Role Purpose
The Production Manager is responsible for leading the safe, efficient and compliant operation of the animal feed mill. The role ensures that production plans are delivered on time, feed quality and hygiene standards are maintained, and people, plant and processes are managed to support reliable output, cost control and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
· Plan, organise and oversee daily feed production to meet customer, farm and delivery requirements.
· Lead production teams, including shift organisation, supervision, training, performance management and communication.
· Monitor mill performance, production efficiency, downtime, waste, throughput and labour utilisation.
· Ensure raw material availability by working closely with purchasing, intake, storage and logistics teams.
· Maintain high standards of feed quality, traceability, hygiene, biosecurity and housekeeping across the site.
· Ensure compliance with relevant feed safety, quality, health and safety, environmental and industry assurance requirements.
· Work with engineering and maintenance teams to support planned preventative maintenance, breakdown response and equipment reliability.
· Investigate production issues, quality concerns, non-conformances and customer complaints, ensuring corrective actions are completed.
· Develop and report key performance indicators covering production output, costs, quality, safety and service levels.
· Identify and deliver continuous improvement projects to improve safety, efficiency, cleanliness, yield and cost control.
Health, Safety, Quality and Compliance
The Production Manager must actively promote a culture of safe working, legal compliance and high standards. This includes ensuring that colleagues follow site procedures, wear appropriate protective equipment, report hazards and near misses, and complete required checks and records accurately. The role also supports audit readiness and compliance with feed assurance schemes, internal quality systems and applicable regulations.
Skills and Experience
· Experience managing people in a production, manufacturing, agricultural or feed milling environment.
· Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate teams and maintain standards under pressure.
· Good understanding of production planning, stock control, plant utilisation and operational efficiency.
· Awareness of feed safety, hygiene, HACCP, health and safety and environmental responsibilities.
· Confident problem solver with a practical, logical and data-led approach.
· Good communication skills and the ability to work with colleagues across production, maintenance, quality, transport, purchasing and senior management.
· Competent IT skills, including use of production systems, spreadsheets and reporting tools.
· Agricultural, animal feed, grain handling or milling experience is desirable.
Working Arrangements
This is a hands-on management role based at the feed mill. The Production Manager will be expected to spend time both in the mill and in the office, supporting production teams, reviewing performance, managing issues and coordinating with other departments. Some flexibility may be required to support shift operations, maintenance activity, audits or urgent operational matters.
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
Work Location: In person
