Paul Waters

Building upon the expertise I acquired working across all areas of the business, my role as General & Operations Manager was to provide leadership and management, directing various departments and projects to facilitate profitable growth, improved efficiency, increased productivity and reduced costs. Key achievements in this role include: - Developed and directed numerous programmes that delivered significant efficiencies for the company that is now recognised as a world class manufacturing unit - Created and executed robust operational processes for implementation from the shop floor up to Director level - Led successful negotiations to swiftly resolve any contractual or commercial issues and disputes - Consistently achieved and exceeded all performance related targets by implementing best practices in safety, legality and quality of service - Embedded a cross-functional culture of continuous improvements and proactively drove change across multiple departments - Recruited and built high performing teams at all levels of the group, provided ongoing training and mentoring, managed any disciplinary matters that arose and provided constructive feedback to facilitate their continuing development - Identified and maximised opportunities nurture and develop the business - Strengthened relationships with clients, suppliers and key business contacts - Managed all aspects of the environmental health and safety management system at the engineering facility from 2008 onwards; achieved full compliance with company and regulatory requirements; reduced health & safety hazards; produced operational procedures; created RIDDOR reports and made recommendations following accidents or incidents to prevent recurrence - HR Manager for the UK since 2008; drove people and management strategies at strategic and operational level; developed recruitment policies; designed and implemented HR systems to manage confidential personnel information in line with the Data Protection Act

In this role, I provided leadership and support to a team of 65 employees in the fast-paced production and development environment. Key achievements in this role include: - Achieved sustained improvements in quality, cost and delivery through the leadership of continuous improvement projects

To facilitate the overseas expansion of the business, I was part of the project management team that implemented a new manufacturing unit in Brasov, Romania, from pre-design and design development through to completion off assembly. I then took over the day to day management of operations until the Production was able to run itself effectively with the team I put in place. Key achievements in this role include: - Implemented lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives across the new site - Leveraged excellent communication skills to build strong relationships with brand counterparts, purchasing, design, finance and real estate partners

Initially appointed on an interim basis to manage the procurement of all materials, services and suppliers for the UK and some aspects of the group, I demonstrated such considerable success in this capacity that I was given the role on a permanent basis. Key achievements in this role include: - Effectively transformed the procurement function overnight, having identified and rectified numerous issues and streamlined operations - Implemented the new M3 system into the UK Purchasing & Procurement and provided subsequent training to other members of staff - Led the design and commissioning of new machinery and equipment for the group - Managed a number of successful projects to achieve best practice and cost effective procurement - Acquired an outstanding reputation for procurement expertise amongst suppliers and sister companies across Europe - Leveraged strong negotiation skills to manage the tender process and secure major deals for the group

Managing a team of 65 people across multiple shifts, my role was to delegate tasks, negotiate workloads and conduct regular performance reviews in order to drive production improvements. Key achievements in this role include: - Acquired increased responsibility for stock control and purchasing and embedded a Just In Time philosophy - Achieved recognition from the management team for maximising efficiencies across the manufacturing unit