Value Creation Lead

We are working on an exclusive mandate with a UK based, Private Equity backed business.  We are shortlisting for a newly created role as Head of Value Creation/Head of Transformation for a services group operating across the UK. The business has grown through acquisition and organic expansion and is now entering the next phase of its development. With a strong base of regional operations, a clear growth agenda and backing to invest, the group is focused on improving performance, integrating acquisitions, embedding operational excellence and scaling further.  The chosen candidate will have a clear path to a c-suite role as the investment cycle reaches it's conclusion.

This is a UK-based role with frequent travel across the group’s operational footprint, including time at group headquarters, regional operating bases and newly acquired businesses. It will suit someone who is comfortable being on the road, working closely with operational teams and leading change on site.

This is a standout opportunity for an ambitious operator who wants a genuine route to becoming a future COO or Group MD in a private equity-backed business. Working closely with the senior leadership team, you will help improve performance across a growing, multi-site services group and lead transformation, integration and value creation initiatives that strengthen delivery, improve margin and support growth. The role combines strategy with execution. You will improve operational performance, embed continuous improvement, strengthen processes and controls, support acquisitions and integration, and help the business grow through both organic expansion and further deals. It is a role for someone who is as comfortable in senior leadership discussions as they are in depots, branches and operational sites.

Key responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional transformation programmes that improve service delivery, margin, productivity and customer outcomes across a regional, multi-site operating model.
• Identify and deliver operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives across field operations, fleet, procurement, planning, scheduling, branch performance and shared services.
• Support acquisition activity by helping assess operational opportunities and risks, and then lead post-deal integration and value creation plans for acquired businesses.
• Drive performance improvement across regional operations, using data, KPIs and operational insight to improve utilisation, service levels, responsiveness and cost control.
• Partner with senior leaders to design and implement scalable operating models, governance rhythms and management disciplines as the group grows.
• Lead initiatives that support organic growth, including new service rollouts, regional expansion, cross-sell opportunities and operational readiness for growth.
• Help build the capability of the organisation by introducing practical tools, dashboards, playbooks and programme management discipline.
• Work closely with operational teams on site to embed change, raise standards and ensure improvements are sustained in practice, not just on paper.
• Ensure that all change activity is delivered with appropriate attention to safety, compliance, risk and customer impact.

We are looking for a commercially minded transformation leader with the credibility to operate in demanding, field-based and asset-heavy environments.

Essential experience

• Strong experience in operational excellence, continuous improvement or business transformation roles with measurable delivery against performance, efficiency or margin goals.
• Experience in heavy or operationally intensive service industries such as facilities management, environmental services, fleet management, infrastructure services, utilities, specialist engineering services or similar multi-site field operations businesses.
• Experience working in regionalised operating models with multiple depots, branches, fleets or service bases supporting end customers across a wide geography.
• Track record of driving operational performance through better processes, controls, management information, planning disciplines and frontline execution.
• Experience supporting growth, whether through organic expansion, service line development, acquisition integration or broader change programmes.
• Strong commercial understanding, with the ability to connect operational improvements to revenue growth, customer retention, margin improvement and cash generation.
• Confidence working directly with senior stakeholders while also building trust with branch managers, operational leaders and frontline teams.

Personal profile

• Ambitious and career-motivated, with the aspiration and potential to grow into a future COO or Group MD role.
• Hands-on, pragmatic and resilient, with a strong bias for action and a willingness to spend significant time in the field.
• Analytical and data-literate, but grounded in the realities of operational delivery.
• Comfortable with pace, complexity and ambiguity in a growing business environment.
• A strong communicator who can influence, challenge and align stakeholders around a clear plan.

Desirable

• Exposure to post-merger integration, synergy delivery or portfolio value creation programmes.
• Experience building or leading PMO, transformation or operational improvement capability.
• Technical, engineering or operations management background.

What success looks like in the first 12 months

• You have built a clear view of operational performance across the group and established priority improvement plans for the areas that matter most.
• Operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives are underway, with measurable gains in service, productivity, utilisation, margin or customer outcomes.
• A robust integration and value creation approach is in place for acquired businesses, with clear governance, ownership and delivery milestones.
• Regional leaders are working to a more consistent operating rhythm, supported by better management information, clearer accountability and stronger execution discipline.
• The business has greater capacity to scale, with practical foundations in place to support both organic growth and future acquisitions.

This is more than a transformation role. It is a genuine long-term succession opportunity for someone with the ambition and capability to grow into a future Group COO role and, for the right person, potentially into a broader Group MD remit as the business scales. For a high-calibre candidate who can improve performance, support growth and help professionalise the group, the role offers unusual long-term career upside.

As a private equity-backed business, the package is designed to reflect both the importance of the role and the value that can be created. Alongside base salary and bonus, there is meaningful long-term incentive potential for someone who can materially improve performance, support acquisitions and help build the business through its next phase of growth.