Production Shift Manager

The Sterling Choice; East Hampshire; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus up to 10%

Pension: above industry standard

Gym discounts

Holiday/travel savings

Job summary

The Sterling Choice is seeking a Shift Manager for a weekend production area in North Hampshire. You’ll own the shift’s safety, quality, performance, and people, and you'll drive KPIs, control yield, and cut waste in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment.

You'll lead a production team, ensure hygiene and compliance on every shift, support the Production Manager, and coach staff to improve performance while maintaining traceability and product compliance.

Qualifications

• Experience in production management within food manufacturing or FMCG environments.
• Solid understanding of food safety, hygiene and compliance requirements.
• Proven track record leading teams on the shop floor.
• Strong problem-solving ability with decisive decision-making.
• Excellent communication skills adaptable to floor and meeting room contexts.
• Detail-oriented with ownership mindset and accountability.

Responsibilities

• Lead a production team to hit shift KPIs safely and efficiently.
• Maintain health & safety, hygiene and compliance standards on every shift.
• Support the Production Manager with day-to-day responsibilities.
• Chase yield and cut waste to improve cost efficiency.
• Use performance data to identify and fix issues rather than only reporting them.
• Escalate maintenance issues early to prevent stoppages.
• Coach and develop the team to build capability across the shift.
• Ensure traceability and product compliance are robust.

Skills

Production management

Food safety

Leadership

Problem-solving

Communication

Attention to detail

Job description

Shift Manager, Hampshire.

Salary: £45,000 | Location: North Hampshire | Pattern: Friday to Monday

Let me be straight with you. Food manufacturing doesn't wait. It doesn't care that it's Sunday, that the line's down, or that someone's phoned in sick. If you've run a shift in food manufacturing, you already know this.

The job

You’ll own a production area during the weekend shift. Not “support it.” Not “have visibility of it.” Own it. Safety, quality, performance and people are all yours, and at the end of the shift you’ll know exactly how it went, because the numbers will tell you.

This role is a great opportunity for a production supervisor to step into a new challenge.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading a production team to hit shift KPIs safely and efficiently
• Keeping Health & Safety, hygiene and compliance standards where they should be, every shift, not just audit week
• Supporting the Production Manager on day-to-day responsibilities
• Chasing yield and cutting waste, because in food manufacturing both are money
• Using performance data to spot problems and fix them, rather than admiring them on a spreadsheet
• Escalating maintenance issues early, before a small fault turns into a long stoppage
• Coaching and developing your team so they get better, and so you're not the only one who can solve things
• Making sure traceability and product compliance are spot on. This one isn't optional.

The bits we won’t dress up

• It’s fast-paced. That means decisions get made quickly, often with incomplete information.
• You’ll be hands‑on. If you want to manage from a laptop, wrong job for you.
• Standards aren’t a suggestion. You’ll be accountable for them, and so will the business.

You’ll fit if you have

• Production management experience in food manufacturing, fresh produce or another fast‑moving environment
• A proper understanding of food safety, hygiene, and compliance
• Real experience leading teams, not just overseeing them
• Problem‑solving skills and the confidence to make a call and stand by it
• Communication skills that work on the shop floor as well as in the meeting room
• An eye for detail and a habit of owning the result

What you get

Aside from a role with real accountability and room to grow in a leading food manufacturing business, you also get:

• Competitive salary: £45,000
• Bonus: Up to 10%
• Pension: above industry standard
• Lifestyle: gym discounts and holiday/travel savings