General Manager
Recruiter: Hays Recruitment
Location: Northampton
Salary: Competitive package
Application date: 22nd Apr 2024
Smurfit Kappa is a FTSE 100 family-owned paper packaging business. We’re a truly global business with over 47,000 employees and locations in over 22 countries. Our plans for growth build on our merger with WestRock and include exciting new growth plans for 2024.
The company is listed by Time and Statista as being in the top 750 companies changing the world. Within the Corrugated Division across the UK and Ireland, we have 37 sites, and we currently have an opportunity for a dynamic new General Manager to lead our Northampton site.
We run each site as profit centres not cost centres and this is one of the things that sets us apart in the sector. This means that as a General Manager you’re responsible for setting the strategy that will yield further growth and profitability for your site. The site has an annual turnover of approximately £55m and 161 FTE and all support functions (including H&S, Quality, Planning, Warehousing & Despatch, Commercial, Sales, Design, Customer Service, Finance, HR) will ultimately report to you as General Manager.
You’re likely to come from a packaging background but could also come from similar fast paced industries such as manufacturing/FMCG. You’ll certainly have commercial flair and have financial acumen but will also possess a compliance mindset. As a strategic leader you’ll have a track record of delivering growth and demonstrable profits, but being entrepreneurial doesn’t mean that you overlook the desires of your customers and the needs of your staff. In fact, your approach will mean that you bring staff alongside you as you seek new business opportunities and mitigate any risk to the business in the process.
At Smurfit Kappa, we have a vibrant sales force, and we always strive for operational excellence. Managing customer relationships and delivering the strategic goals of the organisation can be demanding. Personally, you’ll need to be tenacious and resilient. You’ll share our values of integrity, loyalty and trust. This will ensure that you’re a good fit for a driven company with a family ethos like us.