Chief Operating Officer jobs in United Kingdom

Managing Director (Designate) – Northern Corrugated Cases

About Northern Corrugated Cases and Relyon

Northern Corrugated Cases is a UK-based manufacturer of high-quality, tailor-made corrugated and wooden packaging solutions. With a long track record in sustainable packaging, the company serves a wide range of industries and is known for its flexibility and customer-centric approach.

Following its acquisition by Relyon, Northern Corrugated is now entering an exciting new growth phase, including digitisation, leadership renewal, and operational expansion. The founder and previous owner will remain in the business to support a successful transition.

Relyon is a European company providing sustainable packaging and security solutions to protect physical goods while ensuring safety and integrity during transport. Relyon grows by acquiring successful niche players and empowering them to accelerate growth and realise their full potential. The group is committed to reducing environmental impact and strengthening its leadership position in the packaging industry.

About the Role

We are seeking a driven and hands-on leader who will initially join as Managing Director Designate, working closely with the founder during a defined transition period. This role offers a unique opportunity to step into full operational leadership, with the aim of assuming the Managing Director position based on demonstrated capability and the mutual trust established throughout the transition.

You will guide the business through its next phase of growth and transformation, with overall responsibility for performance, strategic direction, and daily operations. This includes integration into Relyon’s platform, and leadership across four UK sites: Middlewich (HQ), Bradford, Halifax, and Newton Aycliffe.

1. Full responsibility for business performance: revenue, profitability, and cash flow
2. Define and implement growth and digitisation strategy
3. Lead and develop the organisation while promoting a collaborative culture
4. Oversee operations, meet production deadlines, and resolve packaging or operational issues promptly and effectively
5. Strengthen customer relationships and ensure quality standards are met
6. Drive continuous improvement and efficiency across the organisation
7. Ensure alignment and integration with the Relyon platform, including collaboration with other group entities to explore cross-selling and other synergies

We are looking for a pragmatic and engaged leader with a proven track record in managing teams and improving business performance. You combine a strong commercial mindset with operational understanding and a drive for continuous improvement.

1. Proven leadership experience in guiding teams, empowering individuals, and ensuring delivery on quality, operational performance, and production deadlines.
2. Strong business acumen, with the ability to navigate between customer needs, operational realities, and supplier relationships to drive balanced, value-creating decisions.
3. Well-developed management skills across organisational, operational, and business functions, with a hands-on and structured leadership approach.
4. Entrepreneurial mindset, with a proactive, adaptable approach suited to dynamic, growing, and hands-on business environments.
5. Strong digital fluency, with the ability to identify, assess, and implement technologies that improve business performance, efficiency, and decision-making.
6. Effective problem-solving ability, particularly in addressing packaging and operational challenges with a pragmatic, solutions-oriented mindset.
7. Basic technical understanding of packaging production processes and the broader packaging industry landscape.
8. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively across all levels of the organisation and with external partners.
9. Strong stakeholder management skills, capable of building trust and alignment with internal teams, customers, suppliers, and external partners.

1. Strategic integration experience, with the ability to align local business priorities with group-level strategies in a post-acquisition context.
2. Project management experience, particularly in driving business transformation, managing change initiatives, and communicating technical or strategic concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
3. Strong analytical skills to evaluate business processes and identify improvement opportunities, especially through digitalisation and automation.
4. Relevant industry experience in packaging or a closely related industrial sector; experience in corrugated packaging is valuable but not required.

This role is based in Middlewich, with regular travel to Bradford, Halifax, Newton Aycliffe, and to key customer locations. We aim to fill the position as soon as possible and will conduct interviews on a rolling basis. Applications should include a CV and be submitted via email to jessica@relyongroup.com.

For questions about the role or the recruitment process, please contact:

Jessica Ehlin, Head of Business Development Relyon
Phone: +46 70 456 44 14
Email: jessica@relyongroup.com