Operations Manager

Morgan Advanced Materials is a business rich in history and innovation. Founded in the UK in 1856, we have grown into a global organisation with 70 sites in 18 countries. Our model to serve our customers where they need us has led to a diversified product range using our unparalleled expertise in ceramic and carbon materials, which we exploit to solve difficult problems for our customers across a diverse range of markets.   We are a purpose driven organisation. Our purpose is to use advanced materials to make the world more sustainable and to improve the quality of life. We deliver on that purpose through the products that we make, and the way that we make them. The Electrical Carbon Business of Morgan Advanced Materials designs and manufactures a broad range of high performance solutions for rotary transfer systems, linear transfer systems and electrical carbon systems.   Key Figures: Revenue £1,112m (2022), ~8,500 employees, manufacturing in 30+ countries, and a global customer portfolio. A UK PLC with head office located in Windsor, Berkshire UK.  Listed on London Stock Exchange; Member of the FTSE 250 Index.     

As the Operations Manager you will be responsible for the facility’s operations leadership, including production, supply chain, quality management, health and safety, maintenance and engineering with dotted line responsibilities towards human resources management, and finance.  

Job Purpose:

This position is responsible for the facility’s operations leadership, including production, quality management, health and safety, maintenance and engineering with dotted line responsibilities towards human resources management, finance and supply chain.

The Operations Manager is part of the global Operations and Supply Chain organization for the Global Business Unit, reporting into the global Manufacturing Director. The role will require strong cross-functional collaboration with the Commercial, Finance or HR functions as well as other Morgan facilities as Durham is a strongly integrated site of our global supply chain. The postholder will create a safe, compliant, collaborative, inclusive and increasingly efficient working environment with their team in Durham in order to support the global Sales and Operations Plan.

Essential Functions:

• EHS
  • Champion a strong ThinkSafe culture, by visual leadership, personal engagement, inclusion and care.
  • Responsibility over the safe condition and operation of the facility’s processes and machinery.
  • Commitment towards the application and compliance with the Morgan EHS systems, processes and reporting, including near miss reporting and Lost Time Accidents (LTAs).
  • Improve the efficiency of the site’s operation while improving environmental KPIs.
• Quality
  • Responsibility over the quality of Durham’s production, including dealing with internal and external customer complaints or reducing scrap and overall cost of quality.
  • Ensure compliance with relevant certifications such as ISO standards.
• Production
  • Direct responsibility over the production of the site, including the leadership of all personnel involved in the manufacturing process, hitting production targets, on time with the shortest lead-times possible.
  • Improve efficiency of our production lines, increase productivity and capacity utilization, and achieve operational or Continuous Improvement (CI) saving targets. Champion ‘lean thinking’ by creating a lean mindset and culture across the organization.
  • Meet targets and requirements of the global Sales and Operations Plan, including volume and cost.
• Maintenance
  • Responsibility over the condition and operation of the facility’s assets.
  • Improve machine up-time, reduce frequency and severity of machine breakdowns.
  • Invest focused effort to modernize our operations and improve the site’s footprint.
• Leadership
  • Direct reporting responsibility over the production, quality, engineering, maintenance, CI, EHS teams and dotted line reporting over the HR, finance and supply chain teams.
  • Coach team members to enhance their performance and support their development.

Cross-functional, cross-GBU, cross-regional collaboration with the rest of the organization.

Key Performance metrics and objectives:

• • • Safety and Environmental KPIs
    • S&OP KPIs
    • Operational KPIs, including productivity, OTD, lead times
    • Cash performance and Stock KPIs
    • Budget variance, forecast variance, standard cost variance
    • Customer Satisfaction KPIs
    • Variable Margin / Gross Margin
    • Quality KPIs

Soft Competencies:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Directing Others – Is good at establishing clear directions; sets stretching objectives; distributes the workload appropriately; lays out work in a well-planned and organized manner; maintains two-way dialogue with others on work and results; brings out the best in people; is a clear communicator.
• Hiring and Staffing – Has a nose for talent; hires the best people available from inside or outside; is not afraid of selecting strong people; assembles talented staffs.
• Problem Solving – Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; is excellent at honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn't stop at the first answers.
• Building Effective Teams – Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in his/her team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.
• Negotiating – Can negotiate skillfully in tough situations with both internal and external groups; can settle differences with minimum noise; can win concessions without damaging relationships; can be both direct and forceful as well as diplomatic; gains trust quickly of other parties to the negotiations; has a good sense of timing.
• Ethics and Values – Adheres to an appropriate (for the setting) and effective set of core values and beliefs during both good and bad times; acts in line with those values; rewards the right values and disapproves of others; practices what he/she preaches.

Requirements:

• Degree in Engineering (Mechanical or Electrical preferred), Supply Chain or equivalent, or equivalent experience in Operations Management
• Progressive managerial experience in Operations Management
• Demonstrated experience in performing a leadership role in a manufacturing facility
• Experience working in machining, assembly or finishing plants
• Advanced English and Spanish language skills
• Experience in working with milling, lathing, bonding, sawing, grinding, soldering, tamping, CNC manufacturing technologies and in working with carbon, graphite or other porous materials is an advantage
• Lean/Six Sigma qualification is an advantage

MORGAN ADVANCED MATERIALS PLC LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS

There are the behaviours that frame the ‘way we work’ at Morgan. The post-holder must have the ability to execute performance whilst demonstrating these behaviours in everything they do.

This job description does not state or imply that all duties to be performed are specifically identified above. Employees are required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested or instructed by an authorized person of the Company. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship.
Morgan Advanced Materials is an EEO/AA/M/W/D/V Employer.