Food Production Manager

JR United Kingdom; Basildon; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the fresh food sector is seeking a hands-on Production Manager to drive operational excellence and continuous improvement. The role involves managing production, leading a team, and implementing effective systems to ensure scalability and responsiveness to demand. Join a passionate team dedicated to creating healthy food for children and make a real impact on their wellbeing.

Benefits

Competitive salary with growth potential

33 days annual leave

Free hot drinks, breakfast, lunch, and snacks

Ongoing training and development opportunities

Discounted nursery places for employees’ children

Flexible team with social events

Wellbeing resources and support

Free life coaching

Free parking

Qualifications

• 3-5 years production management experience in food or FMCG.
• Strong knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, or CI methodologies.
• Proven ability to implement production systems.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily production and develop Master Production Schedule.
• Lead continuous improvement projects and foster operational excellence.
• Ensure compliance with food safety and quality standards.

Skills

Continuous Improvement

Leadership

Production Planning

Team Management

Education

Certified Green Belt

3-5 years production management experience

Tools

Excel

ERP or planning tools

Job description

Hours: 40 (worked on variable shifts within our operating hours; Mon – Fri 06:00 – 18:30)

Holiday: 33 days

We’re committed to operational excellence, innovation and building a high-performance culture. As we scale, we’re looking for a hands-on, systems-oriented Production Manager with a strong Continuous Improvement (CI) focus to build efficient production systems and ensure our operation is scalable, stable and responsive to demand. The role will report directly to Managing Director.

Join our exceptional team

We’re on a mission to change children’s lives through deliciously healthy food!Did you know that the food we eat in our early years can impact our health in later life?That’s why we lovingly prepare fresh and nutritious food that develops healthy tastes that last a lifetime.

Our recipe for success is built on the skill, experience, and care of our dedicated team.We work together creating an environment of care, creativity, and collaboration, where our team grow, and we share in success.

What we offer:

• A supportive and passionate team of dynamic food professionals where innovation and improvement area celebrated and rewarded.
• A meaningful, fulfilling role within a values-driven, fast growing fresh food business.
• The opportunity to make a real impact on children’s health and wellbeing across the country.

Perks of the role:

• Competitive salary with real growth potential
• 33 days annual leave
• Free hot drinks, breakfast, lunch, and snacks
• Ongoing training and development opportunities
• Discounted and tax-free nursery places for employees’ children
• A friendly, flexible team with social events throughout the year
• Wellbeing resources and support including discounted gym memberships, cycle to work and eyecare vouchers
• Free life coaching through Dream Academy
• Free parking

What we’re looking for:

• To live our values every day (We really care, We’re hungry for growth, One team one dream)
• A strong continuous improvement mindset, always working towards manufacturing excellence.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence by promoting best practice and knowledge sharing while collaborating with colleagues to identify opportunities.
• Proactively identify improvement actions to deploy and improve operational performance.

About the role:

The Production Manager will be responsible for managing daily production while also designing, implementing and embedding core systems that drive operational performance. A key part of this role will be leading the development of a robust Master Production Schedule (MPS) process – including the design and facilitation of structured planning meetings – to ensure alignment between production capacity, customer demand and ingredient availability.

Key responsibilities

1. Production planning and MPS ownership

• Design, implement and embed a structured weekly MPS meeting, involving key stakeholders across production, Supply Chain, Sales and Procurement.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities and inputs/outputs for the MPS process (e.g. demand forecasts, stock positions, lead times, capacity constraints).
• Facilitate the MPS meeting to align production plans with business priorities, proactively resolve constraints and build a realistic and achievable factory plan.
• Covert high-level production forecasts into actionable daily and weekly schedules that optimise line utilisation, minimise changeovers and meet service levels.
• Monitor plan adherence and production performance, providing feedback to improve future planning accuracy.

2. Process design and implementation

• Lead the development and roll out of core operational processes including SOP’s, cleaning and maintenance schedules, training standards and performance tracking systems.
• Create simple, scalable systems that support consistent execution, even as volume and complexity grow.
• Ensure processes are documented, trained and continuously improved through feedback and data.
• Champion Lean and CI methodologies to reduce waste, streamline workflows and drive performance improvements.
• Lead structured improvement projects and empower teams to identify and implement daily incremental changes.
• Introduce tools such as 5S, visual management, RCA, SMED and OEE tracking to create a disciplined, data driven operation.

4. Team leadership and culture

• Lead a small Production team across prep, cook and packing, providing coaching, direction and performance feedback.
• Build a culture of accountability, teamwork and continuous learning. Foster a positive team culture, always striving for operation excellence.
• Ensure alignment between daily floor activity and longer-term strategic goals.
• Conduct training and performance review based on our skills matrix and standard work.
• Promote team culture and engagement with business direction, team events and new ways of working

5. Food safety and Quality Assurance

• Ensure compliance with HACCP, SALSA and work instructions.
• Work closely with our Food Technician to manage traceability, CCPs and hygiene standards.

6. KPI monitoring and reporting

• Track performance metrics including yield, downtime, waste, labour efficiency etc.
• Implement corrective actions based on KPI trends.

7. Site health and safety

• Work with our Facilities team to ensure safety across our site at all times
• Maintain production records, traceability logs and audit ready documentation

8. Cross-functional co-ordination

• Collaborate with Technical, Supply Chain, Logistics, Facilities, Food, Procurement, HR, and Finance teams.
• Collaborate with New Product Development (NPD) team for production trials and seamless launches.

Experience and Qualifications

• 3-5 years production management experience food or FMCG manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience implementing structures planning and scheduling processes, including leading MPS meetings.
• Demonstrated ability to design, implement and embed production systems and operational processes.
• Strong working knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma or other CI methodologies – Certified Green Belt minimum.
• Excellent people management skills, leading and inspiring teams and driving a high performance culture
• Excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience working in a small, growing or fast changing environment preferred.
• Proficiency in Excel and familiarity with ERP or planning tools.

Other Information

This job description is not exhaustive, and the post holder is required to undertake any other reasonable duties as directed by the Managing Director.

We actively promote equal opportunities and are committed to equality and diversity for all our children and team. Applicants will be considered on merit only, irrespective of race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, or belief.

A copy of the Company’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy and Disclosure Information policy is available on request.

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Created on 23/05/2025 by JR United Kingdom