Head of Supply Chain

Opportunity Brief:  Head of Supply Chain

Ford & Stanley Executive Search (Part of the Ford & Stanley Group) are a leading Executive search firm to the UK, North American and European Engineering, Technology, Sustainability & Heavy Manufacturing industries.

Our search directors, search consultants and research teams specialise in all horizontal functions of our clients organisation with expertise spanning engineering, commercial, procurement, HR, IT, finance, HSQE, sales, projects, operations and c-suite.

We are trusted by over 100 leading organisations when they seek to make a leadership appointment, be that a permanent appointment or an interim solution.

We have been retained and appointed by our client on the search and selection for a Head of Supply Chain who will act as the catalyst for a more efficient and profitable operation.

Below you will find an ‘opportunity brief’ developed from notes taken during the scoping meeting (Situational Discovery) held between the Managing Consultant and Research Manager of F&S Executive Search and the company’s Operations Director. This brief is designed to give candidates a deeper insight into the opportunity inherent within the role, the challenges the role presents and provide access to the detail that sits behind the job specification.

Client Opportunity Statements:

“Integral to the continuous improvement, growth and efficiency of our business is the appointment of an analytical and pragmatic Head of Supply Chain. Someone who will be the catalyst in ensuring we have robust, lean and efficient processes, setting the foundations for our continued growth.”

“Our vision is to professionalise our procurement, supply chain and logistics functions, with the overall aim to make them work symbiotically. We recognise there is great opportunity for process improvement, relevant KPI setting and data optimisation, to power our strategic decisions”

“We are a small, hands-on organisation. We all ‘roll our sleeves up’ and work closely to ensure the success of the business. Our new Head of Supply Chain will be no exception and it’s important that the incoming individual genuinely buys into this.”

Challenges expected within the first 12 months include:

• This business is an SME and as such candidates will need to be comfortable “mucking in”. Ensuring they are not only defining the vision but taking the practical steps to achieve that vision.
• The business has achieved consistent and rapid growth over recent years, the business’s processes and procedures are catching up, therefore the supply chain is quite immature in its professionalisation journey.
• As the company continue on their growth journey the business will experience substantial change, it will be imperative that this individual takes the team on the journey from “good” to “great”.

Key deliverables within the first 12 months include:

• To have achieved an inventory “Just in time” of 90 days, reducing further to 60 days the year after and down further to 40 days the year after that.
• To have delivered tangible improvements to the Purchase Price Variance (PPV), with the overall aim of increasing margin.
• Utilising data, we expect improvement to on-time delivery, exception management, inventory accuracy and pick accuracy.

Essential Hard Skills (Skills & Experience)

• Candidates to demonstrate consistent length of service with their current employer, ideally achieving progression during this time.  
• Capability, experience and knowledge across both Supply Chain and Procurement.  
• Experience working in heavy metals/heavy engineering industries   
• Candidate to have demonstrable experience in an SME environment (we will consider candidates from larger blue-chip environments but will test their appreciation of SME working dynamics)
• Desirable* experience working in the security systems sector

Essential Soft Skills (Attributes & Behaviours)

• Candidates to be naturally “hands-on” and not afraid to “roll their sleeves up” to get the job done.  
• Collaborative approach to work. 
• Empowering and inspiring, ability to bring people along on a journey.
• Resilient and persistent, will work strategically to influence change.

Working Arrangements & Location:

• Full time on-site, based at their head office in the Crewe area.
• Weekly travel to the manufacturing facility (10 mins from the office).

Our Client’s Interview Process:

• 1st Stage interview: to be completed on-site (if diaries allow), with the Procurement Manager and Operations Director.
• 2nd Final Stage interview: to be completed on-site with Operations Director and one of the company shareholders.

Ford & Stanley Interview Process: 

• 1st Stage – Candidate Discovery: An open, conversational and consultative discussion where interested candidates are assessed on their suitability for the role in the context of the above and challenged on how the opportunity lines up with their career aspirations, motivations, financial expectations and personal circumstances.
• 2nd Stage – The ‘shortlist’: Candidates are asked to reflect on the candidate discovery discussion, take time to reflect on the opportunity and undertake subsequent research on the client business reporting back on their thoughts, questions and providing additional specific information on their suitability (if applicable). Final checks of role, package and logistical alignments made.

Good to know:

• The Head of Supply Chain reports into Operations Director.
• The role holds full responsibility/accountability for both Supply Chain and Procurement, with line management responsibility of an Inventory controller and Expeditor.
• Currently, the Logistics Manager reports directly into the Operations Director, the view is, as the Head of Supply Chain role progresses, this position changes reporting lines under Head of Supply Chain.
• The company are a family-owned business who are very passionate about “doing right” by their customers and have a truly welcoming culture.
• Specialists in the design, manufacture, assembly and provision of physical security fencing systems. These systems protect high-value assets in the world’s most demanding environment.
• The business operates across 5 sites globally, with the head office based in the Crewe area. They anticipate rapid growth in the American market throughout 2025.
• The Supply Chain spend is currently £20mil made up of 113 suppliers. The top 10 suppliers make up £12.5mil.
• The business is split across 3 core areas: Fencing security systems, gated systems and automatic access systems.
• Operate across Nuclear, Water, Distribution Depots and Data Centres. They have a strong pipeline of projects, particularly in the US data centre market.
• These solutions are a combination of “off-the-shelf” products and bespoke solutions. C.80% of products are purchased and later distributed to their customer base. The remaining 20% is manufactured/assembled locally.
• The business is currently quite biased in the transactional supply of products that offer low margins but higher volume, they are eager to become more dominant in project-based work that allows higher margins and stronger client relationships.
• Worth noting there is opportunity for margin improvement on the high volume, transactional projects, but work will need to be done to ensure quality from suppliers remains consistent.
• They are currently in the process of implementing a new MRP system, which will be in place by the time this role is onboarded and will be integral to data-driven decision-making.
• The current Procurement Manager is moving laterally to focus on a full-time MRP implementation role, this position will take on responsibility of both procurement and supply chain across the business.
• As it stands, supply chain, processing, production, logistics and transport work very separately. The Head of Supply Chain will focus on bringing these functions together and ensuring they work symbiotically.
• Production control is a large area of continuous improvement, this role will help formalising this process.
• This role is an opportunity to shape the supply chain and craft it from the ground up.

Budget:

Low £60k / Mid £65k / Top end £70k

Supporting benefits

• 25 days annual leave and 8 Days statutory bank holidays
• Pension contributions, 3% ER & 6% EE contributions
• Car Allowance – TBC
• Future potential of a profit share scheme, to be defined. (Non-contractual at this stage)

Executive Search Delivery Team:

• Billy Jackson – Managing Consultant (Client Recommendations/Advisory, Offer Negotiations, Headhunting, Networking)
• Oliver Nunn – Research Manager (Headhunting, Networking, Research, Search, Longlisting, Interviews, Data & Market Intel)
• Ralitsa Kuzeva – Executive Assistant (Diary Management, Coordination, Candidate Experience)

About Ford & Stanley Executive Search:

Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group are in the business of people and performance. Our mission is to create one million better workdays through facilitating great recruitment, leadership and occupational mental fitness. We support our clients in their most challenging business areas - recruiting, developing and retaining the best talent from shop floor to boardroom.

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Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group Ltd is a Disability Confident employer that is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all opportunity seekers. We shall adhere to such a policy at all times and will review on an on-going basis all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. We will treat everyone equally irrespective sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief or political beliefs and we place an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with the policy.

Services advertised by Ford & Stanley are that of an employment consultancy business.