Team Leader - Formulation

The Compleat Food Group; Market Drayton; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Retail discounts

EV charging points

Wellbeing support

Job summary

The Compleat Food Group is seeking a Team Leader – Formulation at our Market Drayton site. You will lead the formulation team, promote safety and quality, and work with the production group to hit SQDCP targets while managing shifts and improving performance.

This role requires strong leadership, HACCP awareness, and hands-on coaching to ensure accurate paperwork, traceability, and compliance across the line.

Qualifications

• Experience of leading an operational team within the food industry.
• Health & Safety and Food Safety knowledge.
• Good communication skills in English and maths.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support the formulation team to meet SQDCP targets and ensure safety, quality, delivery, cost and people metrics.
• Ensure PPE and safety procedures are followed; train and coach team members as required.
• Drive continuous improvement, resolve production issues, and optimize line performance.
• Collaborate with Shift Manager and wider production teams to meet production requirements.

Skills

Team leadership

Health & Safety

Food Safety

Problem solving

Communication

English

Tools

Lawson

Job description

We’re excited to offer an excellent opportunity for a Team Leader – Formulation to join our dedicated team at our site in Market Drayton.

About The Compleat Food Group

At The Compleat Food Group, we’re proud to be a food business built on purpose and passion. Formed in 2021, we’re on a mission to createFood to Feel Good - great quality, tasty and affordable food that people love to eat.

We’re home to some of the UK’s most exciting and loved food brands, includingWall’s Pastry, Pork Farms, Wrights, The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co., unearthed, Vadasz, Squeaky Bean, Palace Culture, andHarvey & Brockless. Alongside our branded portfolio, we’re a leading supplier of delicious own-label pastry, sweet bakery, party food, olives and antipasti, added-value egg products, continental meats, dips and sauces and plant-based food to the UK’s major retailers, as well as across foodservice.

Withover 6,000 talented colleagues across 17 sites, and an annual turnover of £1.3bn, we’re united by a shared ambition to shape the future of food for the better.

We are backed by European private equity firm PAI Partners.

Working Hours: Monday - Thursday: 5pm - 5am (Fixed Nights)

Location:Market Drayton

Salary:£41,852 per annum

Job Purpose:

As Team Leader – Formulation, you will be responsible for leading and supporting the formulation team and production area to ensure the successful delivery of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and People (SQDCP) targets. You will provide effective day-to-day leadership to the team, ensuring high standards of performance, safety and quality are maintained while meeting production requirements. The role will have a strong focus on hourly and daily performance, working closely with the Shift Manager and wider production team to identify and resolve issues, drive continuous improvement and ensure operational targets are achieved.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

• Ensures all team members are supplied with adequate PPE and that they wear it at all times. (E.g. Hearing protection, gloves, masks)
• Can effectively deal with accidents. Knows how to access first aiders and first aid facilities.
• Investigates accidents and near misses. Follows reporting procedures. Identifies probable cause. Ensures actions are implemented to prevent a recurrence.
• Ensures pre start checks completed and any issues followed up. Ensure that plant, machinery and equipment in use is safe, dangerous parts are guarded and properly fitted.
• Ensures team are familiar with and follow site evacuation procedures. Ensures fire doors and equipment are not blocked.
• Ensures clean as you go is in place consistently to reduce the risk of slips and trips

Food Safety & Quality

• Ensures team comply with factory dress code standards at all times. Immediately deals with non-conformances. (E.g. correct hair nets, jewellery removed, jackets buttoned correctly)
• Ensures prohibited items not being taken into factory (e.g. sweets, chewing gum, phones). Initiates pocket searches if required.
• Ensures product produced is made to the SOP and meets customer specification.
• Works in partnership with Quality team to improve quality standards and close out non-conformances within timeframe given.
• Ensures area constantly at audit standard and CAYG in place. Ensures successful audits of own area, deals promptly with any non-conformances
• Knows what HACCP is, implications in own area and ensures all appropriate controls and paperwork is in place.
• Ensures paperwork is accurate, fully completed, delivered on time and enables full traceability. Understands the legal implications of not doing this properly.
• Ensures compliance with allergen and speciation control on changeovers. Clearly understands the health risks to consumers and the recall implications. (e.g. product crossovers)

