Operations Director

Operations Director – Lavazza Professional UK - Head Office – Basingstoke, North Hampshire

A new and exciting opportunity to join the iconic, family owned, global Italian coffee business, leading change and driving growth in the UK Office Coffee Service and Vending Market.

Background to the Role

E-Coffee Solutions (ECS), currently comprising Lavazza Professional (UK, France and Germany) and Maxi Coffee in France, is the newly created Office Coffee Service (OCS) and Vending division of the Lavazza Group.

ECS has strategic ambition to grow both organically and through strategic acquisition to be the market leader in the OCS/Vending channel in Europe in the next 5 years, combining a physical operating network with e-commerce capabilities to create an omnichannel business, expanding a profitable model in the big 5 European markets.

Lavazza Professional UK

Lavazza Professional UK has a turnover of €80m and approx. 250 employees in the UK market organisation, with the ambition to grow organically and through selective acquisitions in the 5-year horizon. Critical to achieving this will be the establishment of Operational Excellence in field operations and technical service.

Reporting to the UK Market Leader of Lavazza Professional UK, the newly created role of UK Operations Director will be a key member of the UK Management Team, with responsibility for the development of new organisational competences and the ongoing provision of technical and operating services to the UK Market.

Key Accountabilities

• Leadership and engagement of the technical and operating teams within the UK Market (currently ~160 employees) through a period of change and transformation.
• Delivery of service KPI’s and SLA’s to multiple channels and customer groups to ensure customer satisfaction and retention.
• Creation of a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement within LPro Operations to increase efficiency, reduce waste and operating costs, improve quality and customer satisfaction, and deliver market leading service quality.
• Deliver improvement in organisational efficiency, enabled by smarter use of data and technology
• Provide engaging leadership and line management to a team of predominantly remote field-based employees
• Work effectively with all colleagues on the UK Management Team to deliver UK Market business objectives.

• Plan and monitor organisational costs and KPI’s through the budget and monthly review cycles, taking corrective action when required.
• Build the necessary organisational capabilities to support the strategic direction of the business and customer requirements.
• Ensure full compliance with all Health and Safety and regulatory requirements.
• Lead the operational integration aspects of any acquired businesses

Ideal Previous Experience

• Extensive industry experience in the Coffee/OCS/Vending/Unattended retail industry - ESSENTIAL
• Technical field service - vending / coffee machines technology, maintenance, reliability and spare parts management.
• Logistics and distribution.
• Use of data (telemetry and IT systems) to drive operations performance and improvement.
• Business integration of acquired smaller businesses into a larger core business.
• Principles and challenges of fleet management.
• Budgeting and cost control of multi-million £ cost centres.
• Deep understanding of how to build and maintain a culture of operational excellence.
• Experienced in change management and leadership of line managers.
• Health, Safety and Environmental Management.
• Employee engagement and communication.

Key Skills and Competences Required

• Leadership and People Management - demonstrates excellence in people leadership and line management. Will role model the Lavazza vales in the Service organization. Able to act as a role model in authentic and credible communication with office and field-based associates. Able to engage associates, set a vision for the future and hold people to account.
• Financial acumen – demonstrable experience on managing and controlling significant budgets and has the financial acumen to manage large elements of the UK P&L.
• Customer centricity – has a proven history of putting the customer at the heart of business decisions and priorities. Can act as the voice of the customer and champion the customer experience within the organisation.
• Cross-functional relationships – has the ability to coordinate activities between functions and manage multiple stakeholders
• Change Management – has significant experience in leading projects, process improvement and culture change within an organisation. Not afraid to stand alone, take difficult decisions and hold others to account.

The offer –

A competitive salary plus bonus scheme

Car Allowance

Generous company pension

Private Health care

Wellbeing package

Onsite Canteen

Engagement activities

Cycle to work scheme

Group Life Assurance

Plus, many more

The Successful candidate will subject to background checks which may include the successful completion of a DBS check