Head of Operations

London Permanent Competitive Ref: 418844

Introduction

Nigel Wright is delighted to be partnering with The Daylight Company to appoint a Head of Operations. This is a rare opportunity to join a successful British product business at a pivotal point in its development, combining operational leadership, commercial influence and strategic impact.

Daylight has built a strong reputation over more than 35 years, designing specialist ergonomic lamps and magnifiers for customers around the world, and is now investing in the people, processes and capabilities required to support its next phase of growth. This appointment will play a central role in helping the business build a professional, scalable and data-driven operating model. Working closely with the Executive Team, you will help shape the future of Daylight's global operations whilst creating the structure, visibility and discipline required to support continued growth and value creation. This is a hybrid role based out of their premises in NW10.

The Daylight Company is a UK-based designer and owner of specialist ergonomic lamps and magnifiers serving markets including art, craft, low vision, health and beauty, and industrial applications. The business designs and owns its intellectual property in the UK, manufactures through long-standing partners in China, and serves customers globally through trade, ecommerce, Amazon and international distribution channels. The company has strengthened its leadership team, improved its commercial performance and established a clear strategy for growth. Having successfully repositioned key areas of the business in recent years, Daylight is now focused on building the operational capability required to support its longer-term ambitions.

The Role

This is far more than a traditional operations or supply chain leadership role. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to transform and professionalise the operational backbone of the business, influencing everything from demand planning and inventory management through to international supply chain, manufacturing partnerships, logistics, systems and reporting. You will be trusted to build new processes, improve operational visibility, strengthen supplier and logistics performance, optimise working capital and create a scalable platform capable of supporting future growth. With responsibility for approximately 60% of the company's cost base, this is one of the most commercially significant roles within the organisation and offers genuine influence over business performance and strategic direction. Reporting into the Executive Team, you will take ownership of the entire operations function and play a key role in shaping the future direction of the business.

Key responsibilities include:
•   Leading demand planning, forecasting and S&OP development across all channels and markets.
•   Managing international supply chain operations, supplier relationships and manufacturing partnerships in China.
•   Driving inventory optimisation, working capital improvements and stock management discipline.
•   Overseeing international logistics, warehousing and third-party logistics providers across multiple regions.
•   Developing data-driven decision making through ERP, reporting, analytics and systems improvement.
•   Leading and developing operational teams whilst contributing as a member of the Executive Team.
•   Identifying opportunities to improve operational efficiency, profitability and customer service performance.

What We're Looking For

We are interested in speaking with candidates who bring:
•   Senior operations or supply chain leadership experience within a product-based business.
•   A proven track record of improving inventory management and releasing working capital.
•   Experience managing international supply chains and outsourced manufacturing, ideally including Asia-based sourcing or production.
•   Strong ERP knowledge and genuine hands-on data capability.
•   Experience building processes, implementing change and improving operational performance.
•   Strong leadership skills combined with commercial awareness and the ability to influence at Executive Team level.
•   The energy, curiosity and drive to thrive in a growing entrepreneurial business.

Why This Role Stands Out

•   Opportunity to build and shape an operations function rather than simply manage an existing one.
•   Direct influence over approximately 60% of the company's cost base.
•   Executive Team membership with genuine input into strategy and business direction.
•   The opportunity to support a visible growth journey and help create long-term value.
•   Exposure to international manufacturing, logistics and supply chain operations.
•   A highly visible role with significant autonomy and potential progression to Operations Director as the function evolves.