Production Manager, Mon to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.
The Production Manager is responsible for the end-to-end leadership and delivery of manufacturing operations. This role ensures the safe, efficient, and compliant production of production, meeting all operational, quality, and customer requirements. The role has responsibility for production performance, staffing, output, quality, and cost control, while driving a high-performance culture and continuous improvement mindset across all production teams. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong leadership capability, a deep understanding of food safety standards (e.g. HACCP, allergens, GMP), and a proven ability to deliver measurable improvements in productivity, efficiency, and team engagement.
Working hours are 9:00am–5:30pm on site, with flexibility required for occasional early starts and late finishes.
Primary Functions
- To put personal safety and food safety at the heart of everything we do.
- To lead and manage all production departments to deliver the weekly production plan.
- To take full ownership of production KPIs, including output, efficiency, waste, labour cost, and downtime.
- To ensure all products are manufactured to food safety, quality, and regulatory standards.
- To lead, coach, and develop production teams to build a high-performing manufacturing function.
- To manage labour planning, including staffing levels, shift structure, and agency utilisation.
- To drive a continuous improvement culture, embedding lean principles and root cause problem-solving.
- To ensure effective collaboration with Planning, Engineering, Technical, and Supply Chain teams.
- To control production costs through yield improvement, waste reduction, and labour efficiency.
- To ensure full compliance with company policies, FSSC standards, and Health & Safety legislation.
Key Responsibilities
Health and Safety
- Act as a visible leader and role model for health and safety across all production areas.
- Ensure all risk assessments, safe systems of work, and procedures are implemented and adhered to.
- Drive a proactive safety culture, reducing accidents, near misses, and unsafe behaviours.
- Lead incident investigations and ensure robust corrective actions are implemented.
Quality and Food Safety
- Maintain and improve food safety and quality standards across all manufacturing processes.
- Ensure strict adherence to allergen controls, hygiene standards, and GMP practices.
- Work closely with Technical/ teams to minimise non-conformances and customer complaints.
Performance and Efficiency
- Own and deliver site production KPIs (OEE, yield, downtime, throughput).
- Identify and eliminate production inefficiencies through structured improvement activities.
- Ensure production plans are achieved in line with business requirements.
- Drive accountability and performance through clear targets and regular reviews.
People and Leadership
- Lead, motivate, and develop Supervisors and production teams.
- Build capability within the team through training, coaching, and succession planning.
- Drive engagement and a positive, high-performance culture on the shop floor.
Operational Excellence
- Champion continuous improvement initiatives across all production areas.
- Implement best practices and standardisation across powders, capsules, and gels.
- Work cross-functionally to improve end-to-end operational performance.
- Challenge existing processes and drive innovation to support business growth.
Core Competencies
- Leadership – inspires, develops, and holds teams accountable to achieve high performance.
- Safety & Quality Focused – committed to maintaining the highest standards in food manufacturing.
- Results Orientated – delivers measurable improvements in output, efficiency, and cost.
- Strategic Thinking – able to balance short-term delivery with long-term improvements.
- Planning and Organising – strong ability to manage complex operations and competing priorities.
- Decision Making – confident in making timely, informed decisions in a fast-paced environment.
- Communication – clear, concise, and effective communicator across all levels of the business.
- Continuous Improvement Mindset – actively identifies opportunities to improve processes and performance.
- Technical Knowledge – strong understanding of manufacturing processes, equipment, and food safety standards.
- Adaptability – responsive to change and able to lead teams through operational challenges.
Job Types: Permanent, Full-time
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Employee discount
- Free parking
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Brighton BN2 6NT: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Education:
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
