Head of Recycling

Britannia Refined Metals Limited, Northfleet, Kent, United Kingdom is a leading supplier of strategic minerals & metal products essential for the Green Transition and Decarbonisation of our society. 

The Company has been established over 100 years ago to refine lead and silver and is working on the expansion plan to promote the Circular Economy in the UK's Metal Industry.

This position is a key leadership role responsible for coordinating and optimizing recycling operations, acting as the central link between logistics, operations, maintenance, planning and leadership teams. The role is responsible for ensuring that plant operations run efficiently, safely and in line with business targets, while driving continuous improvement across all operational streams. By applying strong leadership, structured operational control and data-driven decision making, the role ensures stability, performance and compliance across a complex industrial processing environment.

 

The position supports operations from daily execution through to medium-term operational planning, providing visibility, control and responsiveness across all process stages. It is critical in balancing production throughput, labour, equipment availability and process reliability, while minimizing disruption and maximizing operational performance.

 

Progression in this role would involve greater ownership of operational strategy, plant performance optimization, value of feed and leading wider continuous improvement initiatives across the business. The role offers exposure to multiple operational functions, making it both varied and impactful. A strong understanding of industrial operations, people management and commercial mindset is essential.

 

The ideal candidate will:

 

• Be experienced in leading operations within a recycling, manufacturing, process or heavy industrial environment with strong Environmental, Health and Safety regulations.
• Have strong leadership skills, with the ability to develop teams and drive operational performance
• Be an effective communicator, capable of coordinating across multiple departments (commercial team, suppliers, customers and leadership teams)
• Be highly organized, flexible and with the ability to manage complex operational priorities and changing production demands.
• Have strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify issues and implement sustainable solutions
• Be experienced in operational budgeting, resource management and performance improvement
• Have a proactive mindset, with the ability to manage risk, improve reliability and maintain operational standards
• Be committed to maintaining high standards of health, safety, environmental and quality compliance

 

Qualifications and Requirements (Essential / preferred):

 

Manufacturing / industrial background

• Proven experience within recycling, waste management, manufacturing, processing or heavy industrial operations
• Degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Logistics or related discipline preferred
• HNC/HND considered with strong operational leadership experience

 

Operations / leadership knowledge

• Production and process operations management
• Operational planning and resource coordination
• Health, Safety and Environmental compliance (BSi /EA permit audits)
• People management and performance development

 

Systems and data skills

• ERP systems (SAP preferred)
• Excel
• Operational reporting and KPI analysis
• Power BI or similar reporting tools preferred

 

Process improvement knowledge

• Lean manufacturing
• Six Sigma/DMAIC
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
• Continuous improvement methodologies
• Data analysis and operational performance monitoring

 

Additional desirable experience

• Process manufacturing or recycling industry experience (WAMITAB qualifications)
• Understanding of maintenance planning and asset care systems
• Experience managing operational budgets and cost control initiatives
• Experience with waste management and transport.

 

Due to the nature of the Company’s operations, we operate a strict no-smoking policy on the premises, non-smoking applicants would therefore be preferred for this role.