Head of Operations

Elevation Recruitment Group is supporting the recruitment of a Head of Operations for a highly respected business operating within a heavy industry and building products manufacturing environment.

We are looking for a commercially focused Head of Operations to lead production and operational activity within a complex, high performing manufacturing site.

This Head of Operations role offers the opportunity to shape performance, culture and capability across a technically demanding process and building products operation.

This is a senior leadership position where you will work closely with the wider operations team to drive both day to day delivery and longer term performance improvement.

You will join a manufacturing business producing building products within a process driven heavy industry style operation.

The site requires strong leadership to balance safety, quality, productivity, environmental compliance and cost performance.

The culture is focused on accountability, people development and continuous improvement. This is a visible leadership role that requires engagement across operational teams.

As Head of Operations you will lead approximately 80 employees across day and shift based operations.

Key responsibilities include

• Provide leadership, development and direction to production and operations teams
• Drive operational excellence with a strong focus on safety, quality, productivity and cost efficiency
• Support change initiatives and the development of a high performance culture
• Work closely with engineering and maintenance teams to improve plant reliability
• Use data, KPIs and structured problem solving to identify improvement opportunities
• Support production planning and resource management within a continuous process manufacturing environment
• Ensure regulatory, safety and environmental standards are maintained

This Head of Operations role is both strategic and operational. You will need to understand what is happening on the shop floor while also driving long term performance improvement.

To be successful in this Head of Operations position you will need experience in heavy process, manufacturing or building products environments.

Must have experience

• Proven senior operational leadership experience within heavy manufacturing, process-based or complex production environments
• Background in engineering, production or technical operations before moving into leadership
• Experience managing multi disciplinary teams in manufacturing or process operations
• Strong understanding of health, safety and environmental compliance
• Evidence of leading operational or cultural change
• Demonstrable experience leading large operational teams within heavy industry, advanced manufacturing or complex production settings
• Commercial awareness and the ability to influence performance through others

You will be a practical, resilient leader who can motivate teams, simplify complexity and stay focused on safety and performance in a demanding manufacturing environment.