Production Team Leader

Cranleigh STEM & Sustainability Recruitment; Southampton; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

5 extra days holiday

Pension contribution 10%

Company bonus

Life assurance

Job summary

Cranleigh STEM is recruiting a Production Team Leader for an established manufacturing business supplying specialist ingredients to the food and beverage industries. This hands-on role leads 4–9 Production Technicians, ensuring targets are met safely and in line with quality and food-safety standards. Location is Barton Stacey, Hampshire.

Permanent, site-based role with hours 07:30–16:00, Monday to Friday. The ideal candidate has experience in regulated manufacturing, frontline leadership, and a

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading a production team in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience managing absence, conduct and employee performance.
• Strong understanding of health and safety in manufacturing.
• Experience with regulated environments (food/pharma) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead, support and develop a team of Production Technicians.
• Allocate labour and prioritise production activities to meet demand.
• Manage holidays, absence, overtime, performance and disciplinary matters.
• Ensure manufacturing activities comply with health, safety, quality and hygiene standards.
• Maintain risk assessments and safe systems of work.
• Monitor production KPIs and lead actions to improve team performance.
• Lead investigations using root-cause analysis for complaints and non-conformances.
• Maintain and improve SOPs and production documentation.
• Identify training needs and improve cross-skilling across the team.
• Lead continuous improvement activities, including 6S audits and departmental meetings.

Skills

Production leadership

KPIs and performance

Planning and communication

Problem solving

Continuous improvement

Education

IOSH Managing Safely

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Cranleigh STEM is recruiting a Production Team Leader for an established manufacturing business supplying specialist ingredients to the food and beverage industries.

This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for the day-to-day performance of a production team. You will manage between four and nine Production Technicians, ensuring manufacturing targets are achieved safely, efficiently and in line with quality and food-safety standards.

The position would suit an experienced Production Team Leader or Manufacturing Supervisor from a food, pharmaceutical or similarly regulated manufacturing environment. Experience overseeing manual or batch-based production processes would be particularly relevant.

Location: Barton Stacey, Hampshire

Salary: £. Competitive + Benefits

Hours: Monday to Friday, 07:30–16:00

Contract: Permanent, fully site-based

Key responsibilities

• Lead, support and develop a team of Production Technicians.
• Allocate labour and prioritise production activities to meet customer demand.
• Manage holidays, absence, overtime, performance and disciplinary matters.
• Ensure manufacturing activities comply with health, safety, quality and hygiene requirements.
• Maintain risk assessments, COSHH records and safe systems of work.
• Monitor production KPIs and lead actions to improve team performance.
• Support compliance with BRCGS, HACCP and Critical Control Point requirements.
• Lead complaint and non-conformance investigations using root-cause analysis.
• Maintain and improve SOPs and production documentation.
• Identify training needs and improve cross‑skilling across the team.
• Lead continuous improvement activities, including 6S audits and departmental meetings.
• Work closely with Production, Quality, Engineering and other internal departments.

Candidate requirements

• Extensive experience within a manufacturing or production environment.
• Proven experience leading and developing a production team.
• Experience managing absence, conduct and employee performance.
• Good understanding of health and safety within manufacturing.
• IOSH Managing Safely qualification or equivalent.
• Understanding of food safety or experience within another highly regulated industry.
• Demonstrable continuous improvement experience.
• Experience using KPIs to improve production performance.
• Technical understanding of production equipment and manufacturing processes.
• Experience using ERP systems.
• Strong planning, communication and problem‑solving skills.

Experience with BRCGS, HACCP, World Class Manufacturing, Six Sigma or project management would be advantageous.

Benefits:

• 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays.
• Option to purchase five additional days’ holiday.
• Employer pension contribution of up to 10%.
• Company bonus scheme.
• Life assurance at four times basic salary.
• Additional birthday leave.

The site is not accessible by public transport, so applicants will need their own reliable means of travel.