General Manager

Location: Midlands
Package: £100,000 - £120,000 bonus and benefits
Reporting to: Managing Director
Confidential Appointment

Our client is an established manufacturer of highly engineered, safety-critical components for global aerospace, defence and industrial customers.

Part of a substantial group, the business combines precision manufacturing, specialist processing and rigorous quality control within a highly regulated environment.

A commercially and financially accomplished General Manager is now required to lead the business, improve performance and create a more accountable culture.

This is a full business leadership appointment, not simply an operational position.

The General Manager will hold responsibility for the P&L and lead Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Commercial, HR and HSE.

The successful candidate must understand how operational decisions affect revenue, margin, EBITDA, cash and customer performance. They will establish stronger business controls, improve execution and provide accurate reporting to divisional and group leadership.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Owning the P&L, budget, forecast, cash flow and working-capital performance.
• Improving revenue, gross margin, EBITDA and return on capital.
• Understanding profitability by customer, product and programme.
• Leading commercial negotiations, pricing reviews and customer relationships.
• Delivering improvements in safety, quality, OTIF, productivity, OEE, inventory, scrap and cost.
• Strengthening planning, manufacturing flow, supply-chain resilience and asset utilisation.
• Developing and executing the annual operating plan and longer-term business strategy.
• Building an effective leadership team with clear ownership and accountability.
• Creating an engaged, commercially aware and performance-led culture.
• Leading customer escalations and operational recovery programmes.

The General Manager will take personal ownership of monthly business reporting and Board packs.

Reporting will cover:

• Revenue, order intake, margin and EBITDA
• Budget and forecast performance
• Cash, working capital and inventory
• OTIF, backlog and schedule adherence
• Productivity, labour efficiency and OEE
• Scrap, rework and cost of poor quality
• Customer, supply-chain and programme risks
• HSE, people and capital-investment performance

They must be capable of moving beyond reporting numbers—explaining variances, identifying the underlying causes and ensuring corrective actions have clear owners and timescales.

We are seeking an experienced General Manager, Managing Director, Business Unit Director or commercially minded Operations Director from a technically complex manufacturing environment.

Candidates must demonstrate:

• Full P&L and budget responsibility.
• Experience leading a high-performance precision engineering business specialising in complex machining and advanced metal components for the global aerospace market.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen.
• Proven experience preparing and presenting Board packs.
• Ownership of management accounts, forecasts and KPI reporting.
• A measurable record of improving EBITDA, margin, cash and operational performance.
• Senior customer, pricing and contract-management experience.
• Leadership across manufacturing and supporting business functions.
• Successful delivery of operational and cultural change.
• The credibility to operate within an international group structure.

Experience within aerospace, defence, industrial gas turbines, precision engineering or advanced materials would be particularly relevant. Knowledge of AS9100, Nadcap, specialist machining, heat treatment or similarly controlled processes would be advantageous.

The successful individual will combine commercial judgement and financial rigour with visible operational leadership. They will be confident challenging performance, holding people accountable and creating a culture focused on safety, quality, delivery, cost and profitable growth.

This appointment is being managed on a strictly confidential basis. Further information will be provided to suitably qualified candidates following an initial discussion.