Chief Operating Officer — Biologics CDMO
Home-based across Europe, with regular travel to two manufacturing sites.
We are supporting a senior search for an experienced operations leader within a growing biologics CDMO.
This is a particularly interesting time to join the business. The organisation is preparing for the next evolution of the company, with a clear focus on strengthening its operating model, developing its manufacturing network, investing in capacity and capability, and positioning the business for its next phase of growth.
This creates a highly visible opportunity for someone who wants to take full operational responsibility across two European manufacturing sites and play a central role in shaping what the organisation looks like over the coming years. Rather than stepping into a steady-state operations role, the COO will have the opportunity to influence how the business scales, how the sites work together, where investment is prioritised, and how operational excellence is embedded across the group.
You would oversee the broader operations agenda across the business, working closely with site leadership, manufacturing, quality, engineering, supply chain, technical teams, commercial stakeholders, and senior management. The mandate includes operational performance, capacity, major CAPEX programmes, organisational alignment, and ensuring both sites operate with greater consistency and effectiveness.
The environment is complex and customer-driven. This is a biologics CDMO supporting multiple client programmes, so the role requires someone who understands how to balance GMP compliance, customer commitments, manufacturing performance, capacity, cost, quality, and investment priorities.
The role offers significant influence over how the manufacturing network develops and performs. It is ideal for someone who has already led substantial biologics operations and now wants broader executive ownership at a point where the company is actively shaping its future operating model and growth platform.
The role will focus on:
- Leading operations across two European GMP manufacturing sites
- Driving operational performance, manufacturing effectiveness, capacity, and delivery
- Overseeing major CAPEX, facility expansion, and investment programmes
- Helping shape the operating model required for the company’s next phase of growth
- Working with site leadership to strengthen consistency, accountability, and execution across the network
- Partnering closely with Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Technical Operations, Commercial, and Finance teams
- Supporting complex customer programmes and ensuring operational commitments are delivered
- Developing strong leadership teams and building greater alignment between the two sites
- Driving operational excellence, productivity, scalability, and continuous improvement
- Supporting the wider executive team on operational strategy, investment decisions, future capacity, and growth
We are looking for someone with:
- Strong senior leadership experience within a biologics CDMO or CMO environment
- A strong background in biologics or biopharmaceutical manufacturing
- Proven experience leading significant GMP manufacturing operations
- Multi-site leadership experience, ideally across international locations
- Strong ownership of major CAPEX, facility expansion, or manufacturing investment programmes
- Experience helping an organisation scale, transform, integrate, or prepare for its next stage of development
- A strong understanding of manufacturing performance, capacity planning, quality, compliance, and customer delivery
- Experience operating in a complex, customer-facing CDMO environment
- The ability to work effectively with senior leadership, site teams, technical functions, customers, and other key stakeholders
- A leadership style that combines strategic thinking with strong operational execution
This is a strong opportunity for someone who wants more than responsibility for a single manufacturing site. The business is entering an important stage in its development, and the COO will have an opportunity to help shape that journey; building the operational platform, leadership structure, capabilities, and investment priorities required for the next evolution of the company.
Apply here or if you know someone from your network, please let me know.
