Area Manager

Young's Seafood; Haverhill; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food manufacturing company is seeking an experienced Area Manager for their packing and despatch operations in Haverhill. This hands-on leadership role encompasses managing teams to meet production targets while ensuring safety and quality standards are met. Candidates should have a strong understanding of food production and the ability to motivate teams effectively. If you are a proactive leader eager to drive improvements in a food manufacturing environment, we encourage you to apply.

Qualifications

• Experience in a food production environment preferred.
• Ability to lead teams and improve operational efficiency.
• Knowledge of Health & Safety compliance required.

Responsibilities

• Lead packing and despatch teams while ensuring safety compliance.
• Manage operational performance and efficiency in packing operations.
• Monitor quality and traceability of finished goods.

Skills

Strong understanding of packing line equipment

Proactive self-starter

Effective communication

Ability to identify operational issues

Holistic understanding of operations

Job description

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The Role

Our new Area Manager (Packing and Despatch) will lead and develop high-performing teams, ensuring production targets are met while maintaining the highest standards of safety, quality, cost control and people management. This is a hands-on leadership role with full accountability for team performance, staffing, compliance and continuous improvement.

Working closely with Planning, Technical and Operations teams, you will ensure customer demand is met through efficient packing, accurate despatch and full product traceability. This role is site-based and plays a key part in delivering operational excellence within a food manufacturing environment.

The hours of work are 7am-3pm Monday to Friday at our Haverhill site.

The Ideal Candidate

• Have a strong understanding of packing line equipment and throughput requirements within a food production environment
• Be confident identifying, preventing and resolving operational issues before they impact performance
• Communicate clearly and effectively, using data and insight to support decision-making
• Be a proactive self-starter who motivates and engages teams through inclusive leadership
• Take personal ownership of line and team performance
• Demonstrate a holistic understanding of day-to-day operational and business requirements
• Be willing to learn, adapt and collaborate productively with cross-functional teams

Why Sofina Foods?

This role offers the opportunity to make a visible impact in a critical area of the operation. You will lead established teams, influence performance at site level and play a key role in driving safety, quality and efficiency improvements.

You will be supported to grow your leadership capability, contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and progress within a values-driven food manufacturing business that places equal importance on people, performance and compliance.

Equal Opportunities

Sofina Foods is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We're committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences - regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Managing packing and despatch teams in line with all risk assessments, company procedures and statutory requirements
• Embedding a Safety-First culture, ensuring full compliance with Health & Safety, COSHH and PPE standards
• Planning and delivering packing operations to maximise efficiency, throughput and Packs Per Minute, without compromising quality or hygiene
• Ensuring all finished goods are packed, palletised, documented and despatched accurately and on time
• Maintaining full control and traceability of finished goods, raw materials and packaging
• Monitoring, recording and assigning packing downtime accurately to support performance analysis
• Ensuring all operational paperwork is completed accurately and on time, keeping the department audit-ready at all times
• Supporting continuous improvement initiatives and deputising for the Shift Manager when required