COO

Ref: 636348

Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

£150,000 | £1,000 per day

• Permanent / Contract
• Change & Transformation Architect
• Operational Performance And Impact
• Immediately Available

About the candidate

This candidate is a highly experienced senior operations leader with around 40 years’ international experience across manufacturing, production, operational excellence, business transformation, M&A integration and growth. They have worked across defence, rail, automotive, aerospace, nuclear, industrial, mining and logistics environments, leading multi-site operations across the UK, Europe and the Americas.

They bring strong board-level experience, with responsibility for large-scale P&L, global teams of 2,500+ people and complex operational turnarounds. Now seeking a permanent opportunity, they are immediately available and well suited to organisations looking for a commercially focused production leader who can stabilise performance, scale capability and deliver measurable results.

What makes them great?

• Proven turnaround impact: Delivered a 75% performance uplift in 12 weeks across two plants, generating around £9m in additional sales and reducing quality and paint defects by circa 80%.
• Strong commercial results: Has managed P&L responsibility of over £250m, delivered more than €2bn in value creation and achieved around $25m in combined organic and acquisition-led sales growth within 12 months.
• Hands-on productivity gains: Increased productivity by 50% in 16 weeks, reduced inventory by around $1m per month and previously delivered around $3.5m in material and operating cost savings.

Areas of expertise

• Global Operations Leadership: Experienced in leading multi-site manufacturing, international operations, production systems, KPI management and business continuity across large, complex organisations.
• Business Transformation & Turnaround: Strong track record improving performance through Lean operating models, restructuring, operational readiness planning and rapid-response controls.
• Growth, Scale-Up & M&A: Skilled in greenfield and brownfield development, acquisition integration, market expansion, operating model design and synergy delivery.