Operations Director

Operations Director | County Durham | FMCG Distribution | C.£95k+

Location: County Durham, with regular travel to the Southern operation
Salary: £85,000 - £95,000 + £5,000 car allowance + 10-15% uncapped bonus

The Opportunity

We're working with a growing UK business that is entering an exciting period of expansion and operational change.

As Operations Director, you'll take overall responsibility for the operational performance of the business across multiple locations and third-party partners, while helping shape the infrastructure, people and processes required to support significant future growth.

This is not a role for someone looking to simply inherit a well-established operation and maintain the status quo.

You'll be joining at a point where there is a genuine opportunity to build, improve and professionalise the operating model, with significant scope to influence how the business operates over the next few years.

Reporting directly to the Board, you'll have genuine ownership of the operation, its cost base, service performance, management structure and operational strategy.

What you'll be doing

• Take overall accountability for operational performance across multiple sites and third-party partners, covering service, cost, quality and safety.
• Lead and develop the existing operational management structure, creating greater accountability and capability across the team.
• Build the operational model required to support significant business growth, including capacity, labour, space, equipment and systems.
• Own the operational cost base, including labour, overtime, transport, storage and other controllable costs.
• Drive improvements in productivity, efficiency and cost-to-serve without compromising service or quality.
• Manage and develop relationships with third-party logistics partners, ensuring agreed commercial and service standards are achieved.
• Lead the commercial assessment of the current operating model, including evaluating the balance between outsourced and in-house operations.
• Build robust business cases and recommendations for the Board, supported by clear financial and operational analysis.
• Ensure operational readiness for future site development and changes to the operating model.
• Establish a strong KPI and performance-management cadence across the operation.
• Use operational data to identify bottlenecks, improve labour planning and make better commercial decisions.
• Lead the successful adoption and embedding of a recently implemented ERP system, ensuring data accuracy and operational discipline.
• Ensure the operation has the right structure, processes and people to support continued growth.
• Work closely with the wider leadership team to ensure new business and growth can be onboarded without compromising service or margin.
• Maintain high standards across health & safety, quality, compliance and operational risk.
• Develop a culture of continuous improvement and structured problem solving, moving the business away from reactive firefighting.

What we're looking for

This role would suit an experienced Operations Director, Head of Operations, General Manager or senior leader who has operated at genuine scale and is ready to take full ownership of a growing operation.

You'll ideally bring:

• Proven senior operational leadership experience across warehousing, distribution, fulfilment, logistics or a comparable environment.
• Experience managing multiple sites and/or significant third-party operations.
• Demonstrable ownership of an operational budget and cost base, with evidence of improving efficiency and reducing costs.
• Experience scaling an operation through significant growth and building the structure required to support it.
• Strong commercial and financial understanding, with the ability to understand cost-to-serve, productivity, contribution and margin.
• Experience managing third-party logistics providers and holding external partners accountable for both service and commercial performance.
• Experience presenting recommendations and business cases to Board or ownership level.
• A track record of delivering significant operational change - such as a new site, restructure, systems implementation, insourcing or major transformation.
• Strong understanding of operational KPIs, labour planning, productivity and performance management.
• Experience implementing or embedding ERP/WMS systems within a live operation.
• The ability to lead through managers rather than becoming absorbed in day-to-day operational issues.
• A hands-on, pragmatic approach and the confidence to work in a business where there isn't a large central support infrastructure.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, from Board level through to operational teams.
• Willingness to travel regularly between the Northern and Southern operations, including occasional overnight stays.
• Full UK driving licence and right to work in the UK.

What's in it for you?

This is a genuine opportunity to join a business at an important stage of its growth and have a meaningful influence on how the operation develops.

You'll have:

• £85,000 - £95,000 basic salary*.
• £5,000 car allowance.
• 10-15% uncapped performance bonus.
• Significant autonomy and ownership.
• Direct exposure to and influence with the Board.
• The opportunity to shape the operational structure and strategy for a growing business.
• The chance to lead major operational and commercial projects.
• A role with genuine scope to make a measurable impact on service, efficiency and profitability.

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