Head of Series Manufacturing

Working within the site leadership team of the McLaren Composites Technology Centre's based in Sheffield/Rotherham, reporting to the Plant Director, the Head of Series Manufacturing will provide strategic and operational leadership of manufacturing operations to deliver safe, high-quality vehicle component production.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain a safety-first culture and ensure compliance with H&S standards across all manufacturing operations.
• Own facility management, including maintenance, replacement, and lifecycle management of existing tooling and production CAPEX.
• Design, optimise, and maintain site layout to maximise flow, safety, ergonomics, and space utilisation.
• Standardise and control process layouts to support consistent, high-quality series production and efficient running changes.
• Plan capacity, staffing, and resources to meet current and forecast demand.
• Deliver manufacturing infrastructure and resourcing to meet productivity, quality, availability, and OEE targets.
• Lead initiatives to reduce scrap, shorten cycle times, simplify BOMs, improve product quality, and increase equipment availability.
• Champion Lean, Six Sigma/DMAIC, TPM, Kaizen, and automation/technology adoption to drive improvements.
• Oversee preventative maintenance, spares, and reliability programmes to maintain equipment availability.
• Ensure systems, fixtures, and processes meet product quality and customer specifications.
• Work with cross-functional teams and suppliers to secure parts quality, lead times, and supplier readiness for series production.
• Undertake costing modelling, prepare CAPEX proposals, and manage budgets, forecasts, and cost reduction activities.
• Lead root cause analysis, ensure timely corrective/preventive actions, and report KPIs and risks to stakeholders.
• Lead, coach, and develop the manufacturing support team, setting clear objectives and fostering a collaborative, accountable culture.

Requirements:

• Degree in Engineering or related discipline, or equivalent industry experience.
• Minimum 10 years in manufacturing engineering/operations; at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Proven experience in vehicle or complex assembly manufacturing, launches, model-year and running changes, and cross-functional delivery.
• Strong technical knowledge of manufacturing systems, equipment, facilities, tooling lifecycle, and regulatory/safety compliance.
• Demonstrable experience in capacity planning, production scheduling, maintenance strategy, supplier quality management, and OEE improvement.
• Track record of driving CI/automation using DMAIC, Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, or equivalent.
• Financial literacy: budget ownership, CAPEX process, business case development, and costing modelling.
• Excellent communicator and influencer; able to manage multiple stakeholders and present performance and risk to senior leadership.

Benefits:

• Structured career development framework
• 25 days' holiday, plus bank holiday
• Enhanced company pension scheme
• Discretionary annual bonus award
• Private medical insurance and health cash plan
• Life assurance benefit
• Ability to apply for a sabbatical of up to one year after only two years' service
• Benefits adaptable to lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• Generous parental leave policies
• Range of wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programme and free financial & mortgage advice