Managing Director - Small Manufacturing and Automotive Aftermarket Business
2 days ago
Stevenage
Managing Director – Small Manufacturing & Automotive Aftermarket Business About the Business We are a small, specialist manufacturing business supplying safety-related products into the automotive aftermarket. We operate with a compact team, a hands-on workshop environment, and close relationships with our customers. This is a real SME business - practical, fast-moving, and built on people doing things properly rather than layers of process. The Role We are looking for a hands-on Managing Director to take day-to-day responsibility for running and growing the business. This role suits someone who enjoys being close to the detail, improving how things work, and steadily building a business rather than maintaining the status quo. It is not a corporate MD role. There will be an initial handover period working alongside the current interim Managing Director to ensure continuity and a smooth transition before full responsibility transfers. What You’ll Be Responsible For • Running the business day to day, • Driving revenue growth, pricing discipline and margin improvement, • Improving operational efficiency across production, stock and delivery, • Leading, supporting and developing a small team, • Making sound commercial decisions within tight budgets, • Using financial information and simple reporting to guide actions, • Improving organisation, workflow and standards on the shop floor over time, • Introducing better systems, tools and ways of working where they add value, • Taking ownership of outcomes, not just activity Technology, Systems & AI You do not need to be technical or write code, but you must be comfortable using modern tools. This includes: • Using systems and dashboards to understand performance, • Improving reporting and visibility through simple technology, • Being curious about automation and AI tools that can help reduce admin and improve:, • Sales follow-up, • Stock control, • Reporting and visibility, • Internal processes This role suits someone who enjoys making a business run better through smarter ways of working. The Environment (Important to Understand) This is a working manufacturing environment, not a polished corporate operation. The shop floor and processes are functional but require structure, discipline and ongoing improvement. We are looking for someone who: • Is not put off by this, • Sees it as an opportunity, • Enjoys steadily raising standards and improving how the business operates This is a hands-on, close-to-operations role. Who This Role Suits (Persona) This role suits someone who is: • A small-business practitioner, not a corporate manager, • Commercially sharp – understands pricing, margins, cash and trade-offs, • Hands-on – comfortable being close to operations, people and the shop floor, • Solution-first – instinctively moves from problem to action, • Decisive – able to make calls without perfect information, • Hungry to grow – wants to build and scale a business, not just maintain one, • Comfortable working with tight budgets and finding creative solutions, • Tech-comfortable – curious about systems, automation and AI (not technical, but open and capable), • Operationally creative – finds better ways to serve customers and organise work, • Able to lead a small team, delegate effectively, build confidence and help others grow, • Adaptable – willing to change approach when something isn’t working This is not a caretaker role. Background & Experience • Experience running or helping run a small business or division, • Automotive aftermarket, manufacturing, engineering or similar SME background preferred, • Experience with safety-related or regulated products is a plus, not essential, • Direct seatbelt or automotive safety experience is not required, • Commercial or sales background is helpful, but not mandatory, • Must understand how financial reports inform day-to-day decisions Salary & Incentives • Base salary of £50,000, • Performance-related bonus linked to business results, • Opportunity for short and and longer term incentives for the right person, based on delivery and retention In Summary This role is for someone who wants to own a small business environment, make real decisions, improve how things work, and grow alongside the company. Job Type: Full-time Benefits: • Company pension, • Free parking, • Sick pay