Shift Leader

Advanced Medical Solutions; Stafford; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Advanced Medical Solutions is seeking a production operations leader to manage the daily production plan and drive continuous improvement. The role focuses on achieving full plan delivery, safety, quality and cost targets while leading and coaching the operations team.

You will oversee recruitment, training, performance reviews and ensure effective communication across shifts, with a strong emphasis on Lean principles and problem solving.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level.
• Experience in lean methodology.

Responsibilities

• Deliver the production plan on time and in full.
• Perform root cause analysis to address safety, quality, delivery and cost issues and implement corrective actions.
• Analyse performance data to inform future improvement plans.
• Investigate new ways of working to improve performance.
• Lead and develop the operations team, including recruitment, training, and performance reviews.
• Maintain effective communication channels across the organisation.
• Coordinate training and development aligned to individual and operational needs.
• Ensure orders meet quality standards and drive corrective actions for any non‑conformances.
• Challenge losses of time and materials; drive continuous improvement.
• Review departmental performance and advise the Operations Manager on improvements.
• Maintain cleaning standards as per quality standards and personal hygiene guidelines.
• Ensure site escalation procedures are understood and followed by direct reports.
• Build a high‑performing, proactive team and coach the production operators.
• Act as a technical expert to ensure staff have required skills and knowledge.
• Set clear SMART objectives and team targets.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Excel

Communication

Lean methodology

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Company Description

AMS is a world‑leading independent developer and manufacturer of innovative tissue‑healing technology focused on quality outcomes for patients and value for payers. AMS has a wide range of surgical products including tissue adhesives, sutures, haemostats, internal fixation devices and internal sealants, which it markets under its brands LiquiBand®, RESORBA®, LiquiBandFix8®, LIQUIFIX™, Peters Surgical, Ifabond, Vitalitec and Seal‑G®. AMS also supplies wound care dressings such as silver alginates, alginates and foams through its ActivHeal® brand as well as under white label.

Since 2019, the Group has made seven acquisitions: Sealantis, an Israeli developer of innovative internal sealants; Biomatlante, a French developer and manufacturer of surgical biomaterials; Raleigh, a leading UK coater and converter of wound‑care and bio‑diagnostics materials; AFS Medical, an Austrian specialist surgical business; Connexicon, an Irish tissue adhesives specialist; Syntacoll, a German specialist in collagen‑based absorbable surgical implants; and Peters Surgical, a global provider of specialty surgical sutures, mechanical haemostasis and internal cyanoacrylate devices.

AMS’s products, manufactured in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Thailand, India, the Czech Republic and Israel, are sold globally via a network of multinational or regional partners and distributors, as well as via AMS’s own direct sales forces in the UK, Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Benelux, India, Czech Republic and Russia. The Group has R&D innovation hubs in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and Israel. Established in 1991, the Group has more than 1,500 employees. For more information, please see www.admedsol.com.

Job Description

Key Objectives

• Ensure all direct reports undertake their duties in compliance with company policies and procedures at all times.
• Manage the daily production plan to 100% achievement and ensure material yield and machine availability is optimised.
• Ensure that the necessary resources are allocated to meet departmental requirements and standards to provide excellent levels of customer service at all times.
• Ensure that cost‑effective and value‑added solutions are in place to meet customer needs.
• Ensure a safe and healthy work environment exists by adhering to company health and safety and environment policies and ensuring full compliance with relevant legislation.

What will this role involve?

• Deliver the production plan on time and in full.
• Complete root cause analysis where applicable to ensure issues that have negatively impacted safety, quality, delivery and cost are addressed and corrective actions implemented to eliminate recurrence.
• Analyse performance data to inform and create future improvement plans.
• Proactively investigate new and innovative ways of working to deliver improvement in performance.
• Manage the operations staff including recruitment, training and development, performance reviews, absence management, discipline and grievance.
• Ensure effective communication channels are adopted and adhered to throughout the organisational structure.
• Coordinate and ensure training and development of the team is carried out in accordance with individual and operational requirements.
• Ensure all orders are achieved in line with our quality standards and, where quality standards are not achieved, complete full root cause analysis and implement corrective actions to eliminate recurrence.
• Continuously challenge the status quo in relation to lost time and material losses.
• Review departmental performance regularly and recommend to the Operations Manager ways to continually improve.
• Ensure cleaning standards are adhered to as per the quality standard.
• Ensure personal hygiene standards are maintained as defined by the quality standard.
• Ensure that the site escalation procedure is understood and followed by all direct reports.
• Build a high‑performing and proactive operations team with a continuous improvement culture. Take responsibility for coaching, mentoring and developing the production operators.
• Act as a technical expert for the operations team, ensuring that staff have the skills and knowledge required to complete their substantive roles.
• Set and communicate clear and well‑understood SMART objectives and team targets.

Essential Qualifications

• Educated to degree level.
• Minimum of five years’ experience in people management.
• Computer‑literate with good working knowledge of Microsoft applications, including Excel.
• Good communication skills with the ability to relay information at a level relevant to the audience.
• Experience in lean methodology.

Desirable Qualifications

• HACCP trained.
• NEBOSH.

Expectations

• The jobholder will be required to stand up to assertive challenges from others.
• Timely decision‑making, often under complex and demanding circumstances, will be expected of the incumbent.
• The person fulfilling this role will need to be proactive and a creative problem‑solver.
• Good verbal communication is one of the prime requirements for satisfactory performance in this role.
• Success in achieving goals and objectives will depend on this person’s motivational and leadership skills.
• Compliance with corporate values and culture will be critical to long‑term success.
• A systematic and precise approach will be advantageous.
• The ability to demonstrate flexibility in approach and a determination to complete assignments on time are important factors for success.
• An energetic and restless style is likely to be compatible with the more dynamic and fast‑paced demands of this job.

Additional Information

Shifts: Tuesday to Friday 06.45-19.00, and Tuesday to Thursday 18.45 – 07.00 on a two‑weekly cycle, 41.12 hours average.