Duty Manager - Taw Valley

Arla foods; Devon and Torbay; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food production company seeks a Duty Manager in Devon and Torbay to oversee daily operations, ensuring safety and quality compliance while driving performance and efficiency. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills and a safety-oriented mindset, with experience in a manufacturing setting. This role offers a competitive salary, annual pay review, employer-matched pension, and career development opportunities in a supportive work environment.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Annual Pay review

Employer pension matched up to 6%

Life assurance cover

Flexible Benefits

Strong career development and training

Qualifications

• Experience leading operations in a manufacturing environment.
• Solid understanding of financial frameworks and budgets.
• Familiarity with data-driven tools and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily site operations and set performance targets.
• Ensure health and safety compliance and manage non-compliance.
• Safeguard quality and food safety across the site.
• Drive continuous improvement using data-driven decision-making.
• Coach and develop team members.

Skills

Leadership in manufacturing

Safety and quality mindset

Data-driven decision-making

Strong communication skills

Collaboration and team coordination

Problem-solving

Tools

SPC

MDE

SAP

MES

OEE

Job description

How you will make an impact

As a Duty Manager, you will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the site, setting targets and actions, optimising performance, and managing a cross-site team. You will champion safety, quality and compliance, drive resource optimisation, and collaborate with operations and support teams to meet site KPIs and budget.

• Lead daily site operations across intake, process, production and despatch, setting targets and actions to optimise performance.
• Promote a healthy, inclusive and secure working environment; ensure adherence to H&S standards / Cornerstone and manage non-compliance via LIA reporting.
• Safeguard quality and food safety across the site, ensuring compliance with Arla standards, policies and legal requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement and efficiency using APS, data-driven decision-making (SPC, MDE, SAP, MES, OEE, basic statistics) and support LCO teams.
• Coordinate resources and staffing with Area Team Leaders; coach and develop team members based on Our Leadership and Our Character.

What will make you successful?

Professional skills and experience include leading operations in a manufacturing / plant environment with a strong safety and quality mindset; solid financial understanding and ability to work within defined frameworks and budgets; familiarity with data-driven tools (e.g., SPC, MDE, SAP, MES, OEE) and continuous improvement practices; and strong communication skills to align departments and escalate appropriately. Top personal qualities are being a clear, calm leader who sets direction, challenges constructively, and maintains team morale; a collaborative teammate who fosters cooperation and coordinates across production, maintenance, logistics, and engineering; and an organised problem-solver who manages time effectively, prioritises, and makes sound decisions based on data. EVP cues emphasise that we work closely together and offer a supportive, high-performance environment with a steep learning curve; a purpose-driven and safety-first culture with strong commitment to quality and sustainability; and being part of a team proud of its job satisfaction and continuous development

What do we offer?

• Competitive salary
• Annual Pay review
• Employer pension matched up to 6% (12% total contributory)
• X4 annual salary life assurance cover
• Flexible Benefits- buy up to 5 days annual leave, reward gateway scheme- discounts with various retailers via my benefit platform.
• Strong career development & training (internal and external training)