COMPANY INFORMATION

Our client is an international market leader in technical engineering services providing into a range of sectors. Headquartered in the US and operating across the globe, we are working with their UK subsidiary to help them recruit a new Director of Operations to drive performance and transformation.

Operating across multiple countries and delivering complex technical services through a network of operational teams and specialist facilities, the organisation is entering an important period of growth and operational evolution. As part of this journey, the leadership team is strengthening its operational capability to improve visibility of performance, enhance decision-making and ensure the organisation is equipped to scale effectively.

THE ROLE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, UK

The incoming Director of Operations will be accountable for the operational performance, scalability, and financial effectiveness of the UK business. The role owns the UK Programme Management Office (PMO) function and the operational performance framework, acting as the single point of control for programme governance, delivery assurance, and operational insight.

Operating from a single UK site today, the role carries a clear mandate to design, plan, and deliver future expansion, including the identification and establishment of additional sites as the business grows. Decision-making is data-led, commercially grounded, and execution-focused, with a strong bias toward enabling growth through managed risk.

This role is a core member of the UK Senior Leadership Team and plays a critical part in linking strategy, commercial ambition, and operational execution.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

You will need to demonstrate experience of the following:

• Degree educated or qualified by experience
• 10+ years’ senior operational leadership experience within complex and delivery-led environments.
• Hands-on ownership of PMO or equivalent programme control functions.
• Successful track record of delivering operational transformation within a comparably sized and complex business delivering site establishment, infrastructure, or large-scale operational projects.
• Proven ownership of operational KPI frameworks and performance reporting.
• Proven experience driving data capture, operational insight and data-led decision making.
• Ownership of a material operational cost base within a P&L.
• Experience supporting high-growth phases and significant commercial change.
• Experience operating within ISO-governed environments.
• Experience working across multi-site or multi-country operations.