Head of Operations

The Big Prawn Co is a leading seafood supplier to UK food and convenience retailers. Big Prawn is well known for its innovation and ability to be proactive to the latest trends in the marketplace. As an established but relatively lean business, with a hands-on senior management team Big Prawn is dynamic and make business decisions quickly to best serve customers and consumers alike. This approach has enabled them to grow quickly and is the backbone of their plans to double the size of the business in the next four years. The business has invested significantly in its Operational capability and strengthened the Board and Senior Management team. Product range includes: a medium sized but recognisable brand, own label, value added, frozen, chilled and ready to cook. We are looking for candidates who are disciplined with a right first time' mind-set, and somebody who has a track record improving production and operational efficiencies. You will be hands-on, with the ability to think strategically and deliver what's coming down the line. The position is ideally suited to a production leader, who is looking for genuine progression opportunities at Director level. You will lead the operations team, working with the Board, Commercial Teams, Procurement, and Finance. You will operate a simple, disciplined, and cost effective operation with a focus on quality delivery of the right product, at the right time, at the right cost. You will monitor performance and safety through a set of KPIs, which will be reported weekly, and presented at monthly Board meetings. Key deliverables Base level • Compliance - ensure that the factory and what it makes is fully compliant with specifications & recipes, Big Prawn Technical policy & BRC food safety requirements, all HSE and passes all customer audits. • Performance - control, optimise and report on current costs of production, both labour and material usage • Customer Service - deliver excellent customer service • ERP - Ensure that the ERP operating system is engaged and used effectively Improvements • Improve labour efficiency and productivity, reducing overall labour spend, whilst delivering quality product and great customer service • Material usage - improve yields and reduce waste whilst delivering quality product and great customer service • Provide leadership to: oEnsure culture of Right First Time oensure workforce aspire to Be The Best • People development - evaluate skills and instigate training and recruitment where necessary. • Develop and report against set KPI's, communicate results with senior management team identifying opportunities and risks - providing ideas and solutions Required skills / competencies • Be an experienced change management practitioner. • Proven leader and track record improving employee engagement and performance • Ability to fix the basics and be hands on, at the same time as thinking strategically setting a vision to deliver the business plan • FMCG manufacturing background • Medium sized company experience may be an advantage • Strong understanding of high performance operations and efficiency methodologies such as Lean or kaizen etc • Ability to set and report against KPIs providing constant insight into performance and making recommendations for improvements • Will be able to demonstrate successful cost reduction programs For a confidential discussion about the role, or to find out more, please apply or contact Tom Earl at Pure Executive.