Factory Manager

Job Description — Factory Manager (Powder Site)

Reports to: Operations Location: Greenfield Hours: 40hrs Per Week -Mon to Thurs

Purpose of the Role

To lead all operations at the powder manufacturing and filling site — covering raw material intake, weighing, blending/mixing, filling, packing, and despatch — ensuring safe, compliant, efficient production that meets customer, quality, and commercial requirements. The Factory Manager is accountable for site performance across safety, quality, cost, delivery, and people.

Key Responsibilities

Operations & Performance

• Full accountability for day-to-day site operations across the full powder manufacturing process: raw material intake and storage, weighing and batch make-up, blending/mixing, filling (sachet/pouch/tub), packing, and despatch.
• Ensure blend batch accuracy, recipe control, and right-first-time manufacture, minimising rework and rejected batches.
• Set and deliver site KPIs: OEE, yield, waste, giveaway, labour efficiency, downtime, and on-time-in-full (OTIF) delivery.
• Plan production capacity and labour against the sales forecast; manage shift patterns and agency labour requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement using lean tools (5S, root cause analysis, SMED) to reduce changeover times and material losses.
• Manage site budgets including labour, consumables, engineering spend, and utilities.

Product Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Drive BRCGS standards, acting as a senior member of the HACCP and safety team.
• Ensure robust controls specific to powder handling: allergen segregation and validation, cross-contamination prevention, dust control, foreign body controls , and environmental monitoring.
• Ensure full traceability from raw material intake through blending batches to finished sachets, and lead mass balance and traceability exercises.
• Support customer and third-party audits, ensuring the site is audit-ready at all times.
• Ensure change control, non-conformance, and CAPA processes are followed and closed out on time.

Health, Safety & Environment

• Overall accountability for site health and safety, with particular attention to powder-specific risks: combustible dust (DSEAR/ATEX compliance), COSHH, manual handling, and occupational exposure (respiratory protection where required).
• Ensure risk assessments, safe systems of work, and permit-to-work systems are current and followed.
• Lead accident/incident investigation and drive a proactive near-miss reporting culture.

People & Leadership

• Lead, develop, and performance-manage the site management team.
• Own workforce planning, recruitment, absence management, disciplinary and grievance processes.
• Build a culture of accountability, product safety awareness, and continuous improvement across all shifts.
• Ensure effective communication across the site through daily/weekly meeting structures and visual management.

Engineering & Capital

• Oversee planned preventative maintenance to maximise line availability on blending and filling equipment.
• Support capital investment and manage project delivery.

Key Measures

• Site OEE and line efficiency
• OTIF / customer service level
• Waste, giveaway, and material yield
• Audit readiness (BRCGS, customer, internal)
• Accident frequency rate and near-miss reporting
• Labour cost vs budget; absence and turnover

Person Specification

Essential

• Proven factory/production management experience in manufacturing, ideally powders, dry blending, or sachet/pouch filling but not essential.
• Strong working knowledge of BRCGS, HACCP.
• Understanding of DSEAR/combustible dust risk in powder environments
• IOSH Managing Safely or NEBOSH qualification
• Demonstrable track record of improving OEE, waste, and labour efficiency
• Strong people leadership across multi-shift operations

Desirable

• Lean Six Sigma understanding
• NEBOSH General Certificate

Pay: £35,000.00-£40,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Free parking
• On-site parking

Work Location: In person