Site Director – Girvan

William Grant & Sons Ltd. is a highly profitable, independent, c£1.2bn turnover family-owned Scottish company that distils Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. They were established in 1887 by William Grant, and are now managed by the descendants of the founder.

They are the largest of the Scotch whisky distillers remaining in family ownership. The company is the third largest producer of Scotch whisky (10.4% market share) after Diageo (34.4%), and Pernod Ricard and has offices and all over the world. These offices include New York, Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore and of course their central headquarters in Strathclyde Business Park, near Glasgow and Sales & Marketing headquarters in London.

At William Grant & Sons they are defined by their history and inspired by the future.

They always aim to remain true to their heritage but also have ambitious growth plans and a stretching vision to become the most coveted branded spirits company in the world. They know that this will only be achieved with by attracting and retaining the workforce in the industry.

Their Brands

It was the dream of William Grant to make the ‘best dram in the valley’ and five generations later, this still holds true. William Grant & Sons distils some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including Glenfiddich®, the world’s favourite single malt, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts and Grant’s®, one of the world’s most loved blended Scotches. In addition, they now have one of Ireland’s finest Irish Whiskeys, Tullamore D.E.W.® and the newest addition to their family, the premium liqueur, Drambuie®.

The company also continues to lead the way in spirits innovation, for example with the delightfully curious Hendrick’s® Gin and the Caribbean spiced rum, Sailor Jerry® Rum. Their award winning portfolio also includes Monkey Shoulder® Triple Malt Whisky, Tequila Milagro and Reyka® Vodka.

Role Purpose

To lead the team responsible for all strategy implementation and operational activities at the Girvan site. To act as a senior member of the wider Distilling and Technical leadership team and to operate as a Director of the WG&S Distillers business as a member of the Operations Business Unit.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the Girvan strategy in line with Company, Operations and Business Unit objectives.
• Ensure operational plans are in place to deliver volume requirements for selves and customers.
• Lead and motivate the Girvan team to ensure delivery of the plans in line with effectiveness and efficiency targets (ref Optimis reporting packs ie cost, quality, service etc).
• Monitor performance against plans and KPIs and initiate corrective action as necessary.
• Develop the Girvan organisation in line with the Company Values to deliver the plans, to maximise employee engagement and to ensure strong succession capability for the future.
• Ensure that the site is operating in line with Grant’s Operating Model principles and processes and drive to implement best practice processes and procedures in line with The William Grant Way and using agreed CI principles and tools.
• Ensure site is compliant with Health & Safety, Environmental and Customs & Excise legislation and targets maintaining a good working relationship with regulatory bodies. Ensure the site is compliant to all IPPC, CAR and COMAH licences.
• Act as a leader of the Distilling and Technical function in areas such as assessment of emerging technologies and ensuring strong collaboration with other D&T sites and functions.
• Acting as a Director of WG&S Distillers and a member of the OBU, deliver on the directorship requirements of that role ensuring strong end to end collaboration across all OBU operations and a good interface with the SBU.
• Develop strong relationships with internal (eg Marketing to ensure that brand strategies come to life for consumers, customers and business partners) and external (eg Local Authorities) stakeholders.

For further information or a confidential conversation please contact:

Michael Dickson at michael@fwbparkbrown.com

Alternatively, you can contact us by phone on 0131 539 7087

To apply or request a full candidate brochure please enquire / send your CV to enquiries@fwbparkbrown.com