Careers at Sigma 3 Kitchens

About Sigma 3 Group

Founded in 1975 with headquarters to the north-west of Cardiff, Sigma 3 Group are a family-owned manufacturer, distributor and retailer of kitchens who have enjoyed consistent profitable growth in recent years.  With a huge focus on quality of product and service to our customers, Sigma 3 are the most trusted UK retailer of kitchens according to Trustpilot, scoring 4.9 out of 5 from over 2,000 verified customer reviews.

As a business, we want to have market leading growth and profitability which we aim to reinvest back into the future of the Company.  We want to achieve this by working hard, giving our customers the very best experience, enjoying what we do and being proud of what we have achieved.

Sigma 3 Group have ambitions to significantly grow our market share and have embarked on the largest investment programme in the Company’s history to support this growth.  Sigma 3 have acquired a 120,000 sqft facility in Bridgend that will operate in addition to the existing Llantrisant site.  Alongside the Bridgend site, Sigma 3 have committed to significant investment in new plant and machinery across both sites which will be commissioned over the next 12 months which will unlock and support the growth ambitions of the Group over the coming years.

As well as buildings and plant, with our people at the heart of what we do, investing in the development of existing teams and the recruitment of new talent into the organisation will also be fundamental in taking the business to the level required to achieve our ambitions.

Job purpose and Manufacturing at Sigma 3 Group

As part of our investment in people, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, we are now looking to recruit a Manufacturing Director for our Sigma 3 (Kitchens) facilities in South Wales.  We are looking for an individual with a deep focus on providing a market leading level of service to our customers, who can motivate and engage a large multi-site operational team to consistently deliver these high standards whilst continually striving for improvements in efficiency and productivity.

This position will have direct responsibility for the Manufacturing functions at our Llantrisant and Bridgend sites.  Additionally, this role will assume responsibility for health and safety, distribution, quality control, plant maintenance Engineering and facilities.  The Manufacturing Director will be a high-profile member of the senior management team that will lead the business through our next exciting phase of growth.

Sigma 3 has built a reputation over the last 45 years on providing a high-quality product with exceptional service levels to all of our B2B and B2C customers.  It is fundamental that we maintain and continually improve these standards even as we go through a period of rapid growth in order that we are able to retain this key point of difference in the market.  The Manufacturing Director will be central to this, and hence is a key driver of our growth ambitions.

The Manufacturing Director will define and deliver a Manufacturing strategy for Sigma 3 (Kitchens) in South Wales that supports and enables the overall Group strategy.    An important relationship will be required with the Group Product Director to ensure close alignment  technical product development, material specification and purchasing as well as plant & machinery specification and sourcing.

The Manufacturing Director role will be accountable for a large operational budget covering people, materials, production, distribution and administration costs.  They will develop a culture throughout the operation of continual improvement to productivity whether that be through processes, optimising current equipment, investing in new equipment or the utilisation of systems and data.  Sigma 3 (Kitchens) Ltd are currently implementing a manufacturing ERP and finance system that will provide flexibility and insight into the operation.  A deep understanding of our new system capabilities will be required in this role to fully realise the opportunity that this will bring.  An extremely close relationship will be required with our finance function to understand performance and identify areas of opportunity for improvement.

The Manufacturing Director will be responsible for leading over 120 of our colleagues across sites in Llantrisant and Bridgend.  Working closely with our People team, you will need to ensure that the appropriate resources and skills are in place to support current and future operational requirements.  Most importantly, the Manufacturing Director will need to be a natural people person, who understands the importance of Company values and can motivate, engage and take their team with them over the coming years.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a Manufacturing professional who wants an opportunity to make a real difference and play a key part in a highly successful growth story.

The role is site-based across our premises in Llantrisant and Bridgend.

Some of the values and behaviours that we would like you to bring to the role:

• We are looking for someone of the highest personal integrity and professional standards, upholding these key values across the entire organisation.
• Will proactively take responsibility and ownership to deliver what is required, addressing issues, and providing solutions as well as seizing opportunities that arise.
• Understands the importance of transparency and consistency in our communication across the business.
• Has high standards, a deep customer focus and a progressive mindset, looking to continually develop both themselves and their team as well as the wider business.
• Wants to work accurately and with pace.
• A passionate individual who wants to inspire and motivate others to succeed as a team, setting a great example and leading from the front.

You will be responsible for:

• Playing a key role in the leadership of Sigma 3 (Kitchens) and wider Group, working with the CEO and other board colleagues in creating and implementing the strategic direction of the Company and Group.
• Defining and implementing a manufacturing strategy for Sigma 3 (Kitchens) that enables and supports our overall Group vision and objectives.
• Leading a large and diverse team of around 120 colleagues based across 2 sites, ensuring that appropriate levels of skill and resource are in place, and that our people are motivated and engaged to deliver the highest standards of quality and service to all of our customers.
• Ensuring that the culture and values live throughout the manufacturing organisation on all sites.
• Having a detailed understanding of performance across all areas of the manufacturing operation, defining and reporting on a clear set of KPI’s with a distinct focus on OTIF and productivity.
• Ensuring that a culture of continual improvement is embedded into the organisation, with colleagues throughout the operation encouraged and motivated to drive quality and service standards, efficiency and productivity.
• Ongoing production planning and optimisation to maximise efficiencies of material, plant and people resources.
• Ensuring that there is a deep knowledge of the plant and systems used across the operation to facilitate continual improvement.
• Owning and implementing a first-class safety culture throughout the Group that create a consistently safe working environment for all of our people.
• Supporting the safety culture with appropriate PPE, processes, capital investments and reporting to enable a ‘Target Zero’ approach.
• Putting in place both short and long-term planning frameworks, including capacity planning to safeguard continuity of the business, ensuring service levels and growth are not affected by operational constraints.
• Defining a plant and facilities maintenance schedule that supports the continuity of the operation.
• Developing and delivering a clear strategy for the distribution requirements across the Group, supporting high standards of service that can be delivered cost effectively.
• Owning a significant operational budget and working closely with the finance team to understand performance deliver opportunities for profitability improvements.

Some skills and experience that we are looking for:

• Extensive experience as a senior manufacturing professional in a mid-large organisation, with experience in a comparable sector being an advantage.
• Has experience of leading and managing large and diverse multi-site teams.
• Can inspire and motivate their team, whilst supporting them and the business by being hands-on when required.
• A great communicator, equally comfortable in challenging the status quo in the boardroom or on the shop floor where they want to be visible and approachable.
• Direct ownership of Health and Safety culture and strategy.
• Has demonstrable experience of driving productivity and efficiency of all manufacturing resources.
• Technically competent with a strong working knowledge of manufacturing plant and machinery and its capabilities and limitations
• A clear understanding of manufacturing systems, data and reporting demonstrating how they can be used to understand performance and drive continual improvement.
• Has owned significant operational budgets and has the acumen to link the financial numbers to the operation.
• Has managed an operation through periods of change and specifically high growth.
• Project management skills.

In return we offer you:

• Salary based on experience and potential
• Performance related bonus
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Company pension
• Permanent health insurance
• Life insurance
• Company contractual sick pay
• Private health
• Employee discount scheme
• Free on-site parking

Apply in writing with a CV to:

Geoff Moore, HR Manager or e-mail your application to g-moore@sigma3.co.uk or to Sian Roberts, HR Officer  s-roberts@sigma3.co.uk