The posting
Principal Objective
Reporting to the Head of Operations, the successful candidate will be an experienced Plant Manager with a strong track record in good manufacturing practice, lean principles, and operational excellence within a manufacturing environment. The role holds full accountability for the safe, efficient and commercially effective performance of the sawmill site, ensuring safe, efficient and compliant operations aligned with Group standards and objectives.
Working closely with Forestry, Sales and the Head of Operations, the Plant Manager will plan and manage production capacity to deliver against the Group’s strategic and commercial goals. Given the interdependent nature of operations, the role will also involve close collaboration with the other sites, ensuring a strong and effective working relationship. This cross‑site coordination is critical to optimising production flow, meeting customer demand, and supporting overall business performance.
Knowledge & Experience
– Degree or qualification in Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
– Minimum 5 years’ experience in a senior Plant, Site or Operations Management role within a manufacturing or industrial environment.
– Experience operating within a high‑capital, asset‑intensive environment.
– Proven experience managing large‑scale production operations, ideally within sawmilling, timber processing or a comparable continuous‑process industry.
– Strong working knowledge of Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) systems and regulatory compliance.
– Demonstrated experience applying lean manufacturing, continuous improvement and operational excellence principles.
– Experience managing budgets, KPIs and production planning to meet commercial and operational targets.
– Proven experience leading, developing and performance‑managing multi‑disciplinary teams.
Key Responsibilities
– Working closely with SHEQ Manager, ensure appropriate policies, procedures, staff and processes are in place to meet the safety, health environment, and quality assurance standards. Actively promoting and prioritising a safe working environment.
– Develop the sawmill production plan to maximise the return to the business from the sawmill, working closely with Forestry and Sales managers.
– Contribute to the development of the overall production strategy for the Group. Monitoring the production performance against the budget through a set of agreed KPIs.
– Drive efficiencies at all levels in the sawmill, through short/medium term projects. Driving standardisation of approaches, practices and reporting across the sawmill through a culture of continuous improvement.
– Lead and support the people agenda on site from a recruitment, onboarding, development and colleague engagement perspective in conjunction with HR.
– Ensure robust operational governance through effective daily, weekly and periodic production review forums.
– Form strong working relationships with supervisors to support them in their roles and to enable them to share knowledge and best practices.
– Contribute to the development of the capital investment and the implementation of capital and NPD projects.
– Oversee smooth and efficient operations across the sawmill from log intake through primary and secondary production. Developing a strong culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Essential Competencies
– Leadership & People Development - Builds high‑performing teams through visible leadership, clear expectations, coaching and development. Creates an inclusive environment where colleagues are supported to perform at their best.
– Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement - Demonstrates a systematic approach to improving safety, quality, efficiency and cost performance through lean thinking and structured problem‑solving.
– Decision‑Making & Accountability - Makes sound, timely decisions based on data and operational insight. Delegates effectively while maintaining clear accountability.
– Communication & Collaboration - Communicates clearly and credibly with colleagues at all levels. Builds strong working relationships across sites and functions.
– Change Leadership - Leads confidently through change, managing risk and uncertainty while maintaining operational stability and team engagement.
– Results Focus - Sets high standards and drives sustainable performance against agreed objectives and KPIs.
– Commercial & Financial Acumen - Understands cost drivers, margin levers and capital trade‑offs. Uses financial insight to inform operational and strategic decisions.
Key Performance Measures
– Safety & Compliance Performance - Zero serious incidents,SHEQ audit outcomes and regulatory compliance metrics
– Operational Performance - Production output vs plan, Yield, uptime and efficiency metrics
– Financial Performance - Cost per cubic metre / tonne, delivery of site budget and contribution to Group margin
– People & Capability - Engagement, retention and absence metrics, capability development of supervisors and leadership bench strength
Key Relationships
– Head of Operations – strategic alignment, performance delivery, escalation.
– Managing Directors / Group Leadership – contribution to Group strategy and performance.
– Peer General Managers / Site Leaders – cross‑site coordination, best practice sharing.
– Forestry Team – log supply, yield optimisation and planning.
– Sales & Commercial Teams – production planning, customer demand alignment.
– Engineering / Capital Projects Teams – asset reliability, capital investment delivery.
– HR Team – workforce planning, leadership development, engagement and succession.
– Finance / Management Accounting – budget control, cost performance, capital justification.
