Job Description

Business Area: Nestle UK&I
Location: Halifax, West Yorkshire

Salary circa £63,000 depending on experience.

Some of our other fantastic benefits

• 17 % car allowance
• Potential, discretionary annual bonus
• Generous pension scheme – up to 12% contribution from Nestle
• 12 flexible days on top of 25-day holiday entitlement
• 2 paid volunteering days
• A focus on personal development and growth (insert relevant detail on study support, etc)

Although this is a full-time opportunity, please speak to us about what flexibility means to you as we are always open to discuss individual’s flexible working needs, don’t let this stop you from applying.

We are looking for an Area Manager to join our team in Halifax Team overseeing confectionary manufacturing. This is an outstanding opportunity to develop your career with one of the biggest companies on the planet. As the Area Manager you will be responsible for leading a team of Line Performance Managers and a wider team factory operatives.

You would be joining the diverse Nestle Halifax leadership team with an abundance of skills and expertise including Production, Engineering, Quality and many other key departments. This factory is going through an exciting change management program ensuring our quality brands, such as Quality Street, Munchies and After Eight meet our consumer needs and demands.

We take pride in championing inclusion and diversity. We proudly signed the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter, are committed to Disability Confidence, and have been recognised as a Times Top 50 Employer for gender equality for three consecutive years. Additionally, we are a headline partner of Diversity and Inclusion in grocery.

Your impact

Reporting into the Factory manager, as Area Manager you will be responsible for the people at the heart of our business and the day-to-day operations and performance improvement activities within the spay dry area of the factory. You will focus on meeting the scheduled production & maintaining the legal requirements to quality, cost and safety standards.

Other key activities will include:

• Lead, support and coach your team of Line Performance Managers, Asset Maintenance Managers and overall production team.
• Contribute to the development & journey of the factory master plan.
• Direct and coordinate the production and maintenance strategy in line with embedding the line centric approach.
• Drive forward our continuous improvement activities through NCE and TPM, coaching of methodology to drive the right culture and behaviours.
• Ensure ongoing smooth operation of factory through active employee engagement, a collaborative leadership style and good industrial relations.
• Ownership for talent management decisions related to hiring, performance, and disciplinary actions.
• Ensure that finished products are consistently manufactured meeting Product Quality Attributes prescribed through the company QMS and meeting consumer expectations. Promote cleaning standards in line GMP standards.
• Promote and maintain a safe working environment in compliance with the local legislation, promoting a Zero accident mind-set through continuous coaching on safety behaviours.

Your ingredients for success

we are looking for someone who has worked within a leadership role within complex manufacturing environment, who is passionate about driving lean manufacturing principles and has experience changing mind-sets.

Other key attributes we are looking are:

• Proven experience within a leadership role within an operational role within a complex fast-paced FMCG production environment.
• People Management and development experience including employee relations.
• Experience of TPM and Lean manufacturing is essential.
• Ideally, you will be educated with in a technical discipline. Preferably degree qualified but would also consider those qualified through extensive experience.
• Understanding of modern maintenance & management tools
• You will be a credible, approachable and results driven– able to gain the buy in of key stakeholders on site and across the wider business and flex your style depending on the audience.
• Strong belief in the importance of H&S within manufacturing/engineering

What you need to know

Advert closing date: 15/04/2026

We will be considering candidates as they apply and we will occasionally close job advertisements early in the event we receive sufficient applicants, so please don’t delay in submitting your application.

At Nestlé, our values are rooted in respect and we believe that embracing diversity and fostering an inclusive environment allows everyone to reach their full potential and drives innovative thinking. We strongly encourage applications from individuals of all gender identities, ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities, parents, carers and members of the LGBT+ community. Please let us know if we can provide accommodations to ensure your full participation in the application process.

To find out more about Nestle’s commitment to DEI: Nestlé's Commitment to a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace