Production Manager

Merand Recruitment; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 550,000 - 750,000; Full time

Job summary

Merand Recruitment is seeking an experienced Production Leader for our FMCG client in Cape Town. You will plan and manage high-volume production, coordinate staffing, materials, and equipment, and ensure smooth start-ups and changeovers while meeting targets.

You will drive yield improvements, waste reduction, and continuous improvement initiatives, uphold food safety and quality standards, and lead teams to excel in performance metrics.

Qualifications

• At least 5 years’ experience in a similar role within an FMCG or manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience managing high-volume production operations and production teams.
• Strong knowledge of production planning, scheduling and capacity management.
• Experience in yield management, waste reduction and continuous improvement.
• Sound understanding of food safety, quality standards and traceability.
• Knowledge of inventory control, Bills of Materials (BOMs) and packaging specifications.
• Strong leadership, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience managing production KPIs, performance reporting and operational standards.
• Knowledge of labour relations, performance management and workforce supervision.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365, particularly Excel, Word and Outlook, as well as Teams and OneDrive.
• Ability to work under pressure and make sound operational decisions.

Responsibilities

• Production Planning: Ensure production plans, staffing, equipment and materials are ready for start-up.
• Production Management: Manage production flow, output, changeovers and bottlenecks to meet targets.
• Yield and Waste Control: Maximise raw material recovery and minimise waste, giveaway and rework.
• Capacity Planning: Align production schedules, labour and capacity with operational requirements.
• Quality and Compliance: Ensure adherence to food safety, quality standards and SOPs.
• Production Systems and Traceability: Maintain accurate production data, inventory records, batch tracking, coding and labelling.
• Packaging and Inventory: Ensure correct packaging specifications and effective stock control.
• Team Leadership: Lead, coach and manage production teams, including performance and disciplinary matters.
• Health, Safety and Hygiene: Maintain a safe, clean and hygienic production environment.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify inefficiencies and implement improvements to productivity and operational performance.
• Performance Reporting: Monitor production KPIs, analyse results and report on performance.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Team leadership

Communication

Education

Production/Supply Chain/Operations Management qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office 365

Excel

Word

Outlook

Teams

OneDrive

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Production Planning: Ensure production plans, staffing, equipment and materials are ready for start-up.
• Production Management: Manage production flow, output, changeovers and bottlenecks to meet targets.
• Yield and Waste Control: Maximise raw material recovery and minimise waste, giveaway and rework.
• Capacity Planning: Align production schedules, labour and capacity with operational requirements.
• Quality and Compliance: Ensure adherence to food safety, quality standards and SOPs.
• Production Systems and Traceability: Maintain accurate production data, inventory records, batch tracking, coding and labelling. Marel/Innova experience is advantageous.
• Packaging and Inventory: Ensure correct packaging specifications and effective stock control.
• Team Leadership: Lead, coach and manage production teams, including performance and disciplinary matters.
• Health, Safety and Hygiene: Maintain a safe, clean and hygienic production environment.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify inefficiencies and implement improvements to productivity and operational performance.
• Performance Reporting: Monitor production KPIs, analyse results and report on performance.

Minimum Requirements

• At least 5 years’ experience in a similar role within an FMCG or manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience managing high-volume production operations and production teams.
• Strong knowledge of production planning, scheduling and capacity management.
• Experience in yield management, waste reduction and continuous improvement.
• Sound understanding of food safety, quality standards and traceability.
• Knowledge of inventory control, Bills of Materials (BOMs) and packaging specifications.
• Strong leadership, analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Experience managing production KPIs, performance reporting and operational standards.
• Knowledge of labour relations, performance management and workforce supervision.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365, particularly Excel, Word and Outlook, as well as Teams and OneDrive.
• Ability to work under pressure and make sound operational decisions.

Advantageous

• A relevant tertiary qualification in Production, Supply Chain or Operations Management.
• Experience in the protein industry, such as meat, fish or dairy processing, where yield management is critical.
• Experience with Marel/Innova production management systems.
• Knowledge of HACCP and GMP.