Site Lead

True North Talent Limited; Thornton; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

True North Talent Limited is seeking a senior operations leader to take ownership of a busy 24/7 food manufacturing site in the North West. You will work closely with the Operations Director to deliver safety, quality, service, cost and performance improvements across the site.

You will lead a multi-disciplinary team, drive Lean initiatives, manage budgets and capital expenditure, and embed a culture of continuous improvement while shaping the site’s longer-term development and capability.

Qualifications

• Proven senior operational or Factory Management experience within food manufacturing.
• Experience leading a sizeable, multi-disciplinary manufacturing operation.
• Strong track record of improving operational KPIs and delivering measurable performance improvements.
• Experience managing budgets, costs and capital expenditure.
• Strong understanding of food safety standards, including BRCGS or equivalent.
• Experience of Lean and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Ability to lead through other managers and create clear accountability for performance.

Responsibilities

• Take overall operational responsibility for the manufacturing site and ensure targets are delivered safely and efficiently.
• Lead and develop the site management team with clear accountability.
• Drive improvements across safety, quality, service, cost and efficiency.
• Embed Lean and continuous improvement across the operation.
• Manage site budgets, operating costs and capex proposals with Finance.
• Develop a strong safety culture and ensure compliance with legislation and site standards.
• Collaborate with Technical and Quality teams to maintain food safety and customer standards.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration across Engineering, Technical, Finance, People, IT and Sustainability.
• Establish effective management routines, forums and performance reviews.
• Identify risks and ensure robust business continuity plans.
• Support major site projects and broader manufacturing improvement programmes.
• Build leadership capability through coaching and clear performance expectations.

Skills

Senior leadership

Factory management

Budget management

Lean & continuous improvement

People leadership

Safety & compliance

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Location: LancashireThe Opportunity: A senior operational leadership opportunity for an experienced food manufacturing professional ready to take ownership of a complex, multi-shift manufacturing operation and make a measurable impact on performance.This is an opportunity to lead a busy food manufacturing site, working closely with the Operations Director and wider leadership team to improve safety, quality, service, cost and operational performance.You'll have genuine responsibility for the site's day-to-day operation, while also playing a key role in its longer-term development. The business is continuing to invest in its manufacturing capability, so this is a role where there is scope to influence how the site operates and how it develops.Why this role?This is a 24/7 manufacturing operation with multiple production areas and a sizeable multi-disciplinary workforce.Reporting to the Operations Director, you'll lead the site management team and create the structure, accountability and performance culture needed to deliver against operational KPIs.The challenge is not simply keeping production running. You'll be expected to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, strengthen leadership capability and embed a culture of continuous improvement.You'll have exposure across Operations, Engineering, Technical, Quality, Health & Safety, Finance, People and Sustainability, giving you a genuine opportunity to influence the wider site strategy.

What will you be responsible for?

• Taking overall operational responsibility for the manufacturing site and ensuring production targets are delivered safely, efficiently and consistently.
• Leading and developing the site management team, creating clear accountability for performance.
• Driving improvements across safety, quality, service, cost and efficiency.
• Embedding Lean and continuous improvement principles across the operation.
• Managing site budgets, operating costs and capital expenditure proposals in partnership with Finance.
• Developing a strong safety culture and ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and site standards.
• Working closely with Technical and Quality teams to maintain food safety and customer standards.
• Leading cross-functional collaboration across Engineering, Technical, Finance, People, IT and Sustainability.
• Establishing effective management routines, communication forums and performance reviews.
• Identifying operational risks and ensuring robust business continuity plans are in place.
• Supporting major site projects, including new equipment, systems implementation and wider manufacturing improvement programmes.
• Building leadership capability through coaching, mentoring and clear performance expectations.

What we’re looking forEssential

• Proven senior operational or Factory Management experience within food manufacturing.
• Experience leading a sizeable, multi-disciplinary manufacturing operation.
• A strong track record of improving operational KPIs and delivering measurable performance improvements.
• Experience managing budgets, costs and capital expenditure.
• Strong understanding of food safety standards, including BRCGS or equivalent.
• Experience of Lean and continuous improvement methodologies.
• The ability to lead through other managers and create clear accountability for performance.

Desirable

• Multi-site manufacturing experience.
• Experience of significant manufacturing projects or site transformation.
• Experience working within a 24/7 production environment.
• Formal Lean / Continuous Improvement qualification.

What’s on Offer?

This is a great business to join as they really invest in the people and support development and growth. It’s a great culture and people are genuinely happy in their roles within the business.

We are seeking applications from talented Head of Operations, Site Leaders, Operations Managers, Site Manager who live within Greater Manchester, Lancashire or Cumbria.

Why True North Talent?

True North Talent specialises exclusively in recruitment across the UK food and drink manufacturing industry. We understand the sector, the challenges businesses are facing and the experience required to succeed within it.

Our specialist consultants work closely with both clients and candidates to ensure we're not simply matching a CV to a job description – we’re helping people make the right career move and businesses secure the expertise they need.

We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK.

Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.