Pay: £12.80/hr for 12 weeks, increasing to £14.00/hr on successful temp-to-perm
Shifts : 4 on / 4 off 07:00 - 19:00
We're recruiting a hands‑on Food Production Team Leader for a quality‑led manufacturing site in Herne Bay. This role suits someone who leads from the front, keeps standards high, and delivers the numbers‑daily/weekly output (units/kg), line efficiency/OEE, and labour utilisation‑without cutting corners on food safety or quality.
What you'll be responsible for
- Deliver daily and weekly output targets (units/kg) while maintaining agreed OEE/line efficiency and labour utilisation metrics.
- Plan and allocate work, manage rotas and organise absence cover to achieve production schedules and on‑time completion of customer orders.
- Lead, organise and motivate a team who carefully blend, fill and pack‑driving daily performance and operational excellence on the line.
- Maintain a safe, clean and tidy production environment and ensure the team follows site safety and hygiene rules at all times.
- Enforce food safety, hygiene and allergen controls (HACCP, GMP, BRC/SQF), including:
- Temperature control
- Cleaning regimes
- 100% completion of records, audits and required documentation
- Monitor quality on‑line: complete first-off and in-process checks, upscale non-conformances, and implement corrective actions to reduce rejects and maintain customer specifications.
- Drive continuous improvement: lean / waste reduction / yield optimisation, and support root‑cause analysis to reduce downtime, changeover times, and product losses against KPIs.
What we're looking for
- Previous experience as a Team Leader / Supervisor in food production or FMCG manufacturing.
- Confident running a line to performance targets (output, OEE/efficiency, labour).
- Strong understanding of food safety and quality controls (HACCP/GMP; BRC/SQF knowledge beneficial).
- Organised, decisive, and able to keep people focused‑especially during changeovers and busy periods.
- Reliable with paperwork and compliance: checks completed properly, every time.
- Fit and able-ready to lift ingredients and move around the production floor safely.
- Comfortable working on your feet in a fast‑paced environment.
All applicants will be assessed solely on their suitability for the role, without regard to age, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.