Shift Operations Manager

Fox's Burton's Companies (FBC) UK; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading biscuit manufacturer in Edinburgh is seeking a Shift Operations Manager to take ownership of production plans at their bakery. You will lead operational improvements, manage a team, and ensure compliance with safety and quality standards. The ideal candidate has proven leadership experience in an FMCG environment and is skilled in continuous improvement methodologies. This role offers opportunity for significant impact on production efficiency and team performance.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a leadership role, ideally in an FMCG environment.
• Experience of managing large teams.
• Proficiency with continuous improvement methods.

Responsibilities

• Drive improvement plans and champion continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead operations team to enhance plant output.
• Manage budgets and resources to support site strategy.
• Ensure compliance with legislative requirements.

Skills

Leadership experience

Continuous improvement tools

Team management

FMCG experience

Education

Formal qualification in Manufacturing Excellence

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

IOSH qualification

Food safety/Hygiene qualification

Job description

Date: Nov 23, 2025

Location: EDINBURGH, GB

Place of Work: On-Site

Company Description

Who are we?

We are FBC UK, Fox's Burton's Companies! ……And we bake the UK's most incredible biscuits (we might be slightly biased, but we will leave that for you to judge).

FBC UK was a match made in heaven, with two of the top UK biscuits manufacturers (Burton's Biscuits and Fox's Biscuits) coming together to create one unique, integrated company.

We are home to famous iconic brands, including Maryland, Fox's, Jammie Dodger & Rocky, to name just a few. We are proud manufacturing partners to some of the biggest UK retailers and household names. We bake our incredible biscuits at eight bakeries across the UK, located at Isle of Arran, Livingston, Blackpool, Llantarnam, Edinburgh, Kirkham, Batley & Dorset and our HQ in St Albans. Together, we employ circa 4,000 amazing colleagues across all our locations.

Whilst we know that we have delicious products we also know that that the key ingredient to our success is our people, and the passion we have for our brands. You could be the jammy to our dodger, party ring to our Fox’s or the choc-chip to our Maryland?! We knead people with innovative ideas, an entrepreneurial spirit, and the commitment to drive FBC UK to success.

We are committed to building an inclusive workforce that feels empowered to build a fulfilling and successful career. By embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) we create a supportive environment for people to thrive and strive to have more positive impact.

We understand that having formal and on-the-job learning opportunities is key to our colleagues’ professional and personal growth. We are committed to providing an environment where everyone can learn from each other and grow through a variety of learning experiences.

Our colleagues make our business special. With strong community values, we believe FBC UK is a more prosperous and fun place to work when people feel free to be themselves. We believe in the power of being authentic, entrepreneurial and supporting each other whilst meeting our business goals.

About The Role

We’re looking for a Shift Operations Manager to take ownership of delivering the production plan at our Edinburgh bakery. In this key role, you’ll drive improvement plans, champion continuous improvement (CI) initiatives, and manage budgets and resources to support the overall site strategy. Your focus will be on enhancing the performance of production lines within your area, playing a vital role in our success.

This role is on a shift pattern of Days (M-F 5.30am - 2pm) and Afternoons (M-F 1.30pm - 10pm).

Main Responsibilities

• Work with and develop our safety systems to improve the safety & wellbeing of our employees.
• Lead the operations team to continuously improve plant output whilst meeting the requirements of a complex, high volume production site.
• Delivery of financial budget aligned with the delivery of KPI’s (waste, TOS (i.e.overpack/giveaway), efficiency, machine uptime, planned tonnage).
• Work in partnership with site functions, particularly engineering and technical, to deliver annual targets.
• Develop the operations function to achieve best practice.
• Support embedding site principles as part of the Edinburgh Improvement Strategy within area.
• Ensure we meet all legislative and compliance activity as required.

Who We Are Looking For

• Proven experience in a leadership role, ideally in an FMCG environment.
• Experience of managing large teams.
• Use of and exposure to continuous improvement tools and techniques (Lean, 5S, root cause analysis, centrelining).
• Proven track record of developing high performing teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience of working in a unionised environment is desirable.
• Formal qualification in Manufacturing Excellence would be advantageous.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt would be advantageous.
• IOSH and/or Food safety/Hygiene qualification is desirable.

Diversity Statement

FBC UK is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all of our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at FBC UK. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative and highly rewarding.