Team Leader – Food Production
Location: Chessington, Surrey
Salary: up to £42,000 DOE
Shift Pattern: 4 on 4 off – Night Shift
Working Hours: 07:00pm – 7:00am
About the Role
Our client, a well-established organisation within the food manufacturing sector, is looking to recruit an experienced Team Leader to support the day-to-day running of production teams within a fast-paced factory environment.
This role is critical to ensuring production targets are achieved while maintaining high standards of food safety, quality, and operational efficiency. The successful candidate will lead and develop a team, ensuring the smooth delivery of production schedules and driving continuous improvement across the operation.
Key Responsibilities
Safety
Promote and maintain a safe working environment for all employees and agency workers.
Take immediate action in the event of accidents or incidents and ensure correct procedures are followed.
Drive high standards of Health & Safety compliance across the production area.
People
Lead, motivate, and develop a multi-skilled production team.
Support staff development through training and coaching.
Manage attendance, holidays, and performance to maintain strong team capability.
Quality
Ensure all products are manufactured in line with food safety and legal compliance standards.
Maintain an environment that supports high-quality production and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
Proactively reduce non-conformances and identify opportunities for process improvements.
Delivery
Execute production plans efficiently to meet customer service and operational KPIs.
Ensure the factory is fully set up within the first 15 minutes of shift to meet production schedules.
Oversee production activities including goods-in, production lines, assembly, and dispatch.
Cost
Monitor and manage performance metrics including yield, labour utilisation, and line efficiency.
Identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities to optimise operational performance.
Additional Responsibilities
Attend and contribute to Tier 2 operational meetings, sharing key KPIs and escalating issues where required.
Provide clear and structured shift handovers to ensure operational continuity.
Work closely with Technical, Hygiene, Engineering, and Supply Chain teams to resolve operational challenges.
Ensure the site remains audit-ready at all times by following Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
Manage labour planning, including agency bookings, overtime scheduling, and resource allocation.
Skills & Experience
Minimum 2 years’ experience in a leadership role managing small teams.
At least 2 years’ experience within FMCG, ideally in the food manufacturing industry.
Good understanding of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
Strong communication and leadership skills with the ability to engage and motivate teams.
Experience working in fast-paced production environments.
Knowledge of ambient or chilled supply chains would be advantageous.
If you would like to apply for the role of Team Leader then please email your CV to
Closing date is 6.4.2026 Please note this could change subject to suitable applications.
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Hawk 3 Talent Solutions are committed to the selection, recruitment and development of the best people, basing judgements solely on suitability for the job. Whilst we endeavour to respond to all applications individually, due to high volumes, this is not always possible. Thank you for your interest in this role and we look forward to working with you in the future