Head of Operations

• Location LAURELS FARM, Crewe Rd,Hatherton, Nantwich, CW5 7PE
  ,United Kingdom
• Employee Type Permanent - Full Time
• Manage Others Yes

Description

At Heler Foods, our people are part of our extended Heler Family — the driving force behind everything we do. From crafting award-winning cheeses to delivering service that sets new standards, we work together to shape the future of food.

CHEESE MAKERS. FUTURE SHAPERS. CHANGEMAKERS.

Rooted in tradition and growing into the future, we’re bold, ambitious and proud of where we’re going next.
Every colleague has a voice here — and every step you take helps move us forward.

We’re looking for an experienced and commercially minded Head of Operations to lead our site operations and play a pivotal role in driving safety, quality, service, people and cost performance.

This is a key senior leadership position, with responsibility for the end-to-end conversion of milk and value-added products across our site, including cheese, cream, water and WPC, while ensuring all waste streams are managed effectively.

You’ll lead through our operational and functional teams, creating a culture of high performance, continuous improvement and accountability — always with safety, food quality and customer service at the heart of what we do.

In this role, you will:

Lead the day-to-day operational performance of the site, ensuring milk is converted into value-added products at the lowest sustainable cost

Take ownership of operational Health & Safety, food safety, quality and environmental standards
, ensuring all legislative and company requirements are met

Champion a strong culture of GMP, hygiene, CIP and food safety across the operation

Deliver annual volume requirements OTIF
, working closely with Planning and the Head of Supply to effectively manage seasonality, inbound milk and outbound products

Lead operational performance against agreed budgets, KPIs and business objectives, driving improvements in cost per tonne/litre

Establish and maintain strong operational disciplines, including effective meeting structures, KPI reviews, downtime management, complaint reduction and performance routines

Use data and insight to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and deliver year-on-year and budget improvements

Drive improvements across energy consumption, waste streams and tankering costs

Develop and embed a culture of continuous improvement across plant, people, process and product

Ensure the operation is appropriately resourced, with multi-skilled teams, effective training plans and robust succession planning at every management level

Work collaboratively with Engineering and Projects to identify, scope and deliver tactical and strategic CAPEX projects, ensuring agreed ROI is achieved and benefits are embedded

Build strong relationships across Site Leadership, Directors, Commercial, Supply, Engineering, Technical and other key functions

Provide clear operational performance updates, insights and recommendations to senior leadership and the Board

Support customer visits and represent Heler Foods professionally with customers and external stakeholders

Take ownership of operational challenges, driving timely solutions and ensuring agreed actions are delivered

Lead by example, creating a high-performing culture where people take ownership, challenge standards and continuously look for ways to improve

You’ll be joining a team where
operational excellence, collaboration and continuous improvement go hand in hand.

You’re an experienced operational leader with a strong track record in chilled food manufacturing
, ideally within dairy or process manufacturing.

You understand what it takes to run a safe, efficient and high-performing manufacturing operation —…