Site Director – Food Service Division
Locations: Huntington & Peterborough
Company: Pilgrim’s Europe
Pilgrim’s Europe is seeking an experienced and commercially astute Site Director to lead our Huntington and Peterborough Food Service sites. This is a critical senior leadership role with full accountability for site performance, including quality, health & safety, efficiency, cost control, and competitive advantage.
The successful candidate will have full P&L responsibility, lead and develop the senior management teams across both sites, and be accountable for all employees on site. You will play a pivotal role in driving operational excellence, delivering outstanding customer service, and supporting new product introductions on time and to specification.
Key Responsibilities
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Overall leadership and optimisation of site performance across Huntington and Peterborough
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Full accountability for financial performance, including profit, turnover, margin, cash flow, yield optimisation, working capital and cost control
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Development and delivery of site strategy, budgets, business plans, forecasts and performance targets, aligned to overall business strategy
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Ensuring robust production and material planning to meet customer demand and operational efficiency
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Leading, developing and coaching the site senior management teams and wider workforce, addressing underperformance through training and corrective action where required
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Driving Operational Excellence and labour optimisation, embedding a high-performance culture with strong ownership for continuous improvement and innovation
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Benchmarking against best-in-class operations, introducing new methods and technologies, and proactively driving improvement initiatives
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Ensuring all plant and equipment are correctly operated, cleaned and maintained, and developing a rolling capital investment plan in conjunction with the Group Technical team
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Delivering best-in-class standards in product quality, customer service and operational performance
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Ensuring full compliance with all statutory, regulatory and customer requirements, including food safety, health & safety, environment, employment law and trading standards
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Developing and maintaining systems, procedures and working practices that meet group policies, accreditation standards and customer requirements
Experience & Qualifications
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Senior management experience within manufacturing, with a minimum of 5 years at a senior leadership level
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Proven track record of leading a key function or site within manufacturing or food production
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Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and up-to-date knowledge of processing equipment
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Relevant qualifications in food, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain management, economics, or similar
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Demonstrable change management experience
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Customer-facing experience, including managing and developing key customer relationships
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Experience managing large, multi-disciplinary workforces
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Proven capability in developing, motivating and coaching teams
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Strong negotiation experience (internal and external), including pay negotiations
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Experience communicating effectively at all levels and across all functions
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Successful involvement in capital project implementation
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High level of IT literacy
Technical & Commercial Capability
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Strong people leadership and delegation skills
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Performance management expertise, including KPI development and delivery
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Sound understanding of management accounting, budgeting and financial controls
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Strong commercial acumen with experience of P&L, balance sheets, ROC, financial planning and EBITDA
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Understanding of engineering processes and standards
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Knowledge of procedural agreements and union relationships
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Strong understanding of supply chain processes
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In-depth knowledge of GMP, Health & Safety and Environmental standards
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Excellent presentation and report-writing skills
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Ability to drive optimum performance across all functions
Personal Attributes
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Results-driven with a strong commitment to success
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Able to engage, influence and communicate with a diverse workforce
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Demonstrable team builder and collaborative leader
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Confident to challenge constructively and make balanced decisions
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Flexible, logical and pragmatic in approach
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High levels of integrity; fair, honest and objective
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Passionate about food manufacturing
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Strong analytical capability with sustained drive and enthusiasm
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Self-motivated, organised and resilient
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Creative and imaginative thinker, able to “think outside the box”
Pilgrim’s Europe produces some of the best-known and most iconic brands in the UK and Ireland, including Fridge Raiders, Rollover, Denny, Richmond, Oakhouse and Moy Park, alongside a diverse range of industry leading own-label products in categories including fresh pork, lamb and chicken, working with all the major retailers and food service outlets.
Our portfolio extends to authentic chilled and frozen ready meals, snacking ranges, added value and food service products.
Across Pilgrim’s Europe we combine 20,000 of the best people in the industry, united by a shared set of core values and a passion for producing the highest quality, most delicious and innovative food, which is enjoyed by millions of people in the UK, Ireland and Europe every day. Our Pilgrim’s Europe team are based in our Pilgrim’s UK, Moy Park, Pilgrim’s Food Masters and Pilgrim’s Shared Services businesses.
