Head of Operations
Location: On site at Birdham, near Chichester, with some travel if required to Bristows at our Crediton site in Devon
Montezuma’s Chocolates is a proudly British chocolate brand known for bold flavours, ethical sourcing, and doing things differently. From exciting product innovation, we combine creativity with commercial discipline to deliver chocolate, that creates our loyal following.
As we enter an exciting new phase of growth across D2C, brand collaborations and retail, we are looking for a Head of Operations to lead and evolve our operational capability, ensuring we scale up and deliver excellence without compromising on quality or values.
The Role
As Head of Operations, you will have end‑to‑end responsibility for Montezuma’s operational performance. You will lead manufacturing, supply chain, planning, logistics, and operational excellence, ensuring our products are delivered efficiently, safely, and to the highest standards.
This is a senior leadership role, reporting to the Board, and is central to the future of the business, combining commercial strategic thinking with hands‑on operational, people focussed leadership. You will work with the other Senior leaders, challenging and supporting them to deliver the overall plan.
Key responsibilities:
* Act as the main point of contact and lead for the Birdham site
* Oversee the full manufacturing operation including Planning, Production, Technical, Packing, Logistics and Engineering at the Birdham site
* Support with any Operational needs at our Bristows site if and when required
* Own the operational strategy, KPI’s and performance reporting
* Drive efficiency, continuous improvement and cost optimisation without compromising quality
* Ensure compliance with all food safety, quality and regulatory standards (BRC, HACCP, Soil Association etc)
* Collaborate closely with Commercial, Retail, Finance, NPD and Marketing to support growth
* Lead, inspire and develop the Operational teams
* Support capacity planning, forecasting and long term scalability initiatives
* Management of engineering, maintenance, and contractors
* Ensure Health & Safety and Quality compliance and standards are met at all times
* Oversee the achievement of required audits and certification
About You
* Brand-first thinker. You care deeply about how our products look, feel, and land and how they are produced
* You instinctively understand what works (and what doesn’t)
* Commercially aware. You know what drives growth and how to operationally execute this
* Creative and proactive. You bring ideas and solutions, not just being reactive
* Hands-on. Happy to both think big and get stuck in
* Strong communicator with a collaborative mindset
* A genuine team player – you enjoy working as a team and being around people
* Leadership qualities that are aligned to Montezuma’s
* Experience of operations management within a food manufacturing environment with technical understanding
* Experience of working within a BRC manufacturing environment would be advantageous
Why Join Montezuma’s?
* Be part of an ambitious growth journey
* Work in a creative, fast-moving, and entrepreneurial environment
* Have real ownership and impact from day one