Area Manager in Lichfield

We have an exciting opportunity for a Production Area Manager to join our team at Florette in Lichfield, WS13 8NF. This role is to manage the day to day food manufacturing operations of a production area to ensure the area runs reliably and efficiently to produce, assemble, pack and supply fresh food products within budget to the correct quality standard.

Working hours: 4 out of 7 days (Wednesday and Sunday none working with additional day to be confirmed).

Pay: Circa £43,000.

Main Responsibilities:

• Organise, manage and oversee a production area team to ensure adequate resources are deployed in line with costs to deliver the production plan in accordance with specification and in line with productivity targets.
• Provide direction, motivation and support through management and leadership to all team members.
• Manage KPI's and take action to ensure they are met on a daily and weekly basis.
• Review progress to ensure optimal performance and efficiency, addressing and responding promptly to any issues or bottlenecks in the area to implement solutions and conduct root cause analysis to improve workflow and productivity, involving the team and providing effective communication.
• Drive and deliver a program of continuous improvement within the area.
• Monitor production costs (productivity, yield, labour, waste) to ensure the department performs within budget constraints.
• Ensure accurate data is captured within the ERP system in a timely manner, adhering to procedure when entering the data into the system.
• Manage the area production team to ensure they comply with production procedures in line with the Quality Manual.
• Proactively check all used and unused products to ensure documented in accordance with traceability stock rotation requirements and that all required paperwork is completed correctly and accurately in a timely manner.
• Be audit ready at all times.
• Monitor the upkeep and maintenance of all equipment within the area, liaising with Engineering in accordance with procedure to rectify any immediate issues and planning preventative maintenance to ensure downtime is kept to a minimum.

Qualifications:

• A minimum of 5 years manufacturing experience with short life products.
• A minimum of 3 years experience of managing a team within a fast paced production environment.
• Level 3 Food Safety and IOSH Health and Safety qualification.
• Demonstratable knowledge of leading and developing a large production team.
• Experience and an excellent understanding of lean manufacturing.
• Knowledge and experience of working with ERP systems.

About Florette:

Florette is one of three UK food manufacturing sites within Agrial Fresh Produce Ltd, which is an autonomous part of the larger 17,500 employee strong French co-operative group, Agrial. The business operates mainly under its recognisable Florette salad brand and we are one of the UK’s leading producers in the industry. Under the well‑known Florette brand, our site processes and distributes pre‑packed, ready to eat, fresh salad bags and bowls to some of the UK's most well‑known supermarkets and retailers, as well as your favourite restaurants and fast food vendors. In total, we sell on average around 600,000kg of products every week.

What’s Next:

It’s an exciting time to join our business as we look for new starters to join us to innovate in everything we do! We’re looking for positive and driven people to join our professional team. If you have the skills or experience we are looking for, and want a fresh challenge we would love for you to join us on our journey!

Benefits:

• Life Assurance: 3x your basic salary paid to your nominated beneficiary.
• Employee Assistance Programme and BUPA: Providing a Remote GP service along with a 24/7 helpline for financial, legal, medical and life issues, as well as access to BUPA Membership.
• Annual leave entitlement: 26.5 days annual leave per annum inclusive of UK Bank Holidays which increases with service, as well as the option to purchase up to 2 additional working weeks of holiday per annum.
• Learning and Development: Personalised induction and regular learning and development courses and schemes: From L2 to L7 Funded Apprenticeships, Leadership Development Programme, First‑Aid and MHFA Training, and many more!
• Benefits Platforms: Employee discount platform for multiple retailers and access to salary finance schemes for bicycles, gyms, and financial assistance.
• Other: Recognition awards, Regular Employee Engagement days, attendance incentives and an annual volunteering day.