Engineering Operations Manager

Position

Operations Manager

Direct reports

Site Managers across eight operational sites, plus central operations support functions

Location

Northampton

with frequent travel across all UK sites

Package

DOE

Contract

Permanent, full time

The company is one of the UK's leading plastics recyclers, operating eight sites that recycle PET, HDPE, LDPE and PP. The business turns post-consumer and post-industrial waste into high-value recycled materials and finished products, including:

• Food-grade rPET and food-grade rHDPE for packaging applications
• Washed rPET flake supplied to the thermoforming industry
• LDPE pellets and other recycled polymers
• Film and bags manufactured on in-house blown film lines

The business serves demanding customers, including major food, dairy and packaging brands, where quality, consistency and food-contact compliance are critical. The company is growing, with new capacity being commissioned and significant new contract opportunities in food-grade materials.

Purpose of the Role

This is a newly defined, hands-on operational leadership role. The Operations Manager will take responsibility for manufacturing performance across all eight sites and drive a step change in output, yield, product consistency and process discipline. We need someone who leads from the shop floor, not from behind a desk: visible on site, close to the process, and able to fix problems quickly while building the systems and people that stop them recurring.

The Operations Manager will work closely with the Commercial Director to make sure operations can reliably deliver the volumes, specifications and quality that customers require.

Key Responsibilities Production performance

• Own safety, output, yield, uptime, quality and cost across all sites
• Establish clear KPIs (e.g. OEE, throughput, yield, downtime, energy per tonne, cost per tonne) with daily and weekly performance reviews at every site
• Lead turnaround of underperforming plants, including wash lines, extrusion, and blown film operations
• Drive consistent, in-spec product, particularly for food-grade rPET and rHDPE, where customer approval depends on repeatable quality

Process improvement

• Introduce and embed standard operating procedures, root cause analysis and continuous improvement (Lean / Six Sigma or equivalent)
• Improve process control across sorting, washing, decontamination, extrusion and film blowing
• Work with Engineering Director to raise maintenance standards, move from reactive to planned and preventive maintenance, and reduce unplanned downtime
• Support commissioning and ramp-up of new lines and sites to agreed timelines and performance targets

People and leadership

• Lead, develop and hold accountable site managers, engineering and production teams
• Set clear objectives and goals for every key operational role; make sure existing talent, including engineering resource, is properly directed and managed
• Build a strong safety culture and ensure full compliance with health and safety legislation
• Identify capability gaps and put in place training, succession and recruitment plans

Compliance and quality

• Ensure effective fire prevention, emergency planning and combustible material management across recycling and storage operations
• Ensure compliance with food-contact regulations, customer requirements and certifications (e.g. BRCGS Packaging, ISO 9001/14001/45001, EFSA/FSA food-contact approvals)
• Support customer audits, migration testing and product approval processes
• Maintain environmental permits and waste regulatory compliance across all sites

Planning and cost

• Work with the commercial team on sales and operations planning, feedstock sourcing and production scheduling
• Manage operational budgets and capital expenditure, and build business cases for investment
• Drive down conversion costs, including energy, water, labour and consumables

Priorities for the First 12 Months

Priority 1:
Visit and assess every site within the first 60 days; deliver a clear operational improvement plan with measurable targets

Priority 2:
Stabilise and improve performance at all production facilities

Priority 3:
Achieve consistent quality across all production facilities

Priority 4:
Put a common KPI framework, reporting rhythm and SOP standard in place across the group

Candidate Profile Essential

• Senior operations leadership experience (Operations Director, Head of Operations or senior multi-site General Manager) in plastics recycling, polymer processing, extrusion or a similar continuous process industry
• Proven track record of turning around…