Job Description

We are the internal recruitment partner for our client, a well-established and award-winning food manufacturer, supporting them in their search for a hands-on Cooked Food Production Manager.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing business producing a range of high-quality food products for retail, wholesale and direct customers. As Production Manager, you will lead the day-to-day operation of a busy cooked production facility, ensuring products are manufactured efficiently, safely and to the highest quality standards.

This role is ideal for an experienced food production leader who enjoys managing people, improving processes and leading from the front in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

About the role:

Reporting to the Management Team, you will take responsibility for the daily operation of the production kitchen, leading a team of production staff and a supervisor to ensure production plans, quality standards and customer requirements are consistently achieved.

This is a hands-on management role. You'll be expected to work alongside the team when required, maintaining production output while driving standards, efficiency and continuous improvement across the department.

Starting at 7:00am each day, you'll be responsible for briefing the team, coordinating daily production activities, monitoring progress throughout the shift, and ensuring that all products, materials, and resources are in place to meet operational demands.

In particular, you will:

• Managing the day-to-day operation of the production kitchen and packing functions
• Planning and coordinating production to meet customer demand and delivery schedules
• Leading, motivating and supporting a team of production staff and supervisors
• Monitoring productivity, output and performance against operational targets
• Ensuring quality, food safety, hygiene and health & safety standards are maintained at all times
• Managing staffing levels and allocating labour resources effectively
• Driving improvements in efficiency, waste reduction and profitability
• Working closely with other departments to ensure the smooth flow of products and materials
• Remaining hands-on within production whenever required

Who we are looking for:

• Previous management experience within a food production or manufacturing environment
• Strong production planning and workforce scheduling skills
• Experience monitoring KPIs, productivity and operational performance
• Proven ability to lead, motivate and develop production teams
• Excellent organisational and communication skills
• A proactive, hands-on approach with the ability to solve problems effectively
• Good knowledge of food hygiene, health & safety and manufacturing best practices

Experience within a butchery, bakery, meat processing or food manufacturing environment would be advantageous but is not essential

In return we are offering:

• Competitive salary of up to £40,000, depending on experience
• Monday to Friday working pattern with 1 in 5 weekends (may change depending on holidays) as part of a rota
• Typical working hours of 7:00am until approximately 3:30pm (45hr working week), dependent on production requirements
• Overtime available
• Opportunity to lead a growing production operation
• Friendly, supportive and team-focused working environment
• Staff discount
• On-site parking
• Company pension

If you have the right attributes, skillset and feel you will be able to add value, then what are you waiting for…hit that apply button to find out more!