Production Operations Manager

INTERNATIONAL RECRUITMENT & HR EXPERTS ACROSS THE PLASTICS, PACKAGING, SPECIALITY CHEMICALS, LIFE SCIENCES, BIOPOLYMER, FOOD ADDITIVES & INGREDIENTS, ENERGY AND RECYCLING SECTORS SINCE 1975.

Production Operations Manager
Plastics manufacturer
Based in West Lothian

Job ref: CST/65166

Salary: Attractive – commensurate with experience

The Company:

Our client is a well-established and respected plastics manufacturer with a healthy level of profitability. Now private equity backed following many years of family ownership, it is in a good position to continue its growth and is seeking an operations leader who can take the business through its next stage of development, leading the factory towards a more structured, KPI-driven, process oriented and customer-focused environment.

Primary role:

Part of the senior leadership team, working closely with the Managing Director.

Develop and implement a manufacturing strategy and operational plan that brings about a more agile, structured and professional model in line with the company’s business objectives.

Provide leadership to develop Operational Excellence initiatives through the application of good practice manufacturing techniques.

Act as the operational counterpart to the Managing Director, owning the manufacturing agenda and translating operational performance into clear financial and commercial terms for the leadership team and investors.

Responsibilities:

* Evaluate current manufacturing practice and provide a vision for culture change using modern manufacturing techniques.

* Develop and implement manufacturing processes to deliver improvements with efficiencies, increased agility and capacity, waste reduction and drive a culture that seeks ‘best-in-class’ production performance.

* Ensure that Health & Safety is core to the factory’s operations and champion a ‘safety first’ culture.

* Lead the production team by example to produce and deliver products to customer expectations and establish processes/controls in key deliverable areas such as housekeeping, waste reduction, capacity utilisation and production efficiencies.

* Mentors and empower direct reports to drive process improvement and process ownership.

* Represent the production function on the SLT, providing direction and leadership on manufacturing performance along with regular progress reports to key stakeholders.

* Provide leadership for problem resolution.

* Develop and manage the manufacturing budget

* Design and embed a KPI framework (e.g. OEE, scrap, OTIF, labour efficiency, cost per unit) supported by visual management and a structured daily and weekly performance review cadence.

* Establish robust standard operating procedures, work instructions and document control, ensuring consistent, auditable ways of working across all shifts.

* Own compliance across quality, health & safety and environmental standards (e.g. ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001), leading customer and third-party audits and driving corrective actions through to closure.

* Introduce planned preventive maintenance and tooling management to improve asset reliability and reduce unplanned downtime.

* Review organisational structure, roles and capability, introducing skills matrices, training plans and performance management to build a team fit for the next stage of growth.

* Leads the team to improve, automate, and streamline current operations procedures to maximise contribution to the profitability of the firm and longer-term business goals.

Experience:

* Experienced production and operations professional within the plastics sector.

* Expert in the implementation of lean manufacturing and associated positive cultural change for a plastics business. Proven record of leading cultural change which has enabled a company to modernise its working practices and develop the capability of its people.

* Demonstrable track record of repositioning an SME, ideally owner-managed or family-run, into a structured, disciplined and metric-driven operation through sustained change rather than crisis turnaround, with measurable results.

* Hands-on experience of implementing and maintaining quality and compliance management systems (ISO 9001 as a minimum) and leading external audits.

* Experience of working within a private equity-backed or similarly investor-led environment would be advantageous.

* Degree-qualified in engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent experience; Lean Six Sigma and IOSH/NEBOSH qualifications desirable

* Leads from the front but from a position of mentoring, empowerment and achieving objectives with the engagement of the workforce.

* A sound working knowledge of health & safety, environmental and waste control in a manufacturing environment.

Person Profile:

* A hands-on management style with the ability to manage at all levels.

* Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to translate complex situations into information that will support the profitability and growth of the business.

* Proven leadership skills, the ability to effectively influence and motivate others.

* Ability to drive operational excellence results by fostering an environment of openness and teamwork.

* A genuine passion for compliance, standards and process discipline, with the credibility to embed them on the shop floor.

* Strong oral and written communication skills.

* High energy, results-oriented leader.

Please understand that due to the expected high number of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted directly

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the country where the role is located. Evidence of the right to work may be required during the recruitment process

For reasons of readability, gender-specific language has been simplified. All references to individuals apply equally to people of all genders.

Why select Listgrove?
· Five Decades of Market Intelligence
· Unrivalled Industry Networks
· Recognised International brand
· HR Qualified Professionals

To hear from our clients on how we have supported their search for talent and HR needs, please visit Listgrove’s Case Studies page.

Throughout 2026 & 2027 you can meet with Listgrove at the following exhibitions:
Interpack, France Innovation Plasturgie, Interplas UK, Plast Milan, Fakuma, ArabPlast, NPE 2027.

Listgrove Limited Registered in England No: (phone number removed)
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed