Operations Manager

Eurofins Scientific is an international life sciences company, providing a unique range of analytical testing services to clients across multiple industries, to make life and our environment safer, healthier and more sustainable. From the food you eat, to the water you drink, to the medicines you rely on, Eurofins laboratories work with the biggest companies in the world to ensure the products they supply are safe, their ingredients are authentic, and labelling is accurate.

The Eurofins network is dedicated to delivering testing services that contribute to the health and safety of society and the planet, and to its corporate responsibility to protect the environment and ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion across its companies around the world.

We’re proud to be an armed forces-friendly place to work and welcome applications from reservists, armed forces veterans (including the wounded, injured and sick), as well as cadet instructors, and military spouses and partners.

If you want to continue to help make our world a safer and healthier place, then apply for the role below and become a part of the extraordinary Eurofins network

The Operations Manager will be responsible for leading operational performance across the business unit, driving a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and operational excellence.

As a key member of the senior management team, the successful candidate will lead managers and supervisors to deliver exceptional customer service, operational efficiency, quality and financial performance. They will play a critical role in identifying improvement opportunities, implementing change, challenging existing ways of working and delivering measurable improvements in productivity, service levels and business results.

This is a hands-on leadership role for an individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment, can inspire teams through change and has a proven track record of delivering operational improvements and sustainable business performance.

This is a full-time role, working 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. The successful candidate must be flexible with their working hours to meet the needs of the business. Key responsibilities to include:

Operational Leadership

• Lead the day-to-day operational performance of the business unit.
• Develop and implement strategies that improve operational efficiency, service delivery and customer satisfaction.
• Ensure resources, equipment, systems and processes are optimised to support business objectives.
• Drive a culture of accountability, ownership and operational excellence.
• Monitor and improve operational KPIs, taking corrective action where required.
• Ensure operational activities are delivered safely, effectively and in accordance with company standards and customer requirements.

Continuous Improvement & Change Management

• Lead transformational change initiatives that improve productivity, efficiency and overall business performance.
• Challenge existing processes and identify opportunities to simplify, standardise and optimise ways of working.
• Deliver measurable improvements in service levels, turnaround times, quality and cost performance.
• Use operational data and performance metrics to identify trends, risks and improvement opportunities.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement throughout all operational teams.
• Lead and support the implementation of new processes, systems and technologies.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach and develop managers, supervisors and team leaders to achieve business objectives.
• Build high-performing teams focused on accountability, performance and customer service.
• Create a positive and engaging working environment that supports employee development and retention.
• Ensure workforce planning, staffing levels and skills are aligned with operational requirements.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, talent development and succession planning activities.
• Manage employee relations matters in accordance with company policies and procedures.
• Ensure effective attendance, performance and capability management across teams.

Customer & Stakeholder Management

• Act as a senior operational contact for customers and key stakeholders.
• Ensure customer requirements are understood and delivered consistently.
• Lead the resolution of customer escalations and operational issues.
• Identify opportunities to enhance customer experience and service delivery.
• Build strong internal and external relationships to support business success.

Financial & Business Performance

• Accountable for the operational contribution to business performance and budget delivery.
• Manage costs in line with approved budgets and business objectives.
• Drive efficiency improvements while maintaining quality, compliance and customer service standards.
• Identify and deliver opportunities to reduce waste, improve productivity and maximise operational performance.
• Support strategic business initiatives and contribute to the overall success of the business unit.

Quality & Compliance

• Ensure operational activities are conducted in accordance with relevant quality standards, company policies and regulatory requirements.
• Support internal and external audits, investigations and continuous improvement activities.
• Lead investigations into operational issues, customer complaints and non-conformances.
• Promote a culture of quality, compliance and operational discipline across the business.

General

• Undertake any other duties reasonably required by the business.

Essential

• Proven operational leadership experience within a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrable success in improving operational performance, productivity and efficiency.
• Experience leading managers, supervisors and operational teams.
• Strong track record of driving change, implementing improvements and delivering measurable business outcomes.
• Experience managing operational KPIs and performance improvement programmes.
• Strong people leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience in budgeting, resource planning and business performance management.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.

Desirable

• Experience within a regulated environment such as food, manufacturing, production, logistics, healthcare, scientific services or similar industries.
• Experience of Lean, Six Sigma or other continuous improvement methodologies.
• Project management and change management experience.
• Understanding of quality systems and operational compliance requirements.

Personal Attributes

• A natural leader who can engage, inspire and develop others.
• Highly commercial with a strong focus on results and customer outcomes.
• Resilient and confident in driving change and challenging the status quo.
• Data-driven and able to make informed decisions quickly.
• Organised, pragmatic and solutions-focused.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment with multiple priorities

At Eurofins we are growing, innovating and always learning. We celebrate the achievements of our employees through annual long service awards, recognise our colleagues special life events, and we are committed to charitable causes through global fundraising activities.

As a Eurofins employee you will benefit from:

• Additional Annual Leave at Employees set service dates   
• Company Pension Plan
• Life Assurance Scheme (4 times annual salary)
• Healthcare Cash Plan (6+ months service)
• Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Paternity Schemes
• Employee Assistance Programme – 24/7 confidential
• Health and Wellbeing Programmes
• Free parking
• Worldwide career opportunities
• We also have in place rewards recognising the great work our employees deliver, their dedicated service and celebrating special life events.

What Happens Next

Our people are the backbone of what we do, so it's incredibly important we find the right individuals to join us. As a potential new recruit you'll be invited to meet the team in the form of an assessment centre or a staged interview process dependent on the role and it's requirements, this will give you the opportunity to see what working for Eurofins is really like and enable us to get you know your key skills and strengths. 

Your data 
As part of any recruitment process, the company collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. The company is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.
 
Closing Date
We reserve the right to close or extend this position depending on application numbers. Therefore we would urge candidates to submit an application as early as possible.
 
Due to the high volume of applications we receive please be aware that if you do not receive a response within 4 weeks of the vacancy expiry date unfortunately, on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful. 

We support your development! Do you feel you don’t match 100% of the requirements? Don’t hesitate to apply anyway! Eurofins companies are committed to supporting your career development.

We embrace diversity! Eurofins network of companies believe in strength and innovation through diversity, being an Equal Opportunity Employer. We prohibit discrimination against employees or applications based on gender identity and/or expression, race, nationality, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and everything else that makes employees of Eurofins companies unique.