Hartwell Manufacturing is one of the UK’s leading specialists in the design and fabrication of high-performance acoustic enclosures, pressure vessels and large-scale steel fabrications. With continued expansion across both its Ossett headquarters and the Ecclesfield site in Sheffield, Hartwell is now seeking a proven Operations Manager to take ownership of day-to-day manufacturing operations and lead the site through its next phase of growth.
The Role
Reporting to the Operations Director, you will take full responsibility for the day-to-day running of the Ecclesfield operation — a high-integrity, quality-critical fabrication environment. This is a senior, autonomous role with broad responsibility across people, performance, safety, systems and delivery. You’ll set the tone and standards for the site, leading from the front and shaping the operational culture.
As Hartwell prepares for the transition to the next stage of growth, you’ll play a key role in ensuring that safety, quality and performance standards are embedded and consistently maintained through that change.
Key Responsibilities
· Champion and lead a zero injury safety culture, ensuring compliance, accountability and proactive improvement across all teams and shifts.
· Maintain and enforce a zero defect, right-first-time culture, with quality gates built into each stage of fabrication and welding to ensure robust, fault-free products.
· Lead site performance and workflow planning, ensuring output and productivity targets are met in a high-standards production environment.
· Embed and improve structured operational systems (e.g. KPIs, planning, reporting) to support consistency and continuous improvement.
· Lead and develop the operations team, with clear communication, structured reviews and an open culture of accountability.
· Work cross-functionally with engineering, projects and senior leadership to ensure smooth delivery and aligned targets.
· Reinforce and enhance internal procedures, compliance and H\&S protocols in line with company standards and accreditations.
About You
· Degree qualified or equivalent in Engineering, Manufacturing or similar discipline.
· Minimum 10 years’ management experience in a complex manufacturing or engineering environment.
· Proven track record leading teams in a production environment, with experience of multi-shift operations.
· Strong operational systems experience — comfortable owning KPIs, planning, resource management, safety and compliance.
· Deep understanding of quality control, process control and formal quality gates throughout production.
· Lean, Six Sigma or CI knowledge and practical implementation experience.
· Excellent leadership and people management skills — hands-on, clear, and structured.
· Calm under pressure and fully accountable — capable of owning site delivery day in, day out.
Why Hartwell?
Hartwell is proudly independent and engineering-led, with a strong reputation for quality, delivery and long-term client partnerships. With growing demand across industrial, data centre and power sectors, the business continues to evolve — and Ecclesfield is central to that momentum. You’ll be trusted to run the site with full responsibility, shaping its performance as the business enters a new phase of operational maturity.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Benefits:
On-site parking
Work Location: In person