A fast-growing food & beverage manufacturer is seeking a dynamic General Manager (Food Operations) to oversee its Suffolk production site. This is a hands-on leadership role with full responsibility for production, supply chain, safety, and continuous improvement. You'll have the chance to build a strong team, introduce smarter systems, and ensure the factory delivers consistent, high-quality results during a period of exciting growth.
Key Responsibilities
* Turn customer demand into a clear two-week production schedule across multiple product lines, managing shifts, labour planning, and line changeovers to maintain on-time delivery above 98%.
* Lead and develop a motivated team of operators and line leads, driving effective recruitment, onboarding, training, and rota management.
* Manage raw material and packaging procurement, hold suppliers accountable for performance, and run efficient MRP/MPS processes.
* Ensure accurate inventory control across chilled and ambient storage, setting appropriate reorder levels and reducing ingredient and packaging waste.
* Take ownership of site health and safety, completing risk assessments, embedding SOPs, and managing incident reporting and follow-up in line with best practice standards.
* Deliver continuous improvement projects on the shop floor, improving yield, reducing changeover times, increasing labour productivity, and cutting giveaway.
* Build strong business cases for packaging line investment and deliver agreed capex projects on time and within budget.
* Oversee the transition from spreadsheets to a practical MRP-light solution, introducing barcoding, lot traceability, and simple WIP tracking.
* Create clear, real-time dashboards to track OTIF, yield %, scrap, stock turns, and right-first-time batch performance.
Who are you?
* At least 5 years' track record running operations or plant management in the food & drink sector, ideally with exposure to chilled or fermented products.
* Solid grounding in HACCP, with direct involvement in retailer standards and audits (BRCGS/IFS) as well as CCP controls.
* Proven experience managing and motivating production teams of 10–30 people across shift patterns.
* Confident moving a site from spreadsheet-based planning to lighter MRP/ERP tools; highly analytical with a focus on KPIs and data-led decisions.
* Hands-on improvement experience, applying Lean or Six Sigma methods to deliver tangible efficiency and quality gains.
* A passionate but practical leader who thrives under pressure, gets stuck in, and leads by example.
Why Join?
* Full site leadership with ownership of a factory that's scaling rapidly.
* Backing from a major UK retail customer, with your work directly impacting products on supermarket shelves.
* The chance to shape the function, build the team, and grow your remit as the business expands.
Location:
Suffolk, UK
Salary:
Up to £65,000 + benefits