Chief Operating Officer

About the companyParkburn Precision Handling Systems designs and manufactures precision cable and pipeline handling equipment for the subsea, offshore wind, telecoms cable-lay and naval/defence markets. We build complex, engineered-to-order systems — capstans, linear cable engines, winches, tensioners and integrated handling packages — for customers operating in some of the most demanding environments in the world.Since 2022 Parkburn has been 100% employee-owned through an Employee Ownership Trust. Every colleague is a beneficial owner of the business. We operate from two sites, Hamilton in Scotland and Telford in England, employing approximately 80 people.About the roleThe Chief Operating Officer (COO), holds end to end accountability for procurement, manufacturing, assembly, test, quality, HSE and project delivery across both sites. The role exists to convert a growing and increasingly complex order book into on-time, on-cost, on-specification delivery — while building the operational scalability, systems and management depth the business needs for its next phase of growth.Key responsibilitiesOperational leadership, delivery and performance improvementProject management and on-time contract executionPartnering with engineering to maximise efficienciesQuality, HSE and compliance to further promote a culture of safetySystems and continuous improvement to support growthContribute strongly to strategy and stewardship of the businessCoaching and people developmentCandidate requirementsSenior Operational Leadership experience in an engineered to order, project-based high complexity manufacturing environment.Multi-site manufacturing and operational responsibility, ideally in subsea, offshore energy, marine, cable-lay, defence or heavy lifting equipment environment.Demonstrable track record of improving on-time delivery and contract margin in complex capital equipment engineering and assemblyStrong commercial acumen and the ability to balance customer, operational and financial priorities.Credibility and gravitas with demanding industrial customers and internal technical teamsThis is an outstanding opportunity to lead a world-class engineering business, drive efficiencies and performance and create lasting value.