Production Manager

Thirsk Permanent Excellent + benefits Ref: 418545

The company

This is an exciting opportunity to join a rapidly growing, high-volume manufacturing business operating in a fast-paced and complex environment. With significant investment underway across automation, capacity expansion, and operational capability, the business is focused on driving world-class performance, continuous improvement, and sustainable growth.

The site is a large-scale operation with multiple production lines and a diverse workforce, where innovation, collaboration, and operational excellence are at the heart of everything. The culture is built around strong leadership, accountability, and a shared commitment to doing the right thing while constantly seeking to improve.

This is a business that empowers its leaders to make a real impact – developing people, improving performance, and shaping the future of manufacturing operations.

The role

As Production Manager, you will play a pivotal leadership role within the site, responsible for delivering safe, efficient, and high-quality production performance across a complex, multi-line manufacturing operation.

You will lead from the front, inspiring, coaching, and developing teams while ensuring that production plans are delivered on time, in full, and to the highest quality and safety standards.

Key responsibilities include:

Leading all production activities to achieve operational targets across safety, quality, cost, and service
Driving performance through data-led decision making, continuous improvement, and KPI management
Embedding a strong safety and food quality culture, with a “right first time” and “stop and fix” mindset
Coaching and developing leadership capability within shift managers and line teams
Improving efficiency, productivity, and waste reduction through structured improvement initiatives
Working cross-functionally with engineering, supply chain, and technical teams to optimise performance
Building a high-performing, engaged, and multi-skilled workforce through training and succession planning.

This is a highly visible role within the leadership team, combining hands-on operational leadership with the opportunity to influence long-term performance, culture, and capability.

The candidate

We are looking for a candidate who is an experienced Production Manager and driven manufacturing leader with a proven track record of delivering results in fast-paced, high-volume environments. You will bring strong operational expertise alongside a passion for developing people and driving continuous improvement.

You will ideally bring:

Significant experience in a Production Manager or senior manufacturing leadership role
Strong knowledge of end-to-end production processes, planning, and performance management
A background within FMCG or food manufacturing, with a clear understanding of regulatory and safety standards
Demonstrable success leading large teams and developing future leaders
A data-driven approach with strong analytical and problem-solving capability
Experience embedding continuous improvement or lean methodologies

Equally important are your personal qualities. You are a visible and credible leader who leads by example, builds trust across teams, and creates a culture of accountability, engagement, and high performance.

You are resilient, adaptable, and thrive in a dynamic environment where you can challenge the status quo, drive change, and make a measurable impact.