Head of Operational Excellence

Our client is an award winning specialty chemicals business that designs and manufactures a range of resins and specialist polymers. The company serves a broad range of sectors, including food packaging, construction, renewables, pharmaceuticals and aerospace. A key technology is coatings.

The Head of Operational Excellence supports the Operations Director in delivering world‑class manufacturing performance through continual improvement in safety, quality, productivity, plant reliability and operational efficiency. The role provides highly visible technical leadership across manufacturing, ensuring production consistently achieves the highest standards of quality, yield, throughput and customer service. The role needs an exceptional chemical or process engineer with extensive manufacturing experience, acting as a hands‑on leader, spending significant time on the production floor and responding personally to major operational issues, including outside normal working hours where necessary.

• Degree in Chemical, Process or Mechanical Engineering
• Ideally (but not essential) a chartered Engineer
• 10+ years in chemical/process manufacturing
• 5+ years in senior manufacturing leadership
• Exceptional technical problem‑solving skills
• Lean Manufacturing / Six Sigma (ideally Black Belt)