Job Description

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for the end-to-end performance of a multi-shift manufacturing operation.

You will own how the operation runs. Not just what gets done day-to-day, but how work is planned, aligned, and executed across a 7-day environment. This role is focused on building a system that delivers consistently, not reacting to problems as they arise.

Customer demand can shift quickly, and priorities may change throughout the week. Success in this role comes from stepping back, seeing the full system, and building a way of working that holds up even when conditions change.

You’ll lead through frontline leaders, drive cross-functional alignment, and ensure the site is prepared to meet customer demand while improving performance over time.

This role has high visibility and direct impact on how the operation performs day-to-day and week-to-week.

Job Responsibilities

Operational Performance

• Own performance across safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people
• Ensure the operation is consistently prepared to meet customer demand
• Drive stable, predictable production flow across all shifts

Labor Planning & Execution

• Design and manage labor allocation across a multi-shift, 7-day operation
• Balance workload across weekdays and weekends to reduce inefficiencies and overtime
• Ensure frontline leaders are focused on leading, not filling gaps

Cross-Functional Alignment

• Align priorities and execution across shifts with clear communication and handoffs
• Partner with Procurement, Supply Chain, Quality, and Engineering to anticipate and resolve issues early
• Represent Operations in cross-functional decisions and drive alignment across the value stream

• Provide clear, proactive communication to site leadership on performance, risks, and recovery plans to ensure alignment and effective decision-making

Customer Delivery

• Translate customer demand into clear, executable plans
• Set realistic delivery commitments and ensure the team delivers on them
• Communicate risks early and drive recovery plans when needed

Leadership & Continuous Improvement

• Identify recurring issues and drive root cause resolution
• Improve processes to increase efficiency, predictability, and quality
• Develop and coach Team Leaders to build a strong, accountable leadership bench
• Hold leaders accountable for results and follow-through on commitments
• Drive a culture where expectations are clear, performance is addressed directly, and accountability is owned at every level
• Own team engagement, including communication of survey results, action planning, and follow-through

Job Qualifications

Required

• Experience leading multi-shift manufacturing or operations environments
• Strong background in labor planning and managing operational flow
• Ability to lead through leaders and influence across functions
• Comfortable making decisions that impact people, performance, and operations
• Track record of building accountable, high-performing teams

Preferred

• GKN Aerospace Experience
• Aerospace or highly regulated manufacturing experience
• Experience in high-mix or demand-variable environments
• Lean or continuous improvement background (Six Sigma, etc.)
• This is a hands-on leadership role in a fast-paced environment. Priorities will shift, and strong execution under pressure is critical.
• The right person will bring structure to complexity, build alignment across teams, and create a system that performs consistently over time.

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology. ​
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