Process, Utilities & Warehouse Manager in London

Company Description

The ASR Group family of companies makes up the world’s largest refiner and marketer of cane sugar.

The companies produce a full line of grocery, industrial, foodservice and specialty sweetener products.

Across North America, ASR Group companies operate five sugar refineries in California, Maryland, Louisiana, Canada and Mexico.

In Europe, ASR Group companies operate sugar refineries in the United Kingdom, Portugal, and, with a joint venture partner, Italy.

The companies also farm sugarcane and own sugar mills in Mexico and Belize.

The ASR Group portfolio includes leading brands Domino, C&H, Florida Crystals, Redpath, Tate & Lyle, Lyle’s, Sidul and Whitworths.

ASR Group companies also produce and market Tellus, a single‑use, compostable tableware and foodservice product made from plant fibers, including sugarcane.

Overview

The Area Manager – Process, Utilities & Warehouse is responsible for leading safe, compliant and efficient operations across syrup processing, utilities and warehousing activities.

The role provides strong leadership to operational teams whilst ensuring robust process control, optimisation of plant performance, and delivery of continuous improvement plans that improve safety, quality, cost and service.

The role is accountable for the execution of production and warehouse plans, optimisation of process capability and yield, reliability of utility systems, and effective management of onsite storage and material movements.

• Detailed Roles & Responsibilities
• Lead all aspects of Safety, Hygiene, Environment and Quality across Process, Utilities and Warehouse operations, ensuring compliance with company standards and regulatory requirements, including Legionella management, water treatment, pressure systems, contractor control and other statutory utility‑related obligations.
• Deliver weekly production plans through effective management of syrup processing, blending, Lyle’s Syrup manufacture and associated processing activities.
• Own process performance and process capability across syrup manufacturing and utility operations, identifying losses, establishing improvement plans and delivering sustainable improvements in quality, throughput, efficiency and cost.
• Establish and maintain effective process control standards, ensuring operating parameters are monitored, managed and continuously improved to deliver consistent product quality, process capability and operational performance.
• Ensure robust management of food safety systems, Critical Control Points (CCPs), prerequisite programmes and operational controls.
• Maintain high standards of GMP, housekeeping and operational discipline across all production, utility and warehouse areas.
• Monitor and improve key operational KPIs including attainment, product quality, yield, sugar loss, inventory accuracy, service levels, water consumption, utility reliability and energy performance.
• Develop departmental measures to manage operations and improve performance in product quality, sugar loss, inventory accuracy, service levels, energy performance and cost control.
• Provide comprehensive operational updates into the site Tier meeting structure, including risks, performance losses, recovery plans and improvement activities.
• Collaborate with Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Planning and Materials Management teams to ensure stable, compliant and efficient operations.
• Own the departmental improvement roadmap and lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on enhancing operational performance, reducing waste and delivering measurable business benefits.
• Support maintenance planning and execution to maximise reliability and availability of process and utility assets.
• Identify and deliver improvement projects that enhance safety, quality, service, compliance and operational efficiency.
• Own departmental budgets and forecasts, ensuring effective control of labour, utilities, inventory and operational expenditure.
• Lead, coach and develop Process Operators, Warehouse Coordinators, FLT Drivers and Process Supervisors through structured development plans, succession planning and performance management.
• Work Experiences
• Experience in a FMCG manufacturing environment is essential.
• Experience managing process operations, utilities and/or continuous manufacturing environments.
• Proven delivery of continuous improvement and process optimisation initiatives.
• Exposure to a unionised workforce is desirable.
• Strong understanding of process performance, yield management, utility performance and product quality control.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing KPIs, inventory management, throughput, waste, service levels and labour utilisation.

Education Requirements

• Degree in Engineering or a relevant technical discipline or equivalent experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Preferred Six Sigma Belt Yellow or Green belt certification.
• Supervisory Responsibility
• Direct line management of approx 2 Warehouse Coordinators.
• Direct line management of approx 6 Process Operators and 5 Fork Lift Truck (FLT) Drivers.
• Provides operational direction, work allocation and task management for approx 3 Process Supervisors, ensuring delivery of production, compliance and improvement objectives.
• Results Orientation & Accountability
• Takes accountability, identifies, executes and drives actions to consistently achieve desired results.
• Analytical Thinking & Decision Making
• Identifies and understands trends and/or issues; connects data points through analysis to arrive at a logical conclusion.
• Problem‑Solving
• Anticipates, evaluates, diagnoses, and resolves problems in a systematic and fact‑based manner.
• Customer Orientation
• Keeps internal and/or external customer(s) in mind at all times.

Strives to proactively address customer concerns and needs.

Assists business partners and customers to achieve their work goals via application of their own skills and knowledge; strives to provide consistent customer satisfaction.

• Change Management
• Achieves success through change: identifies opportunities for improvement and innovation, removes barriers and resistance, and enables behaviours that support desired outcomes.
• Develops Others
• Plans for the growth of others, diligently addressing performance issues and conflicts, both at the individual and organisational level with the purpose of achieving results through the activities of other people.
• Establishes Trust
• Builds credibility through consistency, integrity and transparency whilst creating an environment of accountability, fairness and mutual respect.
• Effective Communication
• Expresses ideas and information in a clear and concise manner by tailoring one's message to fit the interests and needs of the audience.
• Teamwork & Collaboration
• Creates a climate that fosters commitment to a common vision and shared values that promote cooperation and working together through trust and support of others.
• Food Manufacturing Knowledge
• Deep understanding of process operations, utilities management, warehouse operations, food safety and CCP management.
• SAP Knowledge
• High level of proficiency in the SAP system to include Inventory, Production & TMA modules. Ability to analyse SAP reporting and information systems to diagnose data errors.
• Continuous Improvement
• Proven ability to drive process optimisation, continuous improvement, loss elimination and sustainable performance gains.
• Strategic Mindset
• Understands the plant's short and long‑term priorities and aligns department priorities and behaviour around achievement of those objectives.
• Location of Role
• Plaistow Wharf, London
• #J-18808-Ljbffr