Far-UK Ltd is a progressive company which develops composite materials and components to improve lightness, quality, cost and performance of customers’ products. The company designs, analyses and manufactures composite components, specialising in carbon fibre. We also design and deliver processes up to and including full factories for clients in order that they can manufacture these products themselves.
The company operates from its main site in Nottingham and is expected to continue growing over the next few years.
Far-UK is committed to excellence in its people as well as its technology. As a result, we are committed to the following principles:
- To be an equal opportunities employer. We look for the strengths in all people and we seek to encourage them to grow and develop.
- Good teams are more than the sum of their parts – working together as a team gives us a competitive advantage and one we are committed to maintain.
- We aspire to be the best that we can be. This means that every individual is expected to contribute to their own development and to help others develop where they can. It also means that we hold ourselves up to the highest standards in everything we do.
About the role
The main purpose of the role is to ensure that Far-UK delivers products and projects to customers in line with agreed quality, cost and delivery requirements. The role combines ownership of the quality system, leadership of customer delivery and day-to-day management of a small production team.
The role holder will translate customer requirements, drawings, specifications and purchase orders into controlled production plans. They will ensure that product conformity is planned, proven, recorded and communicated, and that delivery promises made to customers are realistic and actively managed.
A key part of the role is to lead the development, implementation and maintenance of the company’s quality management system so that the business can reach and maintain AS9100D standard. This will include the practical disciplines needed in aerospace and defence work, including document control, configuration management, risk management, supplier control, traceability, calibration, inspection, control of non-conforming output, corrective action, internal audit and management review.
The role holder will be expected to work at a number of levels within the business. As the functional lead for delivery and quality they will set standards and processes that others can follow. At an individual level they will remain close enough to production and customers to see problems early and ensure that they are resolved.
The role holder will be expected to work on their personal development as well as using their own knowledge and experience to help the development of those around them.
Main Responsibilities
Job descriptions at Far-UK are split into three levels of performance: leadership, commitment and involvement.
Leadership:
The role holder is expected to proactively shape the company’s approach to delivery, quality and production. They are expected to:
- Lead the plan to reach and maintain AS9100 standard, ensuring that responsibilities are clear, processes are controlled and objective evidence is available.
- Establish a visually managed factory with good housekeeping, a clear understanding of production rhythm, including capacity planning, daily or weekly reviews, visual management and prompt escalation of risks.
- Lead problem solving across production, engineering, and supply chain using evidence rather than opinion.
- Seek opportunities to develop oneself and others.
Commitment:
The role holder is expected to take responsibility and show commitment towards successful delivery to customers. They are expected to:
- Develop the production team so that work is carried out safely, consistently and right first time.
- Lead the production and quality activities by converting customer commitments into realistic plans, product quality plans and measurable objectives.
- Deliver consistent results against quality, cost and delivery targets, including on-time delivery and customer satisfaction.
- Ensure that customer orders and contracts can be managed within agreed QCD targets before commitments are made.
- Own and monitor practical performance measures, including on-time delivery, non-conformances, rework, scrap, audit actions, customer complaints and supplier quality.
- Maintain the quality management system, including process maps, procedures, work instructions, forms, records and training evidence.
- Ensure product conformity through planned inspection, appropriate measurement, first article activity where required, final release and clear records.
- Maintain the disciplines required for AS9100D, including traceability, identification, configuration control, supplier management, customer property, document control, internal audit, calibration and preservation of product.
Involvement:
The role holder is expected to take a full part in activities, including on a reactive basis. They are expected to:
- Plan and manage day-to-day production work for a small team, including priorities, capacity, materials, tools and equipment.
- Organise incoming, in-process and final inspection and ensure that measurement equipment is suitable and in calibration.
- Maintain batch and product traceability records, including certificates of conformity and first article inspection reports where required.
- Manage non-conformance reports, customer complaints, concessions, corrective actions and lessons learned.
- Provide clear delivery updates to customers and the internal team, including recovery plans when dates or quality targets are at risk.
- Support recruitment, induction, training, supervision and performance management of the production team.
- Work with engineering and commercial colleagues to ensure that new products can be manufactured, inspected and delivered repeatably.
- Help to maintain health and safety standards, risk assessments and safe working practices in the production area.
About the Person:
Expected Skills and Qualifications:
- Quality management systems – practical experience of ISO 9001 is required and experience of AS9100, or leading a business towards AS9100, would be highly beneficial. Internal auditor or lead auditor training would be valuable.
- Production leadership – experience of leading a small team in a manufacturing environment, planning work and maintaining discipline around safety, quality, delivery and housekeeping.
- Customer delivery management – ability to manage commitments to customers, communicate risk early and recover delivery plans without losing control of quality.
- Manufacturing and engineering judgement – ability to read drawings, specifications and work instructions and to understand how design intent is translated into repeatable production.
- Inspection and metrology – practical understanding of inspection planning, measurement equipment, calibration, first article inspection, final release and traceable records.
- Problem solving – ability to use structured methods such as 5 Why, 8D or equivalent approaches to find root causes and implement corrective actions that prevent recurrence.
- Supplier quality – experience of controlling suppliers and outsourced processes, including purchase specifications, incoming inspection and supplier corrective action.
- Composite manufacturing knowledge – experience of carbon fibre, bonding, compression moulding, RTM, trimming, assembly or other relevant manufacturing processes would be beneficial.
- Professional qualifications – a qualification in engineering, quality, manufacturing or operations management would be beneficial. Extensive and relevant experience may be a suitable alternative.
- Communication skills – ability to work with customers, suppliers, engineers and production operators in a straightforward and constructive way.
Expected Attributes:
- Accountability – the courage to take responsibility for outcomes, even when they are not entirely in the role holder’s control, is a key attribute of a successful senior manager in a small technology company.
- Willingness to learn and share learnings – Far-UK is an innovative company and is committed to developing its own knowledge and that of its employees. All employees are expected to have a personal development plan.
- Practical judgement – ability to balance customer needs, quality requirements, production constraints and commercial reality to arrive at workable decisions.
- Attention to detail – quality records, traceability and inspection evidence matter. The role holder should be comfortable with disciplined documentation as well as practical production work.
- Adaptable – we are small and growing team, the role holder may be expected to perform a range of tasks that encompass a wider scope than the job title might indicate in other organisations.
- Openness and honesty – we deal with those around us in a straightforward way to help build good relationships and a successful team. Ethical behaviour should be at the heart of our decisions.
- Reliability – thoughtfully committing to tasks and actions and consistently carrying them out.
- Team player and tolerance – Far-UK is committed to the idea that good teams outperform individuals and we expect mutual respect at all times.
- Consistency – setting an example of what constitutes good behaviour for the team and persistently demonstrating those behaviours.
- Tenacity – ability to keep going in the face of difficulties because the objective is important.
How to Apply
Send a covering letter and CV to office@far-uk.com for the covering letter please let us know where you see your career journey going so we can get a feeling about how our company might be a great place for you to grow and develop