Site General Manager

The Compleat Food Group; Barnsley; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Salary sacrifice options

Pension

Bonus

PMI

Job summary

The Compleat Food Group in Barnsley is seeking an accomplished General Manager to lead a major chilled site, driving safety, quality and profitability while delivering growth through investment and transformation.

You will shape site strategy, oversee capital projects, optimise operations, and develop leadership teams to sustain high performance in a fast-moving, private equity-backed business.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a chilled food manufacturing site or substantial complex food manufacturing operation with clear accountability for performance and people.
• Track record of delivering operational improvement and leading teams through growth, investment or significant change.
• Strong financial understanding, including budgets, cost control, forecasting and capital investment.
• Sound grasp of food safety, retailer expectations, audit standards and health and safety responsibilities.
• Visible, engaging leadership style with clear expectations, confident decision-making and developing others.

Responsibilities

• Lead the next phase of growth: translate business ambition into a clear site strategy, building capacity, capability and operational resilience.
• Make investment count: lead capital projects and site transformation, connecting expenditure to measurable improvements in performance.
• Raise operational performance: drive productivity, labour efficiency, equipment effectiveness and waste reduction while protecting customer service.
• Set uncompromising standards: champion colleague safety, food safety, quality and compliance in every decision.
• Build a team that can deliver: coach your leadership team, strengthen succession and create a culture of ownership and continuous improvement.
• Own the commercial outcomes: deliver budgets, manage costs and forecasts, and build strong relationships with customers and the wider manufacturing network.

Job description

Lead the operation. Shape the investment. Deliver the next chapter.

Competitive Senior Salary and Added additional package benefits (Car Allowance, Salary Sacrifice options, Pension, Bonus, PMI etc)

Significant growth. Major investment. A prestigious chilled food manufacturing site ready for its next chapter. Our Barnsley operation offers an ambitious General Manager the opportunity to make a lasting impact within a fast-growing, private equity-backed UK chilled food manufacturing business.

This is more than a role running the day-to-day operation. It is an opportunity to shape how the site grows: strengthening capability, turning investment into operational results and bringing people with you through substantial change. If you combine strategic vision with visible, hands‑on leadership, this is your opportunity to help define what comes next.

Your opportunity (What's in it for you?)

As General Manager, you will take overall accountability for site performance, setting a clear direction across safety, food quality, service, cost and people. You will balance the demands of a fast‑paced chilled food operation with the longer‑term priorities of growth, investment and sustainable profitability.

• Lead the next phase of growth: translate business ambition into a clear site strategy, building the capacity, capability and operational resilience to deliver.
• Make investment count: lead capital projects and site transformation, connecting expenditure to measurable improvements in performance.
• Raise operational performance: drive productivity, labour efficiency, equipment effectiveness and waste reduction while protecting customer service.
• Set uncompromising standards: champion colleague safety, food safety, quality and compliance in every decision.
• Build a team that can deliver: coach your leadership team, strengthen succession and create a culture of ownership, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Own the commercial outcomes: deliver budgets, manage costs and forecasts, and build strong relationships with customers and the wider manufacturing network.

Who we are looking for:

You are an accomplished food manufacturing leader (within chilled food) who understands the pace, complexity and exacting standards of chilled production. You bring the commercial judgement to see the bigger picture and the operational credibility to turn plans into action on the factory floor.

• Experience leading a chilled food manufacturing site or a substantial, complex food manufacturing operation, with clear accountability for performance and people.
• A track record of delivering operational improvement and leading teams through growth, investment or significant change.
• Strong financial understanding, including budgets, cost control, forecasting and capital investment.
• A sound grasp of food safety, retailer expectations, audit standards and health and safety responsibilities.
• A visible, engaging leadership style: clear on expectations, confident in making decisions and committed to developing others.
• The ability to maintain day‑to‑day delivery while building the foundations for long‑term growth.

Why this role?

The timing makes this opportunity stand out. With significant growth and investment ahead, you will join at a point when your leadership can influence both immediate performance and the future shape of the site. This is a chance to combine operational ownership with a meaningful transformation agenda in a private equity‑backed business with ambitious plans.

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