Chief Operating Officer

Matter.

Chief Operating Officer leading operational strategies at a cleantech scale-up focused on international expansion to combat micro pollution.

Posted 7/3/2026full-timeBristol • 🇬🇧 United KingdomLeadWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AssemblyERP

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Operational Strategy & Leadership
Translate business strategy into scalable operational capability and execution plans aligned with rapid commercial expansion to support customer base largely in Asia but also Europe, the Americas and middle East.
Translate business strategy into operational capability and execution plans
Take full ownership of all operations following contract award, ensuring successful project execution through to commissioning, handover and ongoing customer support.
Lead end‑to‑end operations including production planning, procurement, supply chain, logistics, and quality assurance.
Build and manage an operations organisation capable of supporting manufacture of large filtration systems in the 100’s per year manufacturing in 12–18 months.
Work closely with the executive team to drive operational KPIs, efficiencies, and performance improvements.
Act as a key member of the executive leadership team
Identify, evaluate, and secure manufacturing partners in the UK, Asia and other regions as required with strong engineering capabilities and capacity for large industrial systems.
Oversee technology transfer, ensuring manufacturing partners can produce systems to specification, cost, and quality targets.
Establish scalable assembly, testing, and QA workflows suitable for regional and customer requirements.
Build a global supply chain strategy optimised for cost, lead time, reliability, and risk management.
Oversee manufacturing strategy, ensuring quality, efficiency, and scalability
Own sourcing and supplier qualification for critical components, including mechanical assemblies, filtration elements, structural components, and instrumentation.
Implement supplier performance management processes, audits, and quality control mechanisms.
Develop redundancy and dual‑sourcing strategies to identify and mitigate supply chain risks that will support growth in Asia while maintaining UK operational security.
Build and scale local operational presence in target markets (partners, teams, service capability)
Establish regional hubs or partnerships to support installation, maintenance, and after-sales service
Navigate local regulatory, cultural, and commercial environments effectively
Translate engineering designs into commercially manufacturable products with clear documentation, BOMs, and workflows.
Support product standardisation and modularisation to reduce manufacturing complexity and cost.
Collaborate with engineering teams to resolve manufacturability issues and drive continuous improvement.
Develop a global service and maintenance model to support installed systems
Build recurring revenue streams through service contracts and upgrades
Ensure long-term system performance and customer satisfaction
Establish operational framework, systems, tools, and processes including ERP/MRP, inventory management, logistics and quality management systems.
Manage UK operational activities including pilot manufacturing, warehousing, and supply chain operations.
Oversee international logistics including shipping, customs, compliance, and distribution into Asian markets.
Recruit and lead a high‑performing operations team across procurement, production engineering, supply chain, and quality.
Create a culture of accountability, safety, continuous improvement, and cross‑functional collaboration.
Provide strong leadership to support the company’s growth trajectory and evolving organisational structure.
Own and implement best-in-class health, safety, and environmental standards across all operations
Ensure compliance with UK and international regulations, including site-specific requirements
Lead on building a strong safety culture across internal teams and partners

Requirements

What you’ll need

Proven experience in a senior operations leadership role within industrial engineering, water treatment, filtration, or complex manufactured equipment.
Demonstrated track record of scaling international operations from low‑volume to commercial production.
Strong expertise in managing manufacturing partners, supply chains, and complex assemblies.
Experience building supply chains and vendor networks including in Asia.
Deep understanding of quality systems, compliance, safety, and industrial manufacturing best practices.
Ability to translate high‑level engineering concepts into repeatable, scalable manufacturing processes.
Excellent leadership, strong commercial/financial acumen and stakeholder management skills.
Willingness to travel internationally 20% – 30%.

Benefits

Comp & perks

- Flexible working environment, with core hours of 09:30-16:00 and hybrid working available, based at our central Bristol HQ
- Annual Leave – 26 days + public holidays + entitlement will increase with length of service, 1 day for every year up to 32 days pa
- 1 extra day of leave to celebrate you on your birthday
- Ability to swap up to 3 Bank Holidays in a year for days of cultural or religious significance
- Enhanced family leave (maternity & paternity) - 13 weeks full pay (maternity) or 4 weeks full pay (paternity) - available for those who have worked continuously for 26 weeks by the end of the Qualifying Week
- Sick Pay - Short Term Sickness is full pay for 10 days in any 12-month rolling period / Long Term Sickness is full pay for any instance of a consecutive period of sickness longer than a week (7 consecutive days) up to 13 weeks.
- Pension scheme (Aviva) – 5% employer contribution
- Private Medical Insurance (BUPA) – you and your family (Level 1 cover)
- Medical Cash Plan (SimplyHealth) - you and your family (Level 1 cover)
- Critical Illness Cover (Zurich) - after 13 weeks of Illness 75% of wages paid up to 5 years
- Dental Plan (BUPA) – you and your family (Level 1 cover)
- Life Assurance (Zurich) - one-off payment of 2 times your annual salary to next of kin
- Virtual GP
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Onsite kitchen, dining, breakout areas & healthy snacks
- Monthly lunch clubs
- Regular team events and parties
- On-site parking for bicycles and cars
- Cycle to work scheme
- Ethical discounts through Lumina
- Training & Development support incl. 5% of contractual hours used for self-development
- Professional membership - one per year where relevant to role

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Hard Skills & Tools

Operational Capability DevelopmentProduction PlanningProcurementLogistics ManagementQuality Control MechanismsManufacturing StrategyEngineering Design TranslationService and Maintenance Model DevelopmentHealth, Safety, and Environmental StandardsRegulatory Compliance

Soft Skills

LeadershipStakeholder ManagementCross-Functional CollaborationCommercial AcumenContinuous Improvement