Production Manager

At AO Recycling, we are committed to extracting as much value as possible from the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that is thrown away by UK households every year. Like the rest of the AO Group, we are a very exciting and enthusiastic company to work for. The role will be located at our site in Telford, Shropshire, which uses state of the art technology and is able to process more items, more efficiently than any other site in the UK.

We are growing and with that, there’s many opportunities to develop and try new approaches. If you are an energetic, hands on, innovative professional, this is the environment for you. We are part of a bigger group and with that backing comes stability and support for our business. And it is always worth remembering - we run a profitable business whilst doing the right thing for the environment.

Within the core value of delivering excellence the Production Manager will focus the Shift Co-Ordinators, Supervisors and Operative employees, to deliver and exceed the agreed KPI’s. The Production Manager will develop the departmental team through providing direction; guidance, support, coaching and mentoring, to ensure we develop future leaders, retain our people, whilst delivering KPI’s which underpin the budget.

The Production Manager must promote the highest levels of quality and performance whilst driving health and safety culture, environmental compliance, and employee welfare. With the changing dynamic within the retail sector the plant must be managed in a way to ensure flexibility and capability to move and flow with the changing patterns of volume.

The Production Manager will work very closely with all departments (transport, offload, SHEQ, HR, etc) to ensure the department’s performance is achieved and exceeded, whilst supporting and delivering the whole value chain. At AO we deliver at pace, and we need to deliver today.

Here's What You Can Expect To Be Doing

Reporting to the Operations Manager you will be managing the most advanced and largest fridge recycling plant in the UK. Built in 2017 it cost in excess of £10M to build and you will be expected to drive higher productivity and deliver smarter processes.

You will be planning, directing and controlling the Processing Teams across 4 shifts to ensure health and safety, environmental, quality, volumes, productivity and cost objectives are met.

You will be accountable for time, cost and volume quality performances. You will be accountable for (and have a proven track record in) delivery improvements in time, cost and volume quality performances.

A key deliverable will be to continue developing your team focused on quality and efficiency in everything they do, in a safe and clean working environment by using methodologies and tools like 5S, KAIZEN or other CI Techniques. You will create and manage a CI program within the department with the aim of continuously finding better and more productive ways of working. You also need to prove you have successfully done this before! You’ll coach your managers and staff using CI Tools to deliver a CI Culture. Your focus will be on the needs of the teams whilst acting consistently and with resolve.

You will take responsibility to ensure all activities and AOer’s within the departments comply with site health, safety and environmental policies and regulations. Your role will work closely with the SHEQ department to help deliver a world class HSE culture, ensuring all activities comply with relevant environmental regulations, permits and licences associated with the site.

You will also work closely with the Engineering Function and help maintain an effective planned preventative maintenance (PPM) for the department.

In your role you will conduct regular reviews of operational capability and produce clear action plans to drive required improvement.

Applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK permanently and without restrictions.

A Few Things About You

• Experience of working within automotive / Aerospace / FMCG manufacturing processes.
• Six Sigma formal qualification (or equivalent) demonstrated strong implementation knowledge of CI techniques, specifically 5S and Kaizen Projects.
• Experience of working at a management level in a fast-paced environment with large scale growth.
• Effective contribution to the achievement of our business plan by focusing on key KPI targets, driving accountability and consistently challenging and involving the team to achieve results.
• Housekeeping responsibility - ensure all Internal Fridge Plant storage areas are improved/maintained.
• Accountable for time, cost and volume quality performances.
• To improve efficiency across the department, driving out any inefficiencies and all waste.
• Ensure control of operation’s during and outside normal working hours - flexibility is a must.
• Demonstratable experience in managing large numbers of people (50+) with multi teams and different shift patterns.
• Evidence of the capability to deliver visible, impactful change is highly desirable.
• Demonstrable initiative, showing ownership of operational delivery.
• Organising and motivating teams and individuals.
• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Focused on the detail and root cause analysis.
• Strong communication skills and ability to build relationships quickly.
• A strong tenacious character who is willing to question the status quo.
• Good interpersonal skills, confident in your approach.
• Organised, structured approach to work.
• Demonstrate proof of creating strong successful teams.

This is an excellent and exciting opportunity to join an established and growing business, building on the current successes already delivered in a short time at AO Recycling.

Education and Qualifications
* Minimum 5 years’ operational experience with at least 3 years at the Manufacturing/Processing Manager level or equivalent.
* Level 5 ILM level education (or equivalent, could be through apprenticeship or other pathway) is a must.
* WAMITAB preferable but not essential.
* IOSH Qualified.
* Electrical/Engineering background and experience is preferred but not essential within a busy production environment.
* Demonstrated implementation of step changes in processes and introducing a visual factory.

A Bit About Us

When it comes to appliances and electricals, we’ve got the lot. Washing machines? Yep. TVs? Check. Laptops? Absolutely. Everything except doorbells (just kidding, we’ve got those too).

We’re known for helping our customers brilliantly - and it’s no different for AOers. We care about more than what’s on your CV, because together we can do extraordinary things.

Our benefits are designed to cover the moments that matter to AOers. From health and wellness to giving back - you’ll be rewarded inside and outside of work.

• Our Value Creation Plan; We've created a unique long term bonus plan for every AOer to share in our success, giving you the opportunity of an exceptional reward in return for exceptional business performance.
• Holidays; 25 days, plus bank holidays (increasing to 27 days after 2 years with us!)
• Free lunch once a month.
• Pension; Contribute 5% of your annual salary and we'll do the same, giving you a little extra support for the future.
• Be a VIP at the AO Arena; we have loads of opportunities to win free tickets and pre-sale access.
• Health & wellbeing; discounted gym membership, an onsite spa and our Help @ Hand scheme giving you access to virtual GP’s, Mental Health support and much more.
• Discounts; exclusive discounts across our product range.
• Family leave; Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Adoption leave.
• Making a difference; 2 fully paid days a year to donate your time to any charity of your choice.
• On site perks; start your day with free on site parking, grabbing a complimentary breakfast and a coffee at our subsidised Starbucks!

To see all our benefits and perks, visit our AO Benefits page.