Interim Manufacturing Excellence Manager

Hensol Castle Distillery; Pontyclun; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Hensol Castle Distillery is seeking an experienced Manufacturing Excellence leader to drive Lean-based transformation across the site. Sitting with the leadership team, you will embed continuous improvement into daily operations, develop capability and deliver measurable improvements in safety, quality, cost, delivery and people.

You will build a robust Manufacturing Excellence roadmap, coach leaders, run workshops, and champion data-driven decision making to unlock future growth and operational

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading Operational Excellence or Continuous Improvement programmes.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing tools and methodologies.
• Track record of sustainable improvements in productivity and efficiency.
• Experience leading cultural change and embedding continuous improvement.
• Ability to coach, influence and develop leaders at all levels.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience within manufacturing environment.
• Ideally, experience in food & drink, distilling or FMCG.
• Knowledge of Six Sigma, TPM, OEE and Visual Management systems.

Responsibilities

• Developing and implementing a Manufacturing Excellence roadmap that supports our operational and strategic objectives.
• Embedding Lean Manufacturing tools, methodologies and behaviours across the distillery.
• Identifying and eliminating waste, reducing process variation and improving operational efficiency.
• Leading continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Kaizen, Root Cause Analysis and structured problem-solving techniques.
• Using data and performance insight to identify opportunities and drive measurable business improvements.
• Establishing effective performance management routines and visual management processes that sustain improvements over the long term.
• Supporting the optimisation of production processes, asset utilisation and overall operational performance.
• Coaching, mentoring and developing leaders to build continuous improvement capability throughout the organisation.
• Delivering workshops and training that strengthen problem-solving skills, accountability and operational ownership.
• Acting as a trusted partner to the leadership team, helping to drive cultural and behavioural change.
• Leading improvement and transformation projects from concept through to successful implementation and embedding.
• Building engagement and ownership at all levels to create a proactive culture of accountability, collaboration and innovation.
• Championing the highest standards of safety, quality and compliance, ensuring all improvement activities align with regulatory and company requirements.
• Reviewing organisational structure and ways of working, and making recommendations to the leadership team on opportunities to improve efficiency, capability and accountability across the operation, including:
• Supporting the development of processes to trial new products outside of live production wherever practical, helping to maximise productivity during live production runs.
• Working with the relevant operational and engineering leads to review PPM, equipment capability and new product trial requirements, and recommending improvements that support maximum production uptime.
• Reviewing production planning and sequencing arrangements, including package type, liquid type, material availability and resource requirements, and recommending opportunities to improve efficiency and production flow.
• Supporting Production, Technical and Commercial teams in reviewing processes for customer specification sign-off, quality control, communication of issues and production out-turn reporting, identifying opportunities to strengthen controls and consistency.
• Reviewing actual manufacturing performance against agreed commercial assumptions and providing insight to the relevant teams to support future costing, planning and production decisions for the same or similar products.
• Analysing staffing requirements, labour utilisation and agency usage, and making recommendations to the Production Manager and leadership team on staffing models that can flex efficiently with seasonal demand and extended or double-shift requirements.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Continuous Improvement

Root Cause Analysis

Kaizen

Data analysis

Coaching/Leadership development

Stakeholder management

Problem-solving

OEE

Tools

Six Sigma

Visual Management

Job description

Our distillery is on an exciting growth journey and we're looking for an experienced

Manufacturing Excellence leader to help unlock its full potential. Working alongside our

leadership team, you'll introduce Lean principles, drive best practice, improve operational

performance and build the capabilities needed to support future growth and success. If

you're passionate about developing people and transforming operations, this could be your

What you will be doing

You will play a pivotal role in shaping how our distillery operates, helping us build a culture

where continuous improvement is part of everyday life.

Working alongside the leadership team, you will champion Manufacturing Excellence,

embedding Lean ways of working, developing organisational capability and driving

continuous improvement across Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery and People.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Developing and implementing a Manufacturing Excellence roadmap that supports our operational and strategic objectives.
• Embedding Lean Manufacturing tools, methodologies and behaviours across the distillery.
• Identifying and eliminating waste, reducing process variation and improving operational efficiency.
• Leading continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Kaizen, Root Cause Analysis and structured problem-solving techniques.
• Using data and performance insight to identify opportunities and drive measurable business improvements.
• Establishing effective performance management routines and visual management processes that sustain improvements over the long term.
• Supporting the optimisation of production processes, asset utilisation and overall operational performance.
• Coaching, mentoring and developing leaders to build continuous improvement capability throughout the organisation.
• Delivering workshops and training that strengthen problem-solving skills, accountability and operational ownership.
• Acting as a trusted partner to the leadership team, helping to drive cultural and behavioural change.
• Leading improvement and transformation projects from concept through to successful implementation and embedding.
• Building engagement and ownership at all levels to create a proactive culture of accountability, collaboration and innovation.
• Championing the highest standards of safety, quality and compliance, ensuring all improvement activities align with regulatory and company requirements.
• Reviewing organisational structure and ways of working, and making recommendations to the leadership team on opportunities to improve efficiency, capability and accountability across the operation, including:
• Supporting the development of processes to trial new products outside of live production wherever practical, helping to maximise productivity during live production runs.
• Working with the relevant operational and engineering leads to review PPM, equipment capability and new product trial requirements, and recommending improvements that support maximum production uptime.
• Reviewing production planning and sequencing arrangements, including package type, liquid type, material availability and resource requirements, and recommending opportunities to improve efficiency and production flow.
• Supporting Production, Technical and Commercial teams in reviewing processes for customer specification sign-off, quality control, communication of issues and production out-turn reporting, identifying opportunities to strengthen controls and consistency.
• Reviewing actual manufacturing performance against agreed commercial assumptions and providing insight to the relevant teams to support future costing, planning and production decisions for the same or similar products.
• Analysing staffing requirements, labour utilisation and agency usage, and making recommendations to the Production Manager and leadership team on staffing models that can flex efficiently with seasonal demand and extended or double-shift requirements.

Role scope

The Manufacturing Excellence Manager will work in partnership with operational leaders to

identify opportunities, develop improvement initiatives and build capability across the business.

The role provides specialist expertise, analysis, coaching and support to help teams deliver

Operational leadership and day-to-day management responsibilities will remain with functional

managers, with improvement initiatives developed collaboratively and progressed through the

appropriate leadership and consultation processes.

What success looks like

• Lean principles embedded across the operation.
• Stronger leadership capability and accountability.
• Measurable improvements in efficiency, productivity and profitability.
• Reduced waste and process variability.
• Sustainable improvements across Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery and People.
• A proactive continuous improvement culture that will support the business as it continues to grow.

About you

You are an experienced Manufacturing Excellence or Continuous Improvement leader with a

passion for driving change, developing people and delivering measurable results.

You will have:

• Proven experience leading Operational Excellence, Manufacturing Excellence or Continuous Improvement programmes.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing tools and methodologies.
• A track record of delivering sustainable improvements in productivity, efficiency and performance.
• Experience leading cultural change and embedding continuous improvement practices.
• The ability to coach, influence and develop leaders at all levels.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience within a manufacturing, production or process-driven environment.

Ideally, you'll also have experience within food & drink, distilling, brewing or FMCG, together

with knowledge of Six Sigma, TPM, OEE and Visual Management systems.

This is a rare opportunity to influence a growing business at a critical stage of its journey. If you're excited by the challenge of embedding Lean principles, developing people and delivering sustainable operational improvements, we would love to hear from you.