Company Overview
Owton's Butchers is a family-run business that has expanded to include four farm shops and a wholesale operation serving the south of. We are committed to quality, tradition, and customer satisfaction in the food retail industry.
If you are ready to lead our production team with passion and precision, we invite you to bring your expertise to Owton's Butchers. Join us in delivering quality products that delight our customers.
Lead Production. Drive Performance. Deliver Excellence.
We are seeking an experienced and results-driven Production Manager to lead our production operation within a fast-paced meat processing facility.
This is a key leadership role responsible for ensuring the safe, efficient, and profitable delivery of production while maintaining the highest standards of food safety, quality, customer service, and employee engagement.
You will lead production teams across multiple shifts, (22:00-07:00 & 03:00-12:00) driving operational performance through strong leadership, continuous improvement, and a culture of accountability.
The Role
Reporting to the Operations Manager, you will have overall responsibility for the day-to-day management of the production operation, ensuring production targets are achieved safely, efficiently, and in line with customer expectations.
You will work closely with Technical, Engineering, Planning, NPD, Procurement, and Warehouse teams to ensure operational excellence while developing and motivating your management team.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and develop Production Supervisors, Team Leaders, and production colleagues.
- Deliver daily production plans while meeting productivity, quality, cost, and service KPIs.
- Ensure compliance with all Food Safety, HACCP, SALSA/BRCGS, Health & Safety, and company standards.
- Monitor labour utilisation and production efficiency to maximise performance.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce waste, improve yields, and increase productivity.
- Manage departmental budgets, labour costs, and operational expenditure.
- Analyse production data and implement corrective actions where required.
- Ensure equipment downtime is minimised through close collaboration with Engineering.
- Develop succession plans and identify training and development opportunities across the production team.
- Lead daily operational meetings and communicate business objectives effectively.
- Champion a positive food safety culture and promote employee engagement.
- Support customer audits and ensure readiness for third-party audits.
- Ensure all legal, regulatory, and company policies are adhered to at all times.
What We're Looking ForEssential
- Proven experience as a Production Manager within food manufacturing.
- Significant experience within meat processing, fresh meat, poultry, or protein manufacturing.
- Strong leadership experience managing large production teams.
- Excellent knowledge of food safety systems including HACCP and SALSA/BRCGS.
- Demonstrable experience delivering operational KPIs.
- Strong commercial awareness with the ability to manage costs and improve profitability.
- Experience driving continuous improvement within a manufacturing environment.
- Excellent communication, coaching, and people management skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Competent in Microsoft Office and manufacturing reporting systems.
Desirable
- Lean Manufacturing qualification or experience (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen).
- IOSH Managing Safely or NEBOSH qualification.
- Food Safety Level 3 or above.
- Experience using MRP/ERP or Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).
What Success Looks Like
You'll be someone who thrives in a fast-paced production environment and enjoys leading by example. You'll inspire your teams to deliver high standards every day while continuously looking for opportunities to improve efficiency, quality, safety, and customer satisfaction.
You'll understand that great production performance comes from developing people, building strong relationships across departments, and creating a culture where everyone takes pride in what they do.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary
- Performance-related bonus
- Company pension scheme
- 28 days annual leave (including bank holidays)
- Career development and leadership training
- Employee Assistance Programme
- On-site parking
- Company sick pay (subject to policy)
- Staff discount (where applicable)
Why Join Us?
We are committed to investing in our people, our processes, and our future. This is an opportunity to play a key role in a growing business where your ideas, leadership, and expertise will make a real difference.
If you're an experienced Production Manager looking to take the next step in your career with a forward-thinking food manufacturer, we'd love to hear from you.
Pay: £35,000.00-£40,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
