Head of Operations
Northern Ireland
Full time
Permanent
Ref: HOO0126
Salary: Based on experience
About the Role
The Head of Operations is a key driver of the Company’s Lean transformation and operational excellence journey. This role provides strategic and hands-on leadership across core operational functions. You will champion a culture where safety, employee engagement and continuous improvement are embedded in everyday operations. The role combines strategic planning with practical execution, shaping operational capability through process optimisation and the development of future operational leaders.
Why work for Smiley Monroe:
We’re the world’s biggest producer of ‘endless’ conveyor belts, with locations in Northern Ireland, India and USA; trusted by manufacturers of materials processing equipment in sectors spanning quarrying, construction & demolition, recycling & waste management, washing systems and road construction.
We are on a mission to revolutionise belt conveying. Our industry is dynamic and fast-paced. We work hard but like to have fun too. Continuous improvement is at the core of our culture and our values are unique: we’re passionate about having a safe place to work, we’re determined to succeed and our vision is to be the number one partner across our mobile equipment world by focusing on being close to our customers and problem solving.
If this sounds like you, email your CV to iwant2work@smileymonroe.com.
What you'll be doing
- Lead a proactive “safe place to work” culture, ensuring health & safety is embedded in everyday decision making and operational practices.
- Ensure compliance with legislation while continuously strengthening risk identification, mitigation and learning.
- Lead the Company’s Lean transformation and operational excellence journey, embedding Lean thinking, problem-solving, and standardised ways of working across operations.
- Drive small, incremental improvements alongside larger improvement initiatives to improve flow, reduce waste, and increase productivity.
- Build capability by coaching teams to identify opportunities, implement improvements, measure impact, and sustain gains over time.
- Translate strategic goals into clear operational plans with defined priorities, ownership, and measurable results.
- Lead change initiatives, setting direction and pace while ensuring teams are engaged, informed and supported through periods of transformation.
- Build high-performance teams through coaching, mentoring, and developing future leaders at all levels.
- Provide leadership and clear direction across Production, Health & Safety, Maintenance, and Engineering.
- Ensure objectives are aligned, trends are understood, improvement actions are prioritised, and decisions are effectively implemented.
- Lead structured process improvement initiatives to improve throughput, reduce waste, and enhance overall operational efficiency.
- Drive preventative maintenance practices to maximise equipment reliability, minimise downtime, reduce risk and support operational stability.
- Develop and present investment and capital expenditure proposals to optimise production processes, improve capability, and support growth.
- Ensure robust systems are in place to meet quality standards and regulatory requirements, driving continuous improvement in product quality and customer satisfaction.
About You
You'll need to have:
- Proven experience leading operations in a manufacturing environment, with direct responsibility for safety, quality, cost, and performance.
- Demonstrated track record of leading and delivering Lean transformation, with clear examples of:
- a. Embedding Lean principles into day-to-day operations
- b. Delivering sustained improvements through both incremental and larger-scale initiatives
- c. Personally leading change on the factory floor
- Hands-on operational leadership experience, with a clear ability to balance strategic direction with practical, day-to-day engagement across operational teams.
- Experience developing and coaching operational leaders.
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional improvement initiatives that deliver measurable business impact in areas such as productivity, throughput, quality, cost, or safety.
- Strong working knowledge of manufacturing processes, quality management systems, and health & safety legislation, with experience applying these in a practical operational setting.
- Effective problem-solving capability, using structured approaches to diagnose issues, implement solutions, and sustain improvements.
- Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage, challenge, and build credibility at all levels of the organisation, from factory floor to senior leadership.
It would be great if you have:
- Exposure to capital investment planning or grant-supported growth initiatives (e.g. working with external agencies or funding bodies).
What will you get in return:
- • Competitive Pay
- • 4 Day Week – 38 Hours Monday to Thursday
- • Discretionary Bonus based on Company Performance
- • Company Sick Pay
- • Income Protection
- • Life Cover
- • Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Pay
- • Pension Scheme
- • Employee Assistance Programme
- • Health Cash Benefit Plan
- • Recruitment Referral Bonus
- • Long Service Awards
- • Health & Wellbeing Initiatives
- • Social Events
- • Learning & Development Opportunities
If you believe you have the skills to join our team please email your CV to iwant2work@smileymonroe.com
Closing date for applications will be Friday 30th January 2026.
Apply now