Job Description

Caffenu is a growing Cape Town manufacturer whose products are sold around the world. We make coffee machine cleaning and care products (tablets, liquids and powders) for our own brand and private label customers, and produce coffee and tea capsules for other brands. We’re looking for a Production Manager to build and strengthen production planning across our lines. This is a hands-on leadership role with a direct line to the Managing Director. You’ll spend around 70% of your time on planning, systems and people, and 30% on the production floor. You will lead production planning and delivery across all lines, building practical systems that help the team understand capacity, plan work realistically and deliver agreed quantities on time and to specification. You’ll work closely with the Production Supervisor, Quality and Procurement teams to coordinate people, materials, maintenance and production priorities. Main Outcomes Production plans are achievable, communicated clearly and delivered against. Production capacity, utilisation, waste, yield and downtime are measured and used to guide improvements. Labour, overtime and material usage are managed within the agreed production budget. Planned maintenance is built into production schedules and unplanned downtime is reduced. The production team is well led, with trained backups for critical tasks.Production is safe, documented and aligned with quality requirements and ISO 9001 processes. R&D trials are prioritised and new products move smoothly into full production. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Production Planning and Delivery Turn requirements from Sales and Procurement into monthly, weekly and daily production schedules across all lines. Plan for labour, materials, maintenance and R&D trial requirements. Give the Production Supervisor a clear plan, track planned against actual output daily, and act when production falls behind. Agree weekly priorities with Procurement and Quality, and record and communicate any changes to the plan. Use capacity, cost and minimum order quantity information to assess and challenge production requirements. Open, close and reverse jobs on the ERP system, ensuring system records match Excel job cards and batch records are complete. Capacity, Cost and Continuous Improvement Set and report capacity figures for each line, including output rates and changeover times. Identify bottlenecks, investigate causes and work with the team to implement improvements. Establish baselines for plan attainment, waste, yield, downtime and right-first-time quality. Monitor labour, overtime and material usage against the agreed production budget, and explain variances. Maintenance and Equipment Agree the planned maintenance schedule with the on-site maintenance technicians and incorporate it into the production plan. Review downtime trends, address repeat failures and maintain a troubleshooting register. Assess repair or replacement requirements, seeking the Managing Director’s pre-approval where there are significant financial or process implications. Step in when a breakdown is serious or remains unresolved after one working day. People Leadership Lead and develop the Production Supervisor, who manages the production floor and day-to-day maintenance. Hold one-to-ones and performance reviews, manage leave and discipline, and arrange temporary staff when needed. Ensure every critical production role has at least one trained and competent backup. Keep production job descriptions current and set and review KPIs for production staff. Safety, Quality and ISO Take overall health and safety accountability for production, including the formal appointment for the area. Review and sign off the monthly health and safety checklist, participate in the Health and Safety Committee, and ensure actions are closed. Write and maintain production SOPs and support the Quality Manager with ISO 9001. Investigate production non-conformances with Quality and close corrective actions together. R&D Support Oversee production-line trials and ensure they are prioritised alongside commercial orders. Troubleshoot trials with Quality when products or processes do not run as expected. Support the transition of new products from R&D trials into full production. Requirements 5+ years’ experience in batch manufacturing, such as chemicals, cosmetics, supplements, food or beverage, or contract packing. At least three years’ experience in detailed production planning and scheduling across multiple lines, including setting line capacities. Experience leading people in a business with 25 to 150 staff. A proven record of introducing new systems and leading continuous improvement. Strong Excel, ERP and Microsoft 365 skills. Own reliable transport Living within reasonable commuting distance of Montague Gardens, Cape Town.