Head of Service Provision

Head of Service Provision

Salary: -80k+

Are you ready to take ownership of a key part of a fresh produce operation, where you''ll have the opportunity to shape a department, work with major UK retailers and drive real improvements in service and profitability? We''re looking for a Head of Service Provision to bring together quality control, administration and commercial performance, building a team and putting the processes in place to take the function forward.

What''s in it for you?

• A senior leadership position reporting directly to the Board.
• The opportunity to establish a standalone department, recruit and build the team around you.
• Real autonomy to introduce new ideas, challenge existing processes and make a tangible difference to business performance.

What you''ll be doing (and why you''ll enjoy it)

You''ll take overall responsibility for Service Provision, bringing together the QC, administration and systems processes that support the handling of imported fresh produce.

Building and leading the department

• Establishing Service Provision as a standalone department, defining responsibilities, reporting lines and how the team works alongside UK Production.
• Bringing together the Service Provision administrators supporting the retailers, QC and the Cirrus administration team, ensuring clear responsibilities and consistent ways of working.

Taking ownership of customer relationships

• Acting as the senior point of contact for importers and retail customers.
• Agreeing service requirements with importers, including the scope of work, charges and how claims are managed.
• Ensuring retailer QC and technical requirements are consistently met, with accurate and up-to-date product specifications in place.
• Taking ownership of service issues, resolving problems quickly and making sure the underlying causes are addressed.

Taking commercial ownership

• Reviewing pricing with importers annually and agreeing costs for any new services before work begins.
• Ensuring every activity is accurately costed, charged and invoiced on time.
• Monitoring income, costs and margins by importer, product line and process, giving the Board clear visibility of departmental performance.

What you''ll need

We''re looking for someone with a strong operational background and the commercial understanding to look beyond day-to-day delivery.

You''ll ideally have:

• A proven track record of leading lean manufacturing or continuous improvement initiatives within fresh produce, food manufacturing or FMCG, with measurable results.
• Experience managing service levels and KPIs for major retailers, suppliers or importers.
• A good understanding of retailer QC requirements, product specifications and food safety standards, ideally including BRCGS.
• Experience managing service costs, pricing structures, rate cards, invoicing and departmental margins.
• Experience leading teams through a management structure, ideally within a seasonal or shift-based operation.
• Confidence using ERP or production systems and Excel to analyse performance, monitor costs and improve processes.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to manage external customer relationships and report confidently to senior leadership.

What next?

Interested in finding out more?

For a confidential chat, give Georgie a call on (phone number removed), email (url removed), or drop me a message on LinkedIn.

Don''t worry if your CV isn''t up to date. Just send over your CV and we''ll take it from there.