Plant Manager – Plastics Recycling

About The Role

We need an experienced Plant Manager for our AO Plastics Recycling plant in Telford. You'll drive continuous improvement, preferably with Lean Six Sigma experience, manage operational and lab teams (2 direct reports, 20 colleagues), and work with engineering, SHEQ, HR, and Commercial functions.

AO is renowned for electricals, but we're also a major UK recycler of fridges and other Large Domestic Appliances (LDAs). We transform old appliances (fridges, washing machines, dishwashers) into valuable resources, sending plastics to our recycling plant where you'll lead.

Our recycling plant is audited to the top European standards, creating high-quality single polymer plastics to use in new appliances on ao.com. We've invested over £6 million since 2018 (further multi-million-pound investment due autumn 2024), supporting AO Recycling's growth and strategy.

Here's What You Can Expect To Be Doing

• Lead operational and production teams, reporting to the Director of Commercial, ensuring a robust structure and motivating our people.
• Achieve strategic objective of using plastics in new appliances for ao.com.
• Support commercial teams with key accounts, customers, and prospects, including quality and material specifications.
• Foster a positive Health & Safety culture.
• Drive continuous improvement using techniques like VSM, SMED, and Kaizen events.
• Act as subject matter expert on plastics separation, extrusion, and moulding, and understand plant parameters' impact on KPIs.
• Plan and coordinate site projects to meet schedules and budgets.
• Represent AO in UK and European forums on regulatory and legislative changes.

A Few Things About You

We need someone knowledgeable in plastics, either an expert or with the drive to become one quickly. You’ll be an experienced plant manager with operational and Lean Six Sigma qualifications, capable of working with engineering teams and solving complex problems collaboratively. We'll also need you to have:

• Experience in plastics processing, ideally with focus on separation, production, or moulding, including evaluating process capability and maintaining quality.
• Desire to understand machinery and equipment at the AO Plastics Recycling Plant.
• Proven track record in delivering continuous improvements with Lean 6 Sigma.
• Strong communication and people skills, motivating and engaging teams.
• Ability to effectively interact with operators, experts, leaders, and customers.

A Bit About Us

At AO, we want to make sure our customers are happy. When they have a smile on their face, we know we’ve done a good job. It’s at the heart of everything we do, and it’s why our logo is always smiling.
When it comes to appliances and electricals, we’ve got the lot. Washing machines? Yep. TVs? Check. Laptops? Absolutely. Everything except doorbells (just kidding, we’ve got those too). Over 20 years, we’ve grown to be a £1Billion turnover business, and recycling is a key part of our customer proposition, and our future strategy.
We’re passionate, relentless, and full of beans, determined to make a difference and change the world for the better. From massive changes to tiny tweaks - making a difference is what keeps us driven. The plastics recycling plant is proof of that! Since 2019 we have grown from zero to over 10,000 tonnes processed annually.
We’ll grow this by 50% in 2024, and we need someone ambitious to help us deliver this stratospheric growth. Is that person you?

Our Benefits

Our benefits are designed to cover the moments that matter to AO'ers. From health and wellness to giving back - you’ll be rewarded inside and outside of work.
• Car allowance
• 15% annual bonus
• Value Creation Plan - AO’s unique and life changing bonus scheme for all employees which matures in 2027
• 25 days holiday, growing with length of service
• Staff discount at ao.com & discounted gym offers
• 9% AO contributing Pension scheme
• Employee Assistance Programmes

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