Job Description — Factory Manager (Candidates with shift management experience will be considered favourably)
Reports to: Operations Location: Greenfield Hours: 40hrs Per Week -Mon to Thurs
Purpose of the Role
To lead all operations at the powder manufacturing and filling site — covering raw material intake, weighing, blending/mixing, filling, packing, and despatch — ensuring safe, compliant, efficient production that meets customer, quality, and commercial requirements. The Factory Manager is accountable for site performance across safety, quality, cost, delivery, and people.
Key Responsibilities
Operations & Performance
- Full accountability for day-to-day site operations across the full powder manufacturing process: raw material intake and storage, weighing and batch make-up, blending/mixing, filling (sachet/pouch/tub), packing, and despatch.
- Ensure blend batch accuracy, recipe control, and right-first-time manufacture, minimising rework and rejected batches.
- Set and deliver site KPIs: OEE, yield, waste, giveaway, labour efficiency, downtime, and on-time-in-full (OTIF) delivery.
- Plan production capacity and labour against the sales forecast; manage shift patterns and agency labour requirements.
- Drive continuous improvement using lean tools (5S, root cause analysis, SMED) to reduce changeover times and material losses.
- Manage site budgets including labour, consumables, engineering spend, and utilities.
Product Safety, Quality & Compliance
- Drive BRCGS standards, acting as a senior member of the HACCP and safety team.
- Ensure robust controls specific to powder handling: allergen segregation and validation, cross-contamination prevention, dust control, foreign body controls , and environmental monitoring.
- Ensure full traceability from raw material intake through blending batches to finished sachets, and lead mass balance and traceability exercises.
- Support customer and third-party audits, ensuring the site is audit-ready at all times.
- Ensure change control, non-conformance, and CAPA processes are followed and closed out on time.
Health, Safety & Environment
- Overall accountability for site health and safety, with particular attention to powder-specific risks: combustible dust (DSEAR/ATEX compliance), COSHH, manual handling, and occupational exposure (respiratory protection where required).
- Ensure risk assessments, safe systems of work, and permit-to-work systems are current and followed.
- Lead accident/incident investigation and drive a proactive near-miss reporting culture.
People & Leadership
- Lead, develop, and performance-manage the site management team.
- Own workforce planning, recruitment, absence management, disciplinary and grievance processes.
- Build a culture of accountability, product safety awareness, and continuous improvement across all shifts.
- Ensure effective communication across the site through daily/weekly meeting structures and visual management.
Engineering & Capital
- Oversee planned preventative maintenance to maximise line availability on blending and filling equipment.
- Support capital investment and manage project delivery.
Key Measures
- Site OEE and line efficiency
- OTIF / customer service level
- Waste, giveaway, and material yield
- Audit readiness (BRCGS, customer, internal)
- Accident frequency rate and near-miss reporting
- Labour cost vs budget; absence and turnover
Person Specification
Essential
- Proven factory/production management experience in manufacturing, ideally powders, dry blending, or sachet/pouch filling but not essential.
- Strong working knowledge of BRCGS, HACCP.
- Understanding of DSEAR/combustible dust risk in powder environments
- IOSH Managing Safely or NEBOSH qualification
- Demonstrable track record of improving OEE, waste, and labour efficiency
- Strong people leadership across multi-shift operations
Desirable
- Lean Six Sigma understanding
- NEBOSH General Certificate
Pay: £35,000.00-£40,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