Leading People

• Able to effectively train, coach and mentor team members. Ensures training matrixes are up to date and all required training and refresher training completed.
• Knows how to best motivate and retain each member of the team. Keeps team members informed of what is going on in the team. Delivers huddle in absence of manager.
• Effectively manages time off requests balancing employee requests and business needs
• Instigates investigations when required. Able to conduct a fair and balanced investigation. Keeps report factual.
• Able to conduct an effective disciplinary hearing and grievance hearing - first stage
• Regularly reviews own performance in ensuring Ethical trading principles are embedded.
• Demonstrates honesty and transparency as to what's not working. Encourages team to do the same. Demonstrates ability to call out any non conformance so it can be fixed
• Looks after the health and wellbeing of team members. Effectively monitors absence and follows absence processes. With the support of HR completes return to work interviews, competent at absence reviews & OH referrals.
• Demonstrates ability to effectively reward and recognise strong performance. Effectively makes use of Hero Awards scheme. Can also implement performance improvement plans with team members.

Driving High Performance

• Are we making money? Understands current performance targets (plan attainment, service and labour variance). Helps team understand these requirements and regularly achieves them. Involves team through holding lineside SIC (Short interval control) meetings
• Effectively mange teams around breakdowns, breaks and changeovers. Achieves throughput rates and drives staff utilisation improvement
• Actively manages giveaway and rejects. Knows what parts of the process create waste, takes steps to ensure waste is accurately recorded and disposed of. Continually looking to improve performance in this area
• Knows how to use Lawson and the implications of not keeping it up to date. Able to move material correctly systematically to match the physical movements.
• Able to apply practical problem solving techniques (5 Why) to operational problems, identifies root cause and implements action.
• Where problems arise brings together the appropriate cross functional team. Empowers team to generate the solution, only escalates issues as per escalation process.
• Validates processes are being followed to the required standard. Takes appropriate action if they are not.
• Effectively managers labour across team/department to required standards

Knowledge, Skills & Experience:

• Experience of leading an operational team within the food industry and delving results through others
• Health & Safety / Food Safety & Quality knowledge
• Flexibility, positivity and resilience
• A practical approach to problem solving
• Good communication skills, English and maths

Why Join Us?

• Salary Sacrifice Schemes - including Electric Vehicles, Home & Tech, Cycle to Work, and SMART Pension
• Annual leave with the option to purchase extra
• Access to enhanced retail discounts online and in-store
• Free product handouts across our sites, so you can sample and enjoy our delicious products first hand
• EV charging points - available at selected sites
• 24/7 access to Grocery Aid for free financial, emotional, and practical support
• Physical Wellbeing Hub - free on-demand exercise classes, gym discounts
• Free diet & nutrition advice with access to thousands of healthy recipes
• Online wellbeing support - from mindfulness to lifestyle resources
• Financial wellbeing tools - including mortgage calculators, budgeting tools, and financial aid
• Access to a personalised online learning platform (LMS)
• Formal and informal training opportunities tailored to your role
• Performance Development Plans and regular Career Conversations
• Company Mentoring Scheme to add depth and really support your career journey
• Recognition through Club Compleat rewards

Community & Culture:

• 2 paid volunteering days per year to give back to causes that matter to you
• Charity initiatives and fundraising events
• Team socials to connect and celebrate together
• Employee networks & support groups - including Women @ Compleat
• New baby gift for new parents

What You Should Know About How We Recruit

At The Compleat Food Group, we believe great teams are built on difference. We create an inclusive, respectful environment where everyone feels safe, supported, and are able to be themselves at work.

We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to Fairness, Equity, Inclusivity, and Respect. If you need a reasonable adjustment at any stage of our recruitment process, just let us know, we’ll support you — confidentially and with care.

We hire the best people for our roles, not the same people. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, we focus on what you do and the impact you could make in our business. Our recruitment process is fair, accessible, and designed to give everyone an equal chance.

You’ll also find benefits that support people at every life stage, plus active internal networks — including Women @ Compleat, LGBTQIA+, and Neurodiversity

£14.11 per hour (plus overtime outside of normal shift)