Shift Manager

b3 jobs ltd; England; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK food manufacturing firm is looking for a Shift Manager to oversee production, ensure safe and efficient practices, and lead a team. The role offers a starting salary of £40,341, increasing to £44,375 after six months. Candidates need relevant food manufacturing qualifications, experience with HACCP, and knowledge of lean techniques. Benefits include 33 days of annual leave and a rotating shift pattern.

Benefits

33 days annual leave

Contributory pension scheme

Career development opportunities

Qualifications

• Relevant food manufacturing qualifications including food hygiene and Health & Safety training.
• Experience in HACCP, allergens, and food processing systems.
• Working knowledge of SAGE software and supply chain principles preferred.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with GMP, Health & Safety, and customer specifications.
• Motivate and coach production staff to achieve performance targets.
• Oversee production performance and address disruptions.
• Complete necessary production processes and documentation.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

Food manufacturing qualifications

HACCP knowledge

Lean manufacturing techniques

Good knowledge of food/drinks manufacturing processes

Experience with allergens

Education

Food hygiene qualifications

Tools

SAGE software

Job description

Shift Manager

The company is a well-established leader in producing premium products, including fresh and innovative offerings. Over the past decade, it has experienced significant growth, supplying key customers in the UK food retail, wholesale, and foodservice sectors.

About the Shift Manager job

Reporting to the Production Manager, you will take ownership of production on your shift, ensuring all Key Performance Indicators are consistently met. You will lead and develop your team while using your focus on improvement to drive cost savings and foster a culture of continuous improvement across the department.

Key tasks

• Continuously by example to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant work practices across the production environment, maintaining adherence to GMP, Health & Safety, customer specifications, and company policies. You will manage shift planning and handovers, ensuring adequate staffing levels, coordinating with recruitment, and monitoring attendance and payroll records to support the daily production plan.
• Motivate and coach production staff to achieve consistent performance, multi-skilling, and adaptability during breakdowns, downtime, or shortages, while conducting daily briefings, performance management, and return-to-work or accident follow-ups as required.
• Oversee production performance against plan, manage variances, and coordinate with engineering and planning teams to address maintenance, raw material shortages, or other disruptions, ensuring corrective actions and continuous improvement are implemented.
• Ensure all production processes and checks—from start-up inspections, cleaning, and quality audits to stock, label, and date coding—are completed accurately and documented, maintaining compliance with hygiene, audit, and operational standards.
• Drive continuous improvement and lean manufacturing initiatives, encouraging staff engagement, challenging non-conformance, enhancing productivity, and improving working procedures to deliver quality, cost efficiency, and production targets.

About You

The successful candidate shall have relevant food manufacturing qualifications, including food hygiene as well as Health & Safety training and good knowledge of food/drinks manufacturing processes.

Experience with HACCP, allergens, food processing systems and lean manufacturing techniques is required.

Working knowledge of SAGE software, and an understanding of supply chain principles and practice is preferable.

More details

The Shift Manager job (ref:8986) is paying £40,341 raising to £44,375 according to your experience.

The hours are on a weekly rotating shift pattern of 7:00am to 3:00pm and 3:00pm to 11:00pm, Monday to Friday.

The starting salary will be £40,341 raising to £44,375 p.a. after the completion of a successful 6-month probationary period.

The annual leave entitlement is 33 days (25 days + 8 Bank Holidays).

The site is based in Kent and is commutable from Ashford, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Canterbury and surrounding areas.

Alternate job titles

Food Production Manager | Production Team Manager | Head of Production | Manufacturing Manager | Production Supervisor | Production Team Leader | Production Coordinator | Food Industry Production Jobs