MRD Recruitment is currently recruiting a Senior Yard Operations Manager to join of one our heavy engineering clients based East Lothian.
Scope of Role
The Senior Yard Operations Manager is responsible for the full operational performance, safety, and development of a multi-shift dispatch yard, covering multiple active areas across a large industrial site. This includes all material handling, staging, storage, traceability, and dispatch of finished products, as well as the coordination of yard activities and external processing with Production, Quality, Transport, and Planning teams.
The postholder will lead and develop a growing team of yard operators (currently expanding from a small team to a significantly larger workforce), ensuring safe systems of work, efficient material flow, and accurate, on-time deliveries. In addition, the Senior Yard Operations Manager will participate in wider operational planning, drive continuous improvement, and support the transition to digital yard management systems and ERP integration.
This is a hands-on operational leadership role with responsibility for both daily yard performance and longer-term development of yard capability to support future business growth.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Leadership and Team Management
- Lead, supervise, and develop a multi-shift yard operations team, including Supervisors, Team Leads, and Operatives.
- Ensure all yard staff work safely, efficiently, and in compliance with procedures and lifting regulations.
- Plan and allocate resources to meet daily operational priorities and future capacity requirements.
- Support the recruitment, onboarding, training, and ongoing development of yard employees as the team grows.
- Maintain employee competencies, ensuring individuals are only assigned tasks they are trained and competent to perform.
- Promote a high-performance culture through coaching, clear expectations, and regular feedback.
Operational Planning and Scheduling
- Plan and coordinate all daily yard activities, including bundling, tagging, staging, storing, and loading of components.
- Oversee the accurate loading and unloading of trailers for processing, ensuring clear, correct, and fully traceable records for all outbound and returned loads, including reconciliation against production and quality requirements.
- Work with Production, Planning, and Transport teams to ensure yard priorities align with manufacturing schedules and dispatch requirements.
- Optimise yard layout, material flow, and storage utilization to maximize space and eliminate bottlenecks.
- Identify capacity constraints and contribute to long-term yard development and expansion plans.
Collaboration and Reporting
- Participate in daily and weekly operational meetings to align yard activities with overall operational priorities.
- Lead daily yard performance and status updates, ensuring visibility of progress, risks, and constraints.
- Monitor and report key metrics including productivity, accuracy, safety performance, and on-time dispatch (OTD).
- Provide accurate data and insights to senior management to support decision-making and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Ensure all paperwork, digital records, and traceability documentation are completed accurately and on time.
Health, Safety and Compliance
- Maintain and promote the highest standards of health, safety, and housekeeping across yard areas.
- Ensure compliance with company policies, lifting plans, safe systems of work, and legislative requirements.
- Collaborate with the HSE team on risk assessments, incident investigations, and corrective actions.
- Ensure daily inspections, equipment checks, PPE compliance, and housekeeping standards are met and addressed promptly.
- Lead by example, demonstrating strong safety behaviours and challenging unsafe acts or conditions.
Quality Management
- Ensure all materials dispatched meet client specifications and quality requirements.
- Report non-conformances to the Quality team and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
- Ensure all required inspection and test plan (ITP) checks are completed before dispatch.
- Lead quality improvements within yard operations and communicate lessons learned to the wider team.
Process Improvement and Innovation
- Identify opportunities for process improvements and implement lean methodologies to reduce waste and improve flow.
- Support the transition to digital traceability and ERP-based yard management.
- Lead initiatives focused on space optimisation, equipment utilization, and yard workflow efficiency.
- Contribute to yard expansion and capability planning as part of broader operational growth strategies.
Authorities, Interface, Reporting and Supervision
- Direct report to senior operations management.
- Line management of Yard Systems and Inventory Controller roles.
- Supervise and lead Yard Supervisors, Team Leads, and Operatives.
- Work closely with Production, Quality, Planning, Transport, and HSE teams.
- Interface with internal stakeholders to ensure alignment on operational requirements and dispatch priorities.
- Responsible for the safe, compliant, and efficient functioning of all yard operations.
Skills, Knowledge and Attributes
- Proven operational leadership within heavy manufacturing, steel fabrication, or similar industrial environments.
- Strong knowledge of material handling, lifting operations, dispatch processes, and yard management.
- Ability to lead and grow large operational teams within a fast-paced environment.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to plan capacity, resources, and material flow.
- Experience implementing lean, continuous improvement, and best-practice operational methodologies.
- Competent in ERP/MRP systems, digital traceability tools, and operational reporting.
