Job Title: Head of Operations Location: Aflex - Bradley Business Park Location Type: On-Site Website: https://www.wmfts.com/en/ Group: https://www.spiraxgroup.com/ When you join Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions, a part of the Spirax Group, you will be integrated into a cooperative and encouraging team, participate in challenging yet critical work, and experience ongoing growth opportunities to help you achieve your full potential. Visit our website to learn more. This role will focus on: The Head of Operations is an integral part of the Aflex senior leadership team and critical to our ongoing success. Responsible for the Manufacturing teams you will have both strategic and tactical responsibility for developing, implementing and delivering our Manufacturing strategies alongside our operational goals. Demonstrating outstanding people skills, you will lead, mentor, coach, inspire and empower our amazingly talented people to continuously learn, develop and achieve their full potential. With an ambition to exceed customer expectations, you will ensure a culture of continuous improvement and drive the implementation of Lean Business strategy. What you’ll be doing You will hold overall responsibility for Manufacturing activities and teams across the business, including the monitoring and management of budgets and operational performance. You will create an environment where everyone can thrive; providing feedback, mentoring and coaching to support continuous development and instil a culture of empowerment across your teams. You will develop SMART objectives for and with team colleagues and departments to aid and improve business performance. You will develop and implement a best practice manufacturing vision, along with the processes and procedures to aid and improve business performance. With a keen eye for continuous improvement and efficiency, you will work closely with the Continuous Improvement Lead to direct and successfully implement a Lean Business strategy to achieve best in practice. In collaboration with the Finance Business Partner and department leads, you will develop the annual budget and forecasts, along with all Capital Expenditure proposals and in line with all legal requirements and standards. You will collaborate with relevant production managers and teams to measure product sales and profitability. In collaboration with the Sales Support Manager, you will prioritise product production to ensure that customer orders and expectations are consistently achieved. You will proactively contribute to new business initiatives and projects and review and communicate the impact on manufacturing activities. You will identify what and where infrastructure improvements are required, developing the business case to achieve the required investment. Using your leadership and project management skills, you will deliver timely and in budget support so we meet our corporate objectives. To be successful in this role, you will need: Demonstrable experience of leading manufacturing functions with a proven track record in strategic manufacturing and strategies, processes and systems. Ideally, you will hold a degree level qualification in a relevant engineering/manufacturing discipline or an equivalent NVQ level 7 or gained the equivalent direct on the job experience. Have a strong and highly developed business acumen, gained through practical experience and/or a formal Business Management qualification. Proven leadership and management skills with the ability to optimise team performance and development. A highly skilled and confident negotiator, with the ability to negotiate at all levels. Excellent communication, interpersonal and influencing skills. Excellent problem solving abilities. Resilient, self motivated and thrives in a fast paced environment. At Watson-Marlow, we believe in taking care of our colleagues. We offer a generous benefits package, including: A competitive salary Flexible working arrangements A generous holiday allowance Three days’ paid volunteering leave Comprehensive private healthcare An enhanced retirement plan Life assurance Additional support and benefits through our Everyone is Included Group Inclusion Plan Everyone is Included at Spirax Group We are passionate about creating inclusive and equitable working cultures where everyone can be themselves and achieve their full potential. For us, that means supportive teams and strong relationships where everyone’s contribution is valued across social and cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, genders, gender identities, abilities, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and everything else that makes us human and unique. We know that everyone needs some extra help from time to time, so we have introduced a range of additional benefits through our Group Inclusion Commitments. These include: Gender-neutral parental leave 15 days of extra paid caregiver leave Paid time off and support for anyone experiencing pregnancy loss or domestic abuse Menopause-friendly workplace principles and more. Learn more at Our Inclusion Commitments. Company Overview At Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions, we are driven by innovation and are dedicated to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone is empowered to make a difference. As a world leader in manufacturing peristaltic pumps and associated fluid path technologies for the life sciences and process industries, we offer a wide range of products, including tubing, specialised filling systems and products for single-use applications. Watson-Marlow is part of Spirax Group, a FTSE100 and FTSE4Good multi-national industrial engineering Group with expertise in the control and management of steam, electric thermal solutions, peristaltic pumping and associated fluid technologies. Our purpose is to create sustainable value for all our stakeholders as we engineer a more efficient, safer and sustainable world. Our technologies play an essential role in critical industrial processes and industrial equipment across industries as diverse as Food & Beverage, Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology, Power Generation, Semiconductors and Healthcare. With customers in 165 countries, we provide the solutions that sit behind the production of many items used in daily life, from baked beans to mobile phones Our inclusive culture and values, unites us, guides our decisions and inspires us everywhere that we operate. We support our colleagues to make their difference for each other as well as customers, communities, suppliers, our planet and shareholders by creating a truly equitable working environment where everyone feels included.