Operations Director

Operations Director - Hands-On, High-Ownership Role Rhondda, South Wales (On-site, 5/2) £75,000 – £125,000+ package (wide band for exceptional operators) ThePetFoodPeople® is a fast-growing manufacturer of award-winning pet food, supplements, and nutraceuticals. As we scale, we are now hiring an Operations Director who can build, lead, and transform the operational engine of our company. ***To be considered for this role, you MUST demonstrate start-up AND scale-up experience. You need to have built from scratch, not advised on it or inherited a team. You MUST have been on a founding-team journey before, hands dirty, doing the work yourself. Mature company experience alone is not sufficient. If you tick this box, please make it clear on your application/CV.*** Our visionary founder is driving a pipeline of major innovations, world-first formulations, international expansion, and investment in advanced production technology. To unlock this next stage of growth, we now need an exceptional operator who can take full ownership of the day-to-day operation and build the systems that will carry us forward. This is not a corporate role. This is not a job for someone who manages from a distance. This is a role for the rare operator who builds excellence from the inside out. You will be stepping into the company at a pivotal growth stage, early enough to make your mark, and late enough that the vision and commercial strategy are in place. This is a builder’s role, where you will establish the structure, systems, and rhythm that will carry the business through its next phase of scale. If you’ve scaled operations in FMCG, food production, manufacturing, or high-growth start-up environments, and you enjoy rolling up your sleeves while creating structure and capability, this could be the defining role of your career. What You’ll Own > Operational Leadership (Hands-On) You will take full ownership of the daily running of the site, ensuring production, support, and despatch operate with pace, discipline, and accuracy. You will: Ensure production schedules run on plan Resolve bottlenecks and breakdowns in real time Support despatch, stock control, and customer experience as needed Set daily priorities and lead from the floor Maintain consistent operational performance with no drift > People Capability & Team Development (Make, Support, Deliver) You will elevate the capability, confidence, and discipline of the operational team. You will: Lead the team shoulder-to-shoulder on the floor and in the office Build the Make > Support > Deliver team structure Hire high-calibre talent as the business scales Set clear expectations, standards, and accountability Address underperformance directly and professionally Build a culture of ownership, pace, and pride > Strategic Execution & Operational Future-Readiness You will translate the company’s strategic priorities into operational reality. You will: Increase capacity, throughput, and efficiency Build the systems, SOPs, and operating rhythms that make growth possible Lead FSQMS, hygiene, compliance, and site readiness Drive continuous improvement and lean adoption Make the business structurally independent of key individuals Prepare the facility for greater scale, higher standards, and future automation Who You Are You are the rare combination of builder, operator, and leader: Start-up + scale-up experience (non-negotiable) Have built operations with limited resources (non-negotiable) Hands-on operator first, leader-builder second Direct, clear, and comfortable with pace Experienced in FMCG, manufacturing, food, or nutraceuticals Thrives in pressure, urgency, and high expectations Obsessed with making things better, cleaner, faster, sharper Motivated by building something elite in a place where nobody expects it If you’ve never been the first ops person in a business, doing everything yourself, building from nothing, and living the pressure that comes with early-stage chaos: this isn’t the role for you. You need to have actually done it before, not advised on it or inherited a team. You MUST have been on a founding-team journey before, hands dirty, doing the work yourself. Mature-company experience alone won’t work here. Why This Role Matters We are not aiming for average. We are building a 0.1% world-class operation in a sleepy Welsh valley where no one expects it. If that excites you, apply. If it intimidates you, it’s not for you.