Chief Operating Officer - Manufacturing
2 days ago
Gloucester
Our client is looking for a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to join their Executive Leadership Team and play a central role in shaping the next phase of the Group's growth. The Group is a listed, global manufacturing business serving the energy, defence, and automotive sectors. Increasingly, their work is supporting renewable energy and other sustainable industries, reflecting both the Board's ambition and the future of the company's markets. With a record order book and consistent growth, the business is very well positioned and now they need a COO who can build on this momentum; someone who can bring clarity, pace, and discipline to the Group's operations while supporting continued expansion across international markets. This is a hands-on leadership role with real breadth and influence. You’ll be responsible for strengthening and evolving the Group's global operations, ensuring they can scale efficiently while maintaining the quality and performance their customers expect. You’ll work closely with the CEO and wider leadership team to turn strategy into execution, driving performance across their global sites and building an operating model that supports both organic growth and future acquisitions. The Chief Operating Officer will: • Lead operational improvement and transformation across all global sites, • Strengthen performance across engineering, procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, and project delivery, • Work closely with regional General Managers to deliver both local priorities and consistent group standards, • Support the integration of new businesses, balancing alignment with respect for what already works, • Drive improvements in efficiency, capacity, and margin without compromising quality or safety, • Build an operating model that is scalable, resilient, and fit for a growing international business, • Establish clear performance metrics and use data to inform decisions and track progress, • Partner with the CEO and Executive Team to deliver key strategic initiatives The ideal person for this role will have: • Significant senior leadership experience within manufacturing, ideally in complex or project-based environments, • Proven track record of delivering change and improving operational performance, • Experience working in a global, multi-site organisation, • A pragmatic, hands-on approach and a visible leadership style, • The ability to engage and influence at every level, from senior stakeholders to frontline teams, • Experience integrating businesses, systems, and processes in a growing organisation, • The flexibility to travel regularly across the global sites This is a company on a transformational growth journey and with further acquisitions planned for this year and next, the new COO will play a key part in integrating these and developing/leading strategic operational initiatives moving forwards.