Managing Director – Small Manufacturing and Automotive Aftermarket Business

Job description

Managing Director – Small Manufacturing & Automotive Aftermarket Business

About the Business

We are a small, specialist manufacturing business supplying safety-related products into the automotive aftermarket. We operate with a compact team, a hands-on workshop environment, and close relationships with our customers.

This is a real SME business - practical, fast-moving, and built on people doing things properly rather than layers of process.

The Role

We are looking for a hands-on Managing Director to take day-to-day responsibility for running and growing the business.

This role suits someone who enjoys being close to the detail, improving how things work, and steadily building a business rather than maintaining the status quo. It is not a corporate MD role.

There will be an initial handover period working alongside the current interim Managing Director to ensure continuity and a smooth transition before full responsibility transfers.

What You’ll Be Responsible For

• Running the business day to day
• Driving revenue growth, pricing discipline and margin improvement
• Improving operational efficiency across production, stock and delivery
• Leading, supporting and developing a small team
• Making sound commercial decisions within tight budgets
• Using financial information and simple reporting to guide actions
• Improving organisation, workflow and standards on the shop floor over time
• Introducing better systems, tools and ways of working where they add value
• Taking ownership of outcomes, not just activity

Technology, Systems & AI

You do not need to be technical or write code, but you must be comfortable using modern tools.

This includes:

• Using systems and dashboards to understand performance
• Improving reporting and visibility through simple technology
• Being curious about automation and AI tools that can help reduce admin and improve:
• Sales follow-up
• Stock control
• Reporting and visibility
• Internal processes

This role suits someone who enjoys making a business run better through smarter ways of working.

The Environment (Important to Understand)

This is a working manufacturing environment, not a polished corporate operation.

The shop floor and processes are functional but require structure, discipline and ongoing improvement. We are looking for someone who:

• Is not put off by this
• Sees it as an opportunity
• Enjoys steadily raising standards and improving how the business operates

This is a hands-on, close-to-operations role.

Who This Role Suits (Persona)

This role suits someone who is:

• A small-business practitioner, not a corporate manager
• Commercially sharp – understands pricing, margins, cash and trade-offs
• Hands-on – comfortable being close to operations, people and the shop floor
• Solution-first – instinctively moves from problem to action
• Decisive – able to make calls without perfect information
• Hungry to grow – wants to build and scale a business, not just maintain one
• Comfortable working with tight budgets and finding creative solutions
• Tech-comfortable – curious about systems, automation and AI (not technical, but open and capable)
• Operationally creative – finds better ways to serve customers and organise work
• Able to lead a small team, delegate effectively, build confidence and help others grow
• Adaptable – willing to change approach when something isn’t working

This is not a caretaker role.

Background & Experience

• Experience running or helping run a small business or division
• Automotive aftermarket, manufacturing, engineering or similar SME background preferred
• Experience with safety-related or regulated products is a plus, not essential
• Direct seatbelt or automotive safety experience is not required
• Commercial or sales background is helpful, but not mandatory
• Must understand how financial reports inform day-to-day decisions

Salary & Incentives

• Base salary of £50,000
• Performance-related bonus linked to business results
• Opportunity for short and and longer term incentives for the right person, based on delivery and retention

In Summary

This role is for someone who wants to own a small business environment, make real decisions, improve how things work, and grow alongside the company.

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Free parking
• Sick pay

Extra information

Status

Open

Education Level

Secondary School

Location

stevenage

Type of Contract

Full-time jobs

Published at

30-05-2026

Full UK/EU driving license preferred

No

Car Preferred

No

Must be eligible to work in the EU

No

Cover Letter Required

No

Languages

English