Operations Director

Solent Group work with a diverse portfolio of Retailers and supply bespoke products within various categories, including Health & Beauty, Household Impulse Snacking and Reusable Bags. We are proud to be best-in-class when it comes to own-label product innovation. Our Categories are fast-paced with ever-evolving trends and a host of ground-breaking products coming to market on a regular basis - we add value to retailers by leading and owning each category.

Here at Solent, we want people to be extraordinary. We pride ourselves on creating and producing amazing products and brands for our Global Customers. You will be joining a company with offices globally across South Africa, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Vietnam, and the UK.

Hybrid (as required)

International & Domestic Required

The Operations Director is a core strategic leader within Solent Group, responsible for delivering the operational, digital, sustainability, and resilience pillars of Solent's multiyear transformation portfolio. This role ensures that Solent's operational engine is worldclass, retailer aligned, innovation ready, and capable of supporting rapid growth across global markets.

The Director will translate Solent's strategic priorities - operational excellence, digital maturity, ESG leadership, enterprise resilience, and innovation acceleration - into executable plans that strengthen performance, reduce risk, and build longterm value.

• Partner with the COO and Executive Board to shape and deliver Solent's Strategic Projects Roadmap, ensuring operational alignment with commercial, product, sourcing, technical, finance, and people strategies
• Drive operational excellence through systems visibility, process discipline, and continuous improvement across all sites and functions
• Lead Solent's digital transformation, embedding AI, automation, and predictive analytics into core operations and decision making
• Embed sustainability and ESG commitments into every operational process, ensuring retailer alignment and measurable environmental impact reduction
• Strengthen enterprise resilience, expanding BCP into a full risk framework covering geopolitical, cyber, supply chain, and regulatory exposures
• Ensure innovation readiness, enabling rapid product launches, scalable NPD operations, and seamless cross functional collaboration
• Build a high performing leadership pipeline, developing future operational leaders and embedding Solent's values across teams
• Provide clear, structured reporting into the COO and Operating Board, ensuring governance, accountability, and strategic alignment

• Design and implement systems that provide realtime visibility of KPIs, risks, and progress against Solent's North Star operational metrics
• Lead continuous improvement programmes across facilities, logistics, supply chain, and group operations
• Ensure operational alignment with retailer expectations, service levels, and strategic partnerships

• Oversee global supply chain performance, S&OP maturity, logistics optimisation, and facilities management
• Deliver resilience through diversified sourcing, capacity planning, and proactive risk mitigation

• Lead adoption of AI, automation, and advanced analytics to enhance forecasting, agility, and decision making
• Partner with IT to modernise Solent's digital core, strengthen cyber resilience, and optimise third party technology partnerships
• Ensure digital readiness for future innovation, retailer integration, and operational scaling

• Embed carbon reduction, ethical sourcing, circular economy principles, and retailer ESG requirements into operations
• Partner with sourcing and technical teams to ensure compliance with global standards and retailer frameworks

• Expand BCP into a comprehensive enterprise risk framework covering geopolitical, cyber, regulatory, and supply chain risks
• Lead scenario planning, stress testing, and resilience programmes across the group

• Partner with product, commercial, and technical teams to ensure operational readiness for new product launches
• Build scalable operational pathways for innovation, ensuring speedtomarket and quality consistency

• Lead operational integration of acquisitions, ensuring cultural alignment, systems harmonisation, and continuity of service
• Develop and…