Production Manager

The business:

Cloetta is a leading confectionery manufacturer with an established production site in Sneek. The factory has built a strong culture around teamwork, pride, individuality and internal development, with people encouraged to grow within the organisation and bring their own personality to the business. Now, the site is entering its next stage of development: combining that strong people culture with greater KPI discipline, standardisation, Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. This is where the Production Manager hire comes in.

The role:

Reporting to the Plant Manager and forming part of the site management team, you will lead an operation of approximately 80 people across three shifts, working closely with 6 Team Leaders. Your challenge is not to come in and change everything. It is to build on what already works while raising the level of operational performance and leadership.

You will:

• Lead, coach and develop the production organisation, particularly the six Team Leaders.
• Develop Team Leaders beyond operational expertise into stronger people and performance leaders.
• Bring greater structure to KPIs, data-led decision-making and performance management.
• Drive Lean manufacturing, standardisation and continuous improvement across the operation.
• Identify losses and bottlenecks and turn these into sustainable improvements.
• Improve performance across areas including OEE, productivity, yield, waste, cost and efficiency. 
• Ensure high standards across safety, quality and food manufacturing requirements, including GMP, BRC and HACCP. 
• Contribute to the wider strategy and development of the Sneek factory as part of the site management team.

Ultimately, you will help Cloetta continue its journey towards world-class manufacturing, while protecting the personal, people-focused culture that makes the site successful.

The requirements:

We are looking for someone who has seen what manufacturing excellence looks like and knows how to translate that into a different environment without simply imposing a corporate blueprint.

You will ideally have:

• Significant production leadership experience within FMCG, food, consumer goods or another high-volume manufacturing environment.
• Experience working in a mature manufacturing environment where Lean, TPM, standardisation and KPI-led performance management are established (preferably an environment where you have helped shaped this). 
• A strong track record of developing frontline leaders and production teams.
• A fact-based, analytical and results-oriented approach, with the confidence to challenge and make decisions.
• Proven experience delivering change and measurable operational improvement. 
• Strong people skills and the ability to bring an established workforce with you through change.
• Knowledge of continuous improvement and manufacturing standards such as GMP, BRC and HACCP. 
• Strong communication skills and the ability to influence from the shop floor through to senior management.

The opportunity: bring greater structure, data and manufacturing excellence to an established operation, without losing the personality, pride and teamwork that already make the Sneek site special.