Head of Operations

Location: Hatfield
Salary: £80,000 - £85,000
Job Type: Perm
Sector: Engineering & Manufacturing
Date Posted: 27 October 2026
Reference: 56100

About The Role

  • Perm
  • Hatfield
  • £80,000 - £85,000 GBP / Year

The One Group

Head of Operations
Location: Hertfordshire

Are you an experienced Head of Operations who enjoys getting stuck into operational challenges, improving performance and developing teams?

We’re working with an established precision engineering business looking to appoint a Head of Operations to lead its manufacturing operations through a period of significant change and improvement.

This is an opportunity for someone who comes from a strong engineering and machining background, understands the challenges of running a busy manufacturing environment and has a proven track record of delivering operational improvements.

Reporting directly to the Managing Director, you’ll have responsibility for driving performance across safety, quality, delivery, cost and people, whilst building a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

What you’ll be doing:

  • Leading day to day manufacturing operations, ensuring performance targets are achieved across quality, delivery, cost and productivity.

  • Driving operational improvements through Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement and effective KPI management.

  • Improving production planning, machine utilisation, capacity and on time delivery whilst reducing costs and waste.

  • Developing and supporting operational teams, creating a culture of ownership, accountability and high performance.

  • Working closely with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance and Supply Chain to improve manufacturing processes and overall business performance.

What we’re looking for:

  • Proven experience as a Head of Operations, Operations Director or in an equivalent senior operational leadership position within precision engineering or machining.

  • Strong technical understanding of CNC machining and complex manufacturing processes.

  • Experience implementing Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement and operational transformation initiatives.

  • A track record of improving operational KPIs including delivery, productivity, quality and cost.

  • A hands-on leader who can develop teams, challenge existing processes and turn improvement plans into measurable results.

This is an opportunity for an established senior operations leader who wants to make a genuine impact on a manufacturing business undergoing significant operational transformation.

If the role sounds of interest, click to apply and Kieran Evans at The ONE Group will be in contact to discuss the finer details of the opportunity.

To apply for this job email your details to kevans@theonegroup.co.uk

About The ONE Group

The ONE Group is a specialist recruitment consultancy with offices in Cambridge, Peterborough, Northampton, and Hertfordshire.

We recruit across Technology, Engineering & Manufacturing, Scientific, Sales, and Marketing, with consultants who specialise in their sector rather than trying to cover everything. This focused approach allows us to provide deeper market knowledge, stronger networks, and better hiring outcomes for both clients and candidates.

Our expertise spans permanent, contract, and senior-level appointments. Most importantly, the majority of our business comes from repeat clients and referrals, reflecting the long-term relationships we build and the trust we earn through consistently delivering results.

What Happens Next

1

One of our consultants will review your application within one working day.

2

If your experience looks like a fit, we'll be in touch for a quick conversation to understand what you're looking for.

3

From there, we'll talk you through the role properly, prepare you for interview, and stay alongside you through to your start date.

4

Whatever happens with this role, we'll keep your details on file, with your permission, so we can flag other opportunities that suit you.

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THE ONE GROUP

Where we're from,
and how we got here

Twenty years of specialist recruitment in the East – and a lot of small decisions that added up.

TOG started in Peterborough in 2004 with a small team and a simple idea: that recruitment is a people business, done best by specialists who stay in their sector long enough to know it properly.

More than two decades on, we've grown into four offices across the East of England and Home Counties. We recruit for finance leaders, HR directors, engineering managers, tech founders, scientists, and the commercial teams that keep businesses running day to day. Between us, we've built up over 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of more than 150,000 candidates we've placed, coached, or come to know across two decades in the region.

The founding principle hasn't changed. Recruitment as it should be.

OUR STORY

Key events timeline

2004

Doors open in Peterborough.

Our first office launches with a team of six on Lynch Wood. Cambridge follows the same year, giving us two offices before our first anniversary.

2015

Northampton makes it three.

Our third office opens with a team of five, quickly growing to eleven consultants covering the wider Midlands region.

2017

Peterborough moves across the road.

The team has outgrown the founding office. We move into Arena House on Lynch Wood, big enough for a growing consultant base and the back-office team that supports the whole group.

2018

Cambridge moves too.

Our second office relocates to Cambourne Business Park, giving the growing Cambridge team the space it now needs.

2023

Four offices, three counties, one very good year.

The Hertfordshire & Essex office opens in Potters Bar, extending our footprint into the Home Counties.

In the same year, we're named Business of the Year in Northamptonshire, and Employer of the Year in both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire at the regional SME Business Awards. Three counties, three panels.

TODAY

Still growing.

Four offices, more than 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of over 150,000 candidates.

Same founding principle.

SPECIALISTS BY DESIGN

What we do

We're specialists, not generalists. Every consultant at TOG focuses on one sector and stays in it. Not because it's the only way to do recruitment, but because it's how you build the depth to spot the difference between a strong CV and a strong hire.

It's also why so many of our clients come back to us years, even decades, after a first placement.

01
Accountancy & Finance
→
 02
Human Resources
→
 03
Commercial Office
Administration, customer service, project management and more
→
 04
Technology
→
 05
Engineering & Manufacturing
→
 06
Scientific
→
 07
Sales, Marketing & Creative
→
 08
Executive Search
Across all of the above
→

Beyond the recruitment itself, we produce annual salary guides, regional market reports, and the practical resources our clients and candidates turn to when they want a clearer view of what's happening in their sector.

THE WAY WE WORK

How we work

Four principles show up in every conversation and every process.
01

Be curious.

We stay interested in the market we work in, and in the people who work in it.

02

Keep it human.

We remember your kids' names and know how you take your coffee. That's just how we work here.

03

Make a difference.

We're here to help people build careers they love and businesses they're proud of.

04

Enjoy the ride.

Recruitment is a career, but it should be fun too. If it isn't, we've done something wrong.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Recruitment
as it should be.

Hire with TOG → Looking for a role →
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