Operations Manager

The Engineering Operations Manager will provide hands-on, visible leadership across our end-to-end design,
manufacture, and installation product cycle of overhead cranes and offshore davit cranes. Managing an established 30
strong team within our 120-employee business. You will take total operational control and accountability for bringing
standard, bespoke overhead and davit cranes from the design, through the workshop floor, to final site commission and
sign-off. This role requires an active shopfloor and occasional site presence to ensure continued engineering excellence, with strict safety compliance and commercial margin protection at every phase.

Key Responsibilities
Full Lifecycle Operational Control

• Design Office Integration: Bridge the gap between the CAD/FEA design engineers and the workshop,
ensuring designs are optimized for manufacture, cost-effective by complying with agreed budgets, and practical
to install on-site.

• Hands-On Workshop Fabrication: Oversee the fabrication, coded welding, machining, and electrical
assembly of our crane and davit products, actively stepping in to solve technical bottlenecks on the shopfloor.

• Testing & Quality Assurance: Lead all internal Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT), and functional testing,
including NDT compliance with BS EN standards as well as offshore product classifications (DNV, Lloyd's
Register).

• Site Installation & Commissioning: Oversee the existing installation team to manage the client requirements
with logistics and movement of abnormal loads to site. Working with the established team to install high-risk
installations, including an overview of the final SAT (Site Acceptance Testing).

Leadership & Team Dynamics
• Manage a multi-skilled 30 person team comprising design engineers, workshop fabricators, fitters and
electrical technicians as well as the site based installation team.

• Maintain high visible standards by spending significant time on the shop floor earning immediate respect from
an established and time-served team.

Project Commercials & Supply Chain
• Control project margins by tracking labour hours, raw material purchases and external site installation costs
against agreed budgets.

• Manage key internal interfaces, including specialist sub-contractors and third-party inspectors including client
visits.

Person Specification & Requirements
Experience & Technical Background
• Proven leadership within engineering, specifically overseeing the design, build, testing and installation of
machinery and structural steel.

• Time-served engineering (Apprenticeship, HNC/HND, or Degree) with a practical, tool-box-to-boardroom
career path.

• Understanding of regulatory elements: A knowledge of ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, LOLER/PUWER and CDM
Regulations (for site installations).

• The ideal candidate will possess a strong working knowledge of LEAN Manufacturing principles and a track
record of applying them to eliminate waste, optimize production workflows, and improve overall operational
efficiency.

• Offshore exposure: Ideally, but not essential, a familiarity with marine-grade materials/coatings and structural
inspection/traceability (3.1 / 3.2 certification).

Interpersonal & Operational Attributes
• End-to-end operational vision, capable of tracking a single project's risks from initial design review through to
final on-site commissioning for multiple running projects.

• A collaborative but firm leadership style, essential for guiding an existing, experienced team while striving
for a world class product line and associated culture.

• Exceptional spatial and mechanical logic, vital for reviewing some of our complex mechanical designs and
structural on-site installation challenges.