Assistant Production Manager

Swegon UK&I; Whitstable; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading provider of indoor climate solutions is seeking an Assistant Production Manager in Whitstable, UK, to enhance production processes. The role requires experienced leadership skills and efficient resource management to meet customer needs and uphold quality standards. Candidates should have a GCSE level in Maths/English, proven experience in production management, and a strong understanding of lean practices. This position offers opportunities for personal growth in a supportive environment that values sustainability and diversity.

Benefits

Development opportunities

Flexible organizational culture

Emphasis on personal qualities

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in a production management or similar role.
• Good knowledge of manufacturing lean processes and quality standards.
• Proficiency with software for scheduling and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Support daily manufacturing demands and ensure product delivery.
• Manage human resources, materials, and assets effectively.
• Set and enforce quality control standards.
• Supervise and motivate production personnel.
• Implement lean manufacturing techniques for improvement.
• Prepare detailed production reports for management.
• Resolve production process issues and adapt to changes.

Skills

Leadership skills

Production procedures understanding

Quality commitment

Lean practices

Problem-solving

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Time management skills

Education

GCSE standard Maths/English or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word & Excel)

Job description

We are seeking a results-driven ‘Assistant Production Manager’ to support our manufacturing operation at our site in Whitstable; Kent. This role will mean ensuring efficient and safe production processes that meet customer requirements and company goals. The ideal candidate will have strong leadership skills, a good understanding of production procedures, and a commitment to quality and continuous improvement.

The role will be supporting the ‘Production Manager’ and the Production Management Team, with the daily manufacturing demands, ensuring the delivery of our products, to the customer, within agreed lead times and budgeted operational costs, whilst maintaining the high standards of quality and compliance, our customers expect from Swegon.

The role will also include supporting and maintaining a driven, customer and quality focused, efficient, engaged production team, using practices such as Lean and Right First Time, whilst adhering to the set processes and compliance requirements, set out by the business.

Identifying Continuous Improvement opportunities and development, are a key part of the role, ensuring maximum involvement from the production team to maintain this practice as part of the culture of the business. Support from the Engineering & SHEQ teams, is also available to achieve this. Experience in H&S, Quality and HR practices and processes, will be essential.

Main Duties and responsibilities

• Production Planning and Scheduling: Working in conjunction with our Planning Department
• Resource Management: Effectively manage human resources, materials, and other assets to ensure optimal allocation and utilisation for project success.
• Quality Control & Health and Safety: Set and enforce quality control standards, adhering to H&S regulations, fostering a safe working environment.
• Team Leadership and Supervision: Supervise, motivate, and manage production personnel, evaluating performance and identifying training needs, using the Production Skills Matrix.
• Process Improvement: Identify opportunities for improvements, implementing lean manufacturing techniques, drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance productivity and reduce waste.
• Reporting and Communication: Track (KPIs), prepare detailed production reports for senior management, and liaise with other departments such as sales, marketing, and engineering.
• Adaptable and resilience: remain flexible and calm in stressful situations, adapt to changing priorities, and embrace new ideas and technologies.
• Problem-solving: Clear and logical thinking, resolve production process issues.
• Attention to detail: To ensure quality standards are met, production plans followed, and H & S regulations are adhered to.
• Proactiveness: Taking initiative and exploring new ways of working to improve production results.
• Ethical Conduct: Demonstrate transparency, integrity, fairness, and respect in all interactions, fostering a culture of trust and professionalism
• Motivating Skills: To achieve maximum efficiency within Production environment and Managerial level.
• Soft Skills: Demonstrate excellent communication, active listening, adaptability, problem-solving, and conflict resolution abilities to build positive relationships and foster collaboration across teams.
• Strong leadership and team management abilities.
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and adapt to changing demands.
• Empathy and People management skills: Exhibit strong interpersonal skills with a deep understanding of HR practices, demonstrating empathy and professionalism when supporting employees and resolving workplace issues.

Essential Qualifications

• GCSE standard Maths/English or equivalent
• Competent in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word & Excel)

Essential Experience

• Proven experience (e.g. 3-5 years) in a production management or a similar role within a manufacturing environment
• Good knowledge of production management, manufacturing lean processes, quality standards (e.g. ISO) and health and safety regulations
• Proficiency with computers and relevant software packages for scheduling, monitoring and reporting

We offer

At Swegon, we work to create the world's best indoor climate that makes people thrive and feel good inside. We have ambitious goals in our sustainability efforts, in offering the most energy‑efficient products, promoting gender equality, and becoming carbon neutral, and we have clear transparency in our work. We offer exciting challenges in a global environment with competent colleagues and a culture characterized by our values; "Customer Empathy, Trust, and Commitment," which permeate everything we do and are the basis for the decisions we make and how we interact with each other. At Swegon, we have an open and flexible organizational culture with short decision‑making processes, plenty of development opportunities, and we care about you being able to balance your work with your personal life. We place great emphasis on personal qualities, welcome applicants with different backgrounds, and strive for diversity and gender equality.

(Please note; we are not considering agencies to assist with filling this position.)

About Swegon Group

Swegon Group, owned by the Stockholm Stock Exchange‑listed Investment AB Latour, is a market‑leading provider of a healthy indoor climate, with solutions for ventilation, heating, cooling, and climate optimisation, as well as connected services and technical expertise. Swegon has subsidiaries and distributors worldwide and 17 production units in Europe, North America, and India. The company has approximately 3,000 employees and had a turnover of approximately SEK 6 billion in 2022.