Synthomer is a leading supplier of high-performance, highly specialised polymers and ingredients that play vital roles in key sectors such as coatings, construction, adhesives, and health and protection – growing markets that serve billions of end users worldwide. Headquartered in London, UK and publicly listed there since 1971, we employ c.3,900 employees across our 5 innovation centres of excellence and more than 29 manufacturing sites across Europe, North America and Asia. Around 20% of our sales volumes are from new and patent protected products.
At our innovation centres of excellence in the UK, Germany, China, Malaysia and Ohio, USA we collaborate closely with our customers to develop new products and enhance existing ones tailored to their needs, with an increasing range of sustainability benefits. Since 2021, we have been proud holders of the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark, which recognises green technology businesses making a significant contribution to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy.
Site Manager – Harlow, Essex
Lead a High-Hazard Manufacturing Site Driving Safety, Performance & Growth
Are you a proven operations leader with experience in a COMAH / high-hazard environment? Do you thrive on driving operational excellence, building high-performing teams, and delivering against ambitious growth plans?
We’re looking for an exceptional Site Manager to lead our Harlow manufacturing site—taking full accountability for safety, performance, and long-term strategic development. Contribute to site profitability by proactively engaging with operational and commercial activities to enhance overall business performance.
The Opportunity
This is a pivotal leadership role where you will take full ownership of a complex and high-performing site of approximately 90 operational employees (c.200 total on site), managing:
- £10m production costs
- £2m Capex investment pipeline
- A broad, multi-disciplinary leadership team (SHE, Production, Engineering, Quality, Technical, Planning)
You will play a critical role in shaping the future of the site—enhancing safety standards, improving reliability, and delivering operational efficiency to support ambitious business growth
What You’ll Be Doing As Site Manager, you will:
Lead Safe & Compliant Operations
- Ensure safe, compliant, and efficient plant operations at all times
- Act as the key interface with regulatory bodies including HSE and Environment Agency (COMAH)
- Champion a robust Safety, Health & Environment (SHE) improvement agenda
Drive Performance & Strategy
- Develop and deliver annual site plans covering SHE, KPIs, production, OPEX, and CAPEX
- Refresh and execute a manufacturing strategy aligned to a 5-year growth plan
- Lead manufacturing excellence and continuous improvement initiatives
Deliver Operational Excellence
- Drive plant reliability and performance improvement programs
- Lead major Capex projects including capacity expansion and new product introduction
- Ensure strong alignment with wider business priorities and operational cadence
Build High-Performing Teams
- Coach, develop, and inspire the Site Leadership Team
- Strengthen organisational capability and foster a culture of accountability and engagement
- Maintain positive and productive trade union relationships
Represent the Site
- Lead internal and external audits and ISO certification activities
- Engage actively in manufacturing and SHE networks
- Manage relationships with key on-site functional stakeholders
What We’re Looking For
- Degree-qualified (or equivalent) in a relevant technical discipline
- Significant experience in senior operations leadership roles within a COMAH / high-hazard manufacturing environment
- Proven track record of delivering:
- Safety and compliance excellence
- Operational performance improvement
- Capital project delivery
- Leadership team development
You’ll be a visible and credible leader with strong emotional intelligence, capable of influencing at all levels—from shopfloor teams to senior stakeholders.
Why Join Us?
- Opportunity to shape the future of a strategically important site
- High-impact leadership role with full operational accountability
- Supportive environment focused on continuous improvement and growth
🌍 Global Benefits Overview
💰 Competitive, market-aligned compensation
🎯 Discretionary global bonus scheme
📈 Discretionary Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) – for senior positions
🚗 Company car or car allowance – varies by region and role
🩺 Healthcare – tailored to regional locations
👶 Parental leave and family support – maternity, paternity, adoption (aligned with regional policies)
🏡 Working options – flexibility where it matters, based on role and business needs
📚 Learning & development opportunities – training, online platforms, buddy/mentorship programs, Internal Synthomer University with L&D offers
💙 Wellbeing support – employee assistance program (EAP), mental health resources, wellbeing initiatives
🌱 Retirement / pension contributions – plans vary by country
🤝 Culture of Inclusion – where everyone can thrive
🏆 Performance culture, global reward & recognition programmes
Skills Required
- Degree-qualified (or equivalent) in a relevant technical discipline
- Significant experience in senior operations leadership within a COMAH / high-hazard manufacturing environment
- Proven track record of safety and compliance excellence, including engagement with HSE and Environment Agency
- Experience delivering operational performance improvement and manufacturing excellence programs
- Experience delivering capital projects and managing Capex pipelines
- Demonstrated leadership team development and strong stakeholder engagement, including unions
What We Do
Synthomer is a business-to-business speciality chemicals producer. We create value for all our stakeholders by applying our expertise and innovation capabilities to provide high-performance water-based polymers and ingredients to a wide range of blue-chip customers in multiple attractive end markets. Synthomer are headquartered and stock listed in the UK. We have more than 30 operational sites across Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia including four innovation centres of excellence. The Company employs around 4,200 entrepreneurial, highly skilled employees with the expertise and experience to drive our success worldwide.
