Technical Operator - Fruit AM shift

Yeo Valley Farms (Production) Ltd; South Somerset; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading dairy production company is seeking a skilled machine operator to join their team. Key responsibilities include operating complex machinery, ensuring safety compliance, and maintaining high product quality standards. The ideal candidate will have relevant experience and strong teamwork skills. Benefits include competitive holiday, non-contributory pension, and opportunities for learning and development. This position is based in South Somerset and operates a Mon-Fri shift schedule.

Benefits

Competitive holiday allowance

Non-contributory pension scheme

Life cover

Healthcare cash back plan

Cycle to work scheme

Subsidised products and services

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in a production environment as a machine operator.
• Ability to undertake manual tasks effectively.

Responsibilities

• Operates and optimises complex machines for production.
• Ensures adherence to health and safety standards.
• Conducts routine checks and validation of equipment.

Skills

Team working skills

Manual tasks capability

Attention to detail

Effective communication

Relevant work experience as a machine operator

Job description

So, what will I be doing?

You will work as an important part of a team supporting the production or supply chain team on the site you are based. Whilst ensuring a safe working area, you will operate and optimise complex machines or processing equipment, ensuring we maintain the highest standards of product quality. Utilising your operational and mechanical skills and knowledge, you will be the go-to person for all in the team that need support with complex operational processes, optimising complex machines or identifying root cause of underlying problems.

Through the undertaking of maintenance tasks, validation checks and optimisation of the machines, you will ensure the team are able to meet their daily Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) with optimal utilisation of our assets and raw materials.

This Role will be on a Mon-Fri based shift working 0600-1400.

Key responsibilities:

• Demonstrating a commitment to Health & Safety by working in a safe manner, role modelling our safety behaviours, challenging unsafe practices, rectifying unsafe conditions and escalating to other team members when support is needed.
• Undertaking routine checks to validate and maintain equipment safety control systems to maintain statutory compliance. Escalating any food safety breach or quality issues and ensuring that any product below our standards is identified and held and the issues are escalated appropriately, resolved and released.
• Active involvement, commitment and governance of the quality management system, making sure all relevant controls and procedures are completed effectively to validate food safety controls and the products we make exceed customer and consumer expectations.
• Understanding, adhering to and leading good manufacturing practices and company standards of hygiene, PPE, and dress code. Role modelling a 'Clean as You Go' approach, leading workplace organisation and visual management standards with the team.
• Effective operation and optimisation of equipment and priorities to meet the production demand and delivery of the highest quality of products.
• Through the ownership of performance and yield in your area/asset you'll optimise running conditions and lead the mechanical improvement activities that ensure effective use of resources.
• Analysis and interpretation of operational machine parameters to support your effective decision making and drive improvements.
• Ensure the accurate and timely recording of downtime and raw material usage in an area.
• Undertaking advanced/complex fault finding, decision making and rectification on equipment and leading the identification of root cause, escalating to engineering when required.
• Ensuring all equipment is properly cared for by the completion of effective cleaning and maintenance tasks.
• Working across the team and ensuring there are effective handovers to understand common challenges and opportunities seeking to identify where investigations may help most.
• Training and validating understanding to the highest standard, coaching and mentoring others to build capability.
• Energising the team and demonstrating a consistently enthusiastic approach, taking action quickly and encouraging others to do the same.

Sounds interesting, what do I need?

Essential:

• Good team working skills
• Able to undertake manual tasks
• Attention to detail
• Effective communication
• Relevant work experience as a machine Operator in a production environment

Desirable:

• Basic Food hygiene
• Knowledge of HACCP
• Engineering skillset

Why should I join the family?

We’re independent, British and proud to be making the highest quality yogurts, desserts and ice cream under the Yeo Valley brand and for many of the UK’s major retailers. Operating from four dairies and two logistics centres in Somerset and Devon, we employ over 1700 staff and produce more than 25% of the UK’s packaged yogurt.

We’re sure you don’t need convincing, but there’s a whole host of benefits that we offer including:

• competitive holiday allowance
• non-contributory pension scheme
• life cover
• healthcare cash back plan
• cycle to work scheme
• subsidised Yeo Valley products and services
• preferential rates with our partners
• learning and development opportunities; we’re committed to ensuring all of our employees have the chance to grow

Our closing dates are a guide for when the application window should close, although we may close the advert sooner if we can. So, we recommend you get your application in straight away – and don’t miss the opportunity to join us!

Unfortunately, we’re not able to provide employment sponsorship to candidates at this moment in time.

Please note that Yeo Valley do not accept speculative agency applications; we will only accept applications from preferred suppliers that have been submitted to us via our recruitment portal at the point of instruction.