Operations Manager - Manufacturing

Morrisons; Wakefield; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food manufacturing firm in Wakefield seeks an Operations Manager to oversee bread manufacturing operations. The successful candidate will lead day-to-day activities, focusing on productivity, quality, and continuous improvement while managing a large team. This role offers substantial career development opportunities and various employee perks such as discounts, holidays, and a market-leading pension.

Benefits

Six weeks holiday

15% store discount

Subsidised staff canteen

Free parking

Market leading pension

Healthcare benefits

Career progression opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in a senior shift or departmental leadership role in manufacturing.
• Proven track record of leading large teams.
• Strong operational understanding and process improvement skills.
• Resilience and adaptability to lead through change.
• Solid commercial acumen, including budget ownership.

Responsibilities

• Drive productivity, quality, and efficiency across multiple lines.
• Lead, coach and develop a high-performing team.
• Embed a culture of continuous improvement.
• Partner with stakeholders to ensure compliance and smooth workflows.
• Manage waste, downtime, and performance data.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Operational improvement

Budget management

Performance management

Job description

More About The Role

Operations Manager - Bread Manufacturing

At the heart of our Bread Manufacturing site, our Department Leaders thrive in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment with a shared goal: delivering top-quality products to our customers—on time, every time. If you're energised by complexity, driven by results, and passionate about leading high-performing teams, this could be your next big step.

Reporting into the Site Manager, you'll be responsible for leading day-to-day operations across a critical area of the site, ensuring delivery of key KPIs while championing continuous improvement and operational excellence.

In this role, you will:

• Own the performance of your area—driving productivity, quality, and efficiency across multiple lines while delivering against daily and weekly KPIs.
• Lead, coach, and develop a large and diverse team—creating a high-performing, engaged, and resilient workforce.
• Embed a culture of continuous improvement by challenging the status quo, empowering your teams, and identifying smarter, safer, and more efficient ways of working.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and external suppliers to ensure full compliance, smooth workflows, and strong communication across the operation.
• Manage waste, downtime, and performance data—ensuring accurate reporting across OEE, efficiency, product weights, and labour usage to support better decisions and performance insights.

About You

What you'll need to succeed:

• Experience in a senior shift or departmental leadership role within a fast-paced manufacturing or warehousing environment—food manufacturing is a plus.
• Proven track record of leading large teams, with strong coaching, development, and performance management skills.
• Strong operational understanding with the ability to identify and deliver process improvements that boost output and reduce costs.
• Resilience, adaptability, and a hands‑on approach to leading through change and challenge.
• Solid commercial acumen, including budget ownership and cost control experience.

In return for your hard work we will offer you:

• Six weeks holiday (including bank holidays)
• 15% discount in our stores available from the day you join us
• Additional 10% discount More Card for a friend or family member
• Career progression and development opportunities
• Subsidised staff canteen
• Free parking
• Market leading pension and life assurance
• Healthcare/Well‑being benefits including Aviva Digital GP
• Morrisons MyPerks with discounts at high street shops, cinemas and gyms, and lots more
• Long Service Awards
• Optional Payroll charity donations
• Enhanced Family/maternity/parental leave

About The Company

You'll find a great big welcome here at Myton Food Group - the part of our business that looks after manufacturing, whilst maintaining strong roots within Morrisons Supermarkets.

At Myton Food Group, we have a legacy to be proud of. We're British farming's biggest single direct customer. We buy from highly valued suppliers. And we're passionate about the quality of our food. Today, we have 19 manufacturing sites across the UK, where we pack and process fresh meats and fish, savoury and sweet pies, fruit and veg, flower bouquets, bread and lots more.

We really do stand out in the world of food manufacturing. But what we're especially proud of is the way we all get stuck in and work as a team, in partnership across our supply chain.