Job purpose
As a Production Team Leader, you are responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of your production team to ensure safety, quality, and performance standards are consistently met. You lead by example, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and teamwork within the food manufacturing environment.
General Responsibilities
Deliver face-to-face, on-the-job, and virtual training sessions to new and existing employees.
Coordinate all production line activities to ensure daily targets are achieved safely, efficiently, and in line with production plans.
Manage line start-ups, changeovers, and shutdowns, ensuring materials, documentation, and staffing are in place and prepared.
Monitor performance against key KPIs (output, downtime, yield, waste) and take prompt action to resolve or escalate issues.
Lead daily shift briefings and debriefings, clearly communicating goals, updates, and key information to the team.
Provide day-to-day support, guidance, and direction to operatives, ensuring all tasks are completed to the required standard.
Support team development through coaching, mentoring, training, and involvement in performance and attendance management.
Ensure compliance with all food safety, hygiene, and health & safety requirements, including accurate completion of quality checks.
Maintain a clean, organised, and audit-ready production environment by promoting high standards of GMP and housekeeping.
Identify and support continuous improvement initiatives, including process improvements and team engagement in Lean and 5S activities.
Collaborate with other departments (e.g. QA, Engineering, Planning) to resolve issues and maintain a smooth production flow.
Any other tasks as deemed appropriate to the position and aligned with organizational needs.
Skills / Competencies / Behaviours
Demonstrates strong working knowledge of food manufacturing processes, with a solid understanding of food safety (BRCGS, HACCP), hygiene, and health & safety standards.
Effectively leads production teams in a fast-paced environment, maintaining a hands-on approach and promoting a culture of accountability and high performance.
Communicates clearly and confidently with team members and other departments, ensuring shift briefs, instructions, and feedback are consistently delivered and understood.
Maintains accurate and timely production records, ensuring full traceability and compliance with operational and customer standards.
Identifies and addresses issues on the line promptly, using problem-solving skills to minimise downtime and maintain quality.
Actively supports and contributes to continuous improvement initiatives, including Lean, 5S, and waste reduction efforts.
Consistently upholds high standards of health & safety and GMP and leads by example in creating a safe and audit-ready working environment.
Displays a proactive, solution-focused attitude, with strong decision-making capabilities under pressure.