Machine Operative (Nights)

Hotel Chocolat; Hartford; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

50% discount on products

Enhanced maternity/paternity leave

Company pension contributions

Full PPE provided

Subsidised vending machines

Free onsite employee carpark

Job summary

Hotel Chocolat is seeking a Machine Operative for its Manufacturing team in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. This permanent role covers a night shift (Sunday to Thursday, 22:00–06:00) with full on-site responsibilities ensuring production plans are met on time and to quality and safety standards.

You will start up and run the line, manage packaging and labelling, coordinate with engineering and hygiene teams, and uphold GMP compliance while supporting continuous improvement activities.

Qualifications

• Good knowledge of KPIs.
• Good verbal and written English.
• HACCP trained.
• Knowledge of continuous improvement tools.

Responsibilities

• Set up manual packing lines and manage paperwork to standard.
• Manage Label Room processes and ensure timely material delivery to lines.
• Coordinate with departments to ensure availability of machinery, ingredients, and packaging.
• Communicate shortages and discrepancies to line manager to support plan completion.
• Deliver plan on time and to cost with quality loss target under 1%.

Skills

KPIs

HACCP

CI tools

English proficiency

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire

Job Reference hotelchocolat/TP/1505/1236

Number of Positions:

1

Contract Type:

Permanent

Working Hours:

37.5

Location:

Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire

Closing Date:

18/10/2026

Job Category:

Manufacturing

Country:

UK Region

Division:

Operations

Job Introduction

As we continue our mission to make people happy through chocolate, we’re looking for a Machine Operative to join our Manufacturing Team on a permanent basis.

How would you like to work in a real-life chocolate factory? Well here is your chance because our Chocolate Manufacturing Team are looking for a Machine Operative to come and join the team on a permanent basis.

You will be responsible for ensuring compliance with our production plan to ensure that our well-loved product is delivered on time, in full, within agreed quality and health and safety measurements.

Shift Pattern: Night Shift- Sunday to Thursday, 22:00- 06:00.

As well as a competitive salary and a range of company benefits including enhanced maternity and paternity leave and Company pension contributions, you’ll receive 50% discount on all products, we also offer:

• Full PPE (personal protective equipment) provided to you on your first day.
• Subsidised vending machines including sandwiches, pasta, snacks and drinks.
• Free onsite employee carpark.

The onsite location for this role is at our Factory ‘Hadley Park’, in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, right in the heart of where our chocolates are made and where weekly, we can produce between 4 to 6 million of the chocolates we all know and love.

What you’ll be doing….

• Set up of manual packing lines, management of paperwork packs, ensuring that it is completed to requited standard.
• Management of Label Room processes, ensuring that all materials are delivered to the line in a timely manner.
• Working closely with other departments to ensure that all required items are available i.e. machinery / ingredients / packaging.
• Shortages and discrepancies communicated to your line manager on time to support plan completion.
• Plan delivered on time and to costed expectations with targeted quality loss of less than 1% and delivering ‘right first time’ products.
• Performing an in-depth handover with the incoming shift.

Ownership

• Owning the start up of the production line, ensuring that the correct staffing is in place.
• To own the clean down of the line between products and carrying out line start up inspections, ensuring that the line is free from any cross-contamination.
• Driving a culture of asset specific standards and settings across all shifts.
• GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) compliance in your work area.
• Ensure compliance with all Health and Safety systems.
• Ensure all piranha requests are submitted to engineering for downtimes.
• Ensuring diligence with reporting e.g. SIC sheets, live Knobel updates in time to handover to the next shift.

Leading

• Running the day-to-day management of the line.
• Ensuring that the team is adhering to set requirements for the product.
• Reporting any breakdowns in a time manner to the relevant managers / team.
• Ensuring that any team training is up to date.

Supporting

• Training and mentoring new starters within the business on your asset / process.
• Supporting the team in all PMR activity on the line per product group.
• The ability to talk an external auditor through your process / procedure around utilising your asset.
• Proactive care and targeted work with the Hygiene Team to ensure that the work area and asset stays at the best standard.

Who you are…

• Good knowledge of KPIs.
• Good verbal and written English to clearly discuss performance of your asset / process.
• HACCP trained.
• Knowledge of continuous improvement tools.

Who are we?

We’re one of the UK’s favourite premium chocolate brands, with a range of products spanning luxury gifts, alcohol and our pioneering drinking chocolate system, the Velvetiser.

A cacao pod takes years to grow – it can’t be rushed if it’s going to be just right for our products. The same can be said for Hotel Chocolat, which originally started as a mint production company before we realised it was luxury chocolate that we were really passionate about.

Now, we’re market leaders in the industry. What began as an online-only business grew to over 100 stores across the UK, and we’re still growing… Today, we’re multi‑category, multi‑channel, and multi‑territory, and our customers, colleagues, cacao farmers and suppliers all benefit from the success we make together.