Overview
Plant Manager – Food Lab
Location: London
Reports to: COO, Food Lab
You’ll lead day-to-day operations at Food Lab, where we create the world’s best white label liquids from brands that you use everyday. As plant manager, you’ll be responsible for hitting production targets, keeping costs in check, and ensuring the plant runs safely, compliantly, and efficiently. This includes managing people, equipment, inventory, and vendors — and partnering closely with QA, R&D, and supply chain to launch new products and continuously improve operations.
Responsibilities
Operational leadership
* Oversee all plant functions: production, QA, sanitation, maintenance, inventory control, receiving, and shipping.
* Plan and execute daily/weekly schedules and shifts to meet production goals.
* Ensure order fulfillment, product traceability, and product quality are met every day.
* Maintain accurate records in ERP/WMS systems; ensure SOPs are followed and documented.
* Drive continuous improvement in throughput, yield, and labor efficiency.
Safety, quality & compliance
* Ensure compliance with GMP, HACCP, OSHA, and other relevant safety and food safety standards.
* Maintain audit readiness for customer, third-party, and regulatory inspections.
* Enforce good housekeeping and sanitation throughout the facility.
* Initiate corrective actions for safety, quality, or audit deficiencies.
* Serve as a key member of the product recall team, if needed.
Facility management & cost control
* Oversee preventative and predictive maintenance programs to minimize downtime.
* Ensure all personnel are trained on proper equipment use.
* Manage facility upkeep and vendor relationships for services, repairs, and supplies.
* Monitor and control costs related to labor, materials, supplies, and utilities.
* Meet or exceed KPI targets (e.g., cost per unit, yield, labor efficiency).
Team leadership & collaboration
* Hire, train, coach, and develop plant staff; set clear expectations and performance goals.
* Foster a culture of safety, accountability, and collaboration.
* Conduct regular team meetings, performance reviews, and training sessions.
* Partner with R&D to scale new products from pilot runs to full production.
* Work with supply chain to forecast materials and coordinate deliveries.
* Communicate customer-related issues and develop solutions with the operations team.
Requirements
* 7–10 years of progressive leadership experience in food or beverage manufacturing.
* Proven track record managing multi-SKU production with strict food safety requirements.
* Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, QA systems, and supply chain management.
* Experience with ERP/WMS systems and production reporting.
* Financial literacy in budgeting, cost control, and KPI tracking.
* Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
* Ability to work in cold environments (36–45°F) and handle occasional lifting up to 50 lbs.
* Flexible schedule — some weekends, holidays, or overtime may be required.
What success looks like
* Zero lost-time safety incidents.
* Consistent on-time, in-full delivery of all POs.
* High audit scores from internal, customer, and third-party inspections.
* Smooth scaling of new products without cost or quality overruns.
* Low turnover and high engagement among plant staff.
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