General Manager at DS Smith in Ely, England, GB

At DS Smith, we’re redefining packaging for a changing world. As one of the world’s leading providers of sustainable fibre-based packaging, we combine innovation, operational excellence and a commitment to circularity to help our customers succeed.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an exceptional General Manager to lead our flagship Retail Marketing manufacturing site in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

This is far more than a site leadership role. It is an opportunity to shape the future of one of DS Smith’s most innovative and customer-focused manufacturing facilities. A significant part of this role will involve engaging colleagues through change, building trust and creating a culture where accountability, ownership and continuous improvement are embedded at every level.

Reporting into the senior leadership team, you will have full operational, commercial and strategic accountability for the site, leading a high-performing management team while driving a culture built on safety, performance, innovation and continuous improvement.

As General Manager, you will inspire and develop your people, strengthen customer relationships and ensure the Ely site continues to set the benchmark for operational excellence across the business. This is a highly visible leadership position where your influence will extend beyond the site, working collaboratively with colleagues across the wider DS Smith network to deliver outstanding results.

What you’ll be doing

As the leader of the Ely site, you will have overall responsibility for delivering a safe, high-performing and profitable operation. Key responsibilities include:

• Providing inspirational leadership to the Site Management Team, creating an engaged, accountable and high-performing culture.
• Championing health, safety and wellbeing, ensuring best-in-class standards are embedded throughout the operation.
• Developing, coaching and empowering leaders and colleagues to achieve both personal and business objectives.
• Leading organisational change, embedding new ways of working and building capability across all functions.
• Driving operational excellence through lean manufacturing principles, continuous improvement and performance optimisation.
• Delivering productivity improvements, increasing operational capability and maximising asset utilisation while maintaining exceptional quality and customer service.
• Building a culture where data, KPIs and meaningful performance measures drive informed decision making and accountability.
• Working closely with Sales, Customer Service and Supply Chain teams to deliver an exceptional customer experience and maximise commercial performance.
• Managing site financial performance, budgets and resources to deliver sustainable profitable growth.
• Leading organisational change, embedding new ways of working and driving continuous improvement across all functions.
• Collaborating with other DS Smith manufacturing sites to share best practice, innovation and operational excellence.

What we’re looking for

We're looking for an accomplished senior leader who combines strong commercial and operational credibility with a genuine passion for developing people and leading transformation.

You'll have a track record of building high-performing teams, engaging colleagues through change and creating a culture where people feel empowered to contribute and succeed.Ideally you’ll bring:

• Significant senior leadership experience within a manufacturing or operational environment.
• A proven track record of leading large, multi-disciplinary teams through engagement, coaching and development.
• Demonstrable success leading business transformation, improving organisational capability and delivering sustainable performance improvements.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen with responsibility for operational budgets and business performance.
• Experience driving cultural transformation, operational excellence and continuous improvement programmes.
• Strong strategic planning, resource management and decision-making capability.
• Experience using KPIs and performance metrics to improve operational performance.
• Lean Manufacturing experience, with Six Sigma knowledge advantageous but not essential.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at every level of the organisation.

Why DS Smith?

This is an opportunity to lead one of DS Smith’s flagship Retail Marketing sites during an exciting period of continued investment and growth.

You’ll join a business where innovation, sustainability and people are at the heart of everything we do. We invest in our leaders, encourage collaboration across our network and empower individuals to make meaningful decisions that drive real business impact.

If you’re an ambitious senior leader looking for a role where you can shape strategy, inspire teams and leave a lasting legacy, we’d love to hear from you.

About us

We are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre-based products. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 65,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation, manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world-leading organisation and do your best work with us!

Fair recruitment at DS Smith

To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.

Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria

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