Senior Production Leader – Lean & Ops Excellence

Butler Rose; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private health cover

25 days holiday (30 days after 12m)

Company Pension scheme

Life assurance cover

Personal development training

Job summary

Butler Rose is recruiting for a senior Production Manager on behalf of a well-established Plymouth-based manufacturing business. You will own the production operation, drive operational excellence, continuous improvement and overall business performance.

Reporting to the Operations Director, you will lead production and planning teams, deliver targets and ensure the function remains safe, efficient and profitable. This is a high-responsibility leadership role in a complex engineering environment.

Qualifications

• Significant leadership experience within manufacturing, engineering, aerospace, defence, automotive or other precision production environments.
• Proven track record of improving operational performance and delivering measurable business results.
• Experience leading production teams through periods of growth and change.
• Strong understanding of Lean Manufacturing principles and deployment.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical and decision-making skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management capability.
• Ability to interpret operational data and convert insights into practical improvement initiatives.
• High levels of resilience, professionalism and leadership credibility.

Responsibilities

• Lead all aspects of production operations across machining and assembly functions.
• Drive performance against key operational KPIs including productivity, quality, cost, delivery and safety.
• Manage and develop Production Team Leaders and Production Planning personnel.
• Ensure effective production planning and scheduling aligned to customer demand and business objectives.
• Lead Lean Manufacturing initiatives and continuous improvement activities across the operation.
• Improve operational performance through data-driven decision making and process optimisation.
• Oversee resource planning, capacity management and shop floor execution.
• Take ownership of departmental budgets, cost control, labour efficiency and operational expenditure.
• Support business growth through strategic planning, operational development and investment projects.
• Work closely with Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality and Commercial teams to maximise value stream performance.
• Champion a positive culture focused on safety, accountability, teamwork and continuous improvement.
• Lead organisational change and operational transformation programmes.

Skills

Leadership

Lean Manufacturing

Problem-solving

Stakeholder management

Data interpretation

Education

Engineering degree or equivalent

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Butler Rose is recruiting for a senior Production Manager on behalf of a well-established Plymouth-based manufacturing business. You will own the production operation, drive operational excellence, continuous improvement and overall business performance.

Reporting to the Operations Director, you will lead production and planning teams, deliver targets and ensure the function remains safe, efficient and profitable. This is a high-responsibility leadership role in a complex engineering environment.