Operations Manager - AB Neo UK

Location: Melmerby, North Yorkshire, UK

Contract: Full time, Permanent, 37.5 Hours Per Week

Package includes: Salary from 60,000, plus a benefits package designed to support your wellbeing and reward your impact, including discretionary performance related bonus, car allowance, private healthcare, and a matched pension contribution of up to 10%

We are seeking an Operations Manager to oversee our AB Neo site in Melmerby, North Yorkshire. This senior role offers full accountability for production, quality, safety, and service, with the opportunity to drive meaningful change and continuous improvement across the business.

What you’ll do:

• Lead and develop the operations team, including production, customer service, and planning functions.
• Deliver production budgets while maintaining high standards for quality, safety, and service.
• Initiate and promote ongoing improvement initiatives throughout operations, performance indicators, and planning.
• Collaborate across functions to align operations with strategic business goals.
• Champion a Target Zero culture, embedding health, safety, and environmental best practice.
• Implement and drive continuous improvement (CI) projects across operations, KPIs, and planning.
• Enhancing engagement, ownership, and productivity within the team.

What we’re looking for:

• Extensive experience in manufacturing or production operations, with team leadership.
• Feed Mill and/or FMCG background – (Desirable)
• Proficient in finding solutions to complex issues.
• Experience with production planning, supply chain, and customer service operations.
• Data-oriented, comfortable using digital tools and ERP systems to improve performance.
• Capable of clear communication and positive interpersonal interactions, skilled at uniting and motivating teams.

Why join us:

This is a career-defining opportunity for an operations professional to take a step forward in leadership, advancing operational efficiencies at a traditional manufacturing site. Where growth meets purpose.

What sets us apart is how we delight our customers - and that’s because of great people like you. People with different life experiences who share common values. Together, we’re shaping a world where responsible nutrition is accessible to all. With a big goal comes equally big opportunities to make a career that truly feels like your own. As a team we’re collaborative, purpose-driven and encourage trying new ideas. We also find ways to nourish your individual journey, so everyone can feel proud of the difference that they make in their own way.

We’re thrilled to share that AB Agri has been recognised as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality 2025. This is a proud moment for us all. It highlights the real progress we’ve made to build a workplace that is inclusive, supportive, and fair for everyone. Over the last 5 years we have rebuilt our talent management practices, from inclusive hiring, to transparent pay frameworks, flexible work, and the momentum of our Employee Network Groups. Our actions are embedding inclusion at the heart of how we operate and creating a culture where people can be themselves.

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our application and recruitment processes work for everyone so if you need any additional support (like alternative formats for your application, bringing a support dog to the offices, a sign language interpreter - or anything else) just let us know.

Rewarding your passion:

When you join us, you'll do meaningful work and be rewarded fairly for it. From annual salary reviews and incentive bonus, ongoing career development and enhanced family, financial and wellbeing benefits – these are just some of the ways we reward you - from day one.

About us:

We are AB Neo a specialist business bringing together the expertise of four successful companies with the aim of revolutionising nutrition for all neonates. Bring your talents to AB Neo and play your part in producing affordable, high quality and responsible food for the growing global population.

We’re part of AB Agri, the agricultural division of Associated British Foods (ABF plc) and we’re passionate about feeding the world responsibly and affordably by making quality animal feed, creating nutrition and technology-based products, and offering data services for the agri-food industry.

Application Notes:

We hope you feel that AB Agri is somewhere you can thrive and so we’d love to hear from you. We get a lot of applications for our roles and sometimes need to close the process early so register your details and upload your CV via our careers website as soon as you can – it will only take a few minutes.

When you do, we’ll ask you some equal opportunities questions just to ensure our recruitment process is inclusive – or show us areas we can improve. This information is anonymised, separate from your application and is never seen by the hiring panel. You can choose not to answer these questions and this won’t affect your application.

Apply today or contact our recruitment team for more information.

Agencies and media sales:

AB Agri group politely requests no contact from recruitment agencies or media sales. We don’t accept speculative CVs from recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.

Questions about this role?

If you have any questions about this role or need help applying please contact Becky Clarke via becky.clarke@abagri.com.

Supporting your application:

We work with a number of external partners to ensure that our application process is as comfortable as possible, regardless of your circumstances or background.