manufacturing
Exposure to commissioning, calibration or field service operations
Customer-facing or account support experience
Involvement in product development or business development activities
Knowledge of CE/UKCA or regulated machinery environments
Experience managing subcontract manufacturing