About us

We are a start-up technology company with offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, developing pioneering water technology which we believe has the power to change access to water globally.

We believe everyone deserves access to safe and healthy water regardless of where you live.

Our patent pending technology is being developed for initial launch and we need ambitious and talented individuals like you to help us get there.

Head of Operations

Are you an experienced operator with a passion for driving ambitious projects to provide life changing technology? Do you pride yourself in your ability to use your managerial skills to support and help drive the team to solve big problems? 

We are looking for a dynamic, driven new team member to join our small but perfectly formed team to help us grow it to a multinational technology company. 

We are looking for someone who wants a large amount of responsibility and to be a key strategic person in a high growth company. 

We are looking for someone with ambition who wants to grow something massive, purposeful and meaningful that will have a global positive impact. 

Ideally this person will have broad experience in relevant industries both technically and commercially, and be willing and able to contribute broadly to what is currently a small team.

You will be expected to:

• Be part of a team that is aiming to make a massive difference to water availability around the world
• Carry huge amounts of responsibility as we grow
• Work hard on a problem that is set to affect 2.2Billion people globally by 2050
• Stay with with the company for 4+ years to ensure we build something meaningful
• Travel a lot to build and see suppliers, customers and partners  

Immediate responsibilities:

In the first 3 months, your responsibility will be to: 

1. Manufacturing & supply chain Management- Oversee and optimise the supply chain, from raw materials to finished products. Review existing BoM, supply chain and manufacturing processes, and suggest improvements to reduce cost, increase quality, speed up delivery etc in the production of 48 units by 2025. 
2. Product Fulfilment Management -Engage with UK partners and deliver a process to procure, build, test, install, maintain and support 48 units in the UK by 2025, with a customer to product feedback loop to capture product improvements and development. 
3. Market Readiness -Make an international certification plan for US launch in 2025. Navigate complex regulatory frameworks to overcome compliance challenges.
4. Strategic planning -Planning and developing operational strategies that align with business goals and objectives.

Future responsibilities:

• Manufacturing Management -Building, overseeing and scaling our national and international manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, to deliver the highest quality production standards, at a strong profit margin to the company. 
• Product Fulfilment Management - Building, overseeing and scaling our national and international delivery and fulfilment capabilities, to deliver our existing unique problem solving product around the world reliably and on time, working with the sales department to understand expected volumes and time frames.
• Production Verification -Overseeing product release from the manufacturing department R&D, and working with any partners required to test and validate the functionality of our products, to the highest standards before they reach customers.
• Growth Partnership Management -Manage the growth of a national and international Installation, Maintenance and Servicing partnership program of vetted and trusted installers for our customers, building relationships with 3rd parties.
• In Field Quality Assurance & Product Improvement -Coordinate communication between Sales, Customer Service, Technical Phone Support and Technical Field Support to ensure customers problems are addressed, and that the product problems or suggestions are captured and addressed by the engineering department in a continuous feedback loop.
• Develop a culture of the highest quality customer fulfilment, delivering a new standard of water access to the market over the next 10 years.

This person must: 

• Have at least 10 years experience in operations within hardware development or a very good understanding of hardware development and production.
• Be able to succeed with limited resources, we need thinkers and doers who can get their hands dirty given the stage of development we are at. 
• Have a good network of suppliers or be used to finding relevant suppliers (Used to finding suppliers more important) 
• Be experienced in growing a hardware company or product range from a small scale to large scale, including Production Setup, launch processes, batch production, Traceability of components etc
• Be experienced in commercial and technical areas of the business, understanding how to value different commercial opportunities
• Be an experienced negotiator and able to secure commercially beneficial terms while we are still at a small scale.
• Experienced in B2B and B2C product production and fulfilment of similar types of technology e.g. boilers, heat pumps, or other white goods (products in boxes)
• Ideally experienced in big and small businesses. Our preference is towards big.
• Ideally have experience in Licensing technology to other manufacturing bodies 
• Work closely with product development to identify productisation challenges and implement solutions.
• Have experience in continuous improvement, including process development and implementation where and when appropriate.

Values:

• Are known for acting with fairness and integrity
• Set high standards for yourself and others
• Recognise the power of diverse talents
• Build strong relationships with the people around you
• Have a good eye for design and attention to detail

Benefits:

• Salary dependent on experience 
• Company options scheme 
• Holidays
• Pension scheme
• Flexible working
• The ability to make a difference

If you are interested in what we have to offer you, please send a CV with a cover letter to  duncan.peters@ifwater.io explaining why we’re a good fit.