Site Head of Production - Nenagh

ArraTipp Co; Nenagh; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

ArraTipp Co in Nenagh seeks a Site Head of Production to lead end-to-end operations across Casein and related processes, delivering safe, compliant, and efficient production. You will unite multiple departments into a single production function and own day-to-day performance.

The role requires strong Lean leadership, HACCP/GMP knowledge, and the ability to manage budgets, drive continuous improvement, and coach a production management team to meet safety, quality and output targets.

Qualifications

• Third-level qualification in food, dairy, engineering, or manufacturing.
• Experience in regulated, multi-department or multi-shift environments.
• Strong knowledge of health and safety, HACCP, GMP and environmental compliance.

Responsibilities

• Maintain high standards of food safety, quality, hygiene, GMP, housekeeping and environmental compliance.
• Provide visible safety leadership across production and address unsafe conditions promptly.
• Lead production to deliver the milk plan safely and to required specifications.
• Coordinate with Maintenance, Quality, Environmental and Supply Chain for issue resolution.
• Lead, coach and develop the production management team toward agreed standards and KPIs.

Skills

Production management

Lean improvement

HACCP

Safety leadership

Quality systems

Team leadership

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Education

Third-level qualification in relevant field

Job description

Business Sector:

Food Ingredients - Nenagh

Job title:

Site Head of Production, Nenagh

Reporting to

Site Manager

Job purpose:

Reporting to the Site Manager, the Site Head of Production, Nenagh has end-to-end accountability for the safe, compliant and efficient delivery of production across Casein, Caseinate, Intake, Powder, Butter and Bagging. This role brings these departments together as one coordinated production function and owns day-to-day performance.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Responsibilities associated with this role include, but are not limited to the following:

• Maintain high standards of food safety, quality, hygiene, GMP, housekeeping and environmental compliance.
• Provide visible safety leadership across production, address unsafe conditions or behaviors immediately and deliver the agreed safety targets. Ensure all hazards, near misses and incidents are recorded, investigated, and closed on time, with safety reviewed first at Tier meetings and high-risk or overdue actions escalated without delay.
• Maintain environmental compliance and drive the reduction of process losses to the wastewater treatment plant. Ensure all high-COD and hydraulic-loading events are promptly identified, contained, investigated, and addressed through effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Ensure adherence to procedures, HACCP controls, customer requirements, permits, and legal obligations; lead the production response to deviations, complaints, and non-conformances; and maintain audit readiness.
• Own performance against agreed KPIs, including safety, food safety, quality, output, milk plan adherence, yield and loss, downtime, labour, waste, reliability, environmental performance and controllable cost.
• Lead daily production to deliver the agreed milk plan safely, compliantly and to the required customer specifications.
• Lead the production response to significant events, make timely decisions, and upscale in line with site procedures. Ensure shift handovers accurately communicate plant status, immediate priorities, outstanding risks, and actions requiring follow-up.
• Consolidate issues from the production departments and coordinate the support required from Maintenance, Quality, Environmental and Supply Chain.
• Lead, coach, and hold the production management team accountable for results, behaviours, and standards.
• Lead by example and demonstrate a clear belief in Lean practices, structured problem-solving, standard work, 5S and waste elimination, using these techniques to improve throughput, yield, labour utilisation and reliability while reducing downtime, product loss and resource use.
• Manage production budgets, overtime and controllable costs within agreed limits.
• Work with Maintenance on asset performance, planned maintenance, shutdowns, handback and recovery, and coordinate production requirements with Supply Chain and approved capital projects.
• Hold production managers and shift production managers to agreed standards and deadlines, elevate issues to the Site Manager.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS ROLE:

• A relevant third-level qualification in food, dairy, engineering, manufacturing, operations management or a related discipline is preferred.

EXPERIENCE AND CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Production or operations management experience in a regulated, multi-department or multi-shift environment.
• Strong knowledge of health and safety, food safety, HACCP, quality systems, GMP and environmental compliance, with proven capability in Lean improvement, structured problem-solving, people management and cost control.
• A visible, credible and decisive leader with the drive, energy and personal ownership to set clear standards, challenge weak performance and follow issues through to completion. Communicates effectively, works well across functions and develops capable, high-performing teams while remaining fair and constructive.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities
• High motivation, flexibility & the ability to work on own initiative.

Note: As with all positions, due to the nature of our business, key responsibilities will evolve and change over time.