Operations - Site Manufacturing Lead

Join to apply for the Operations – Site Manufacturing Lead role at Finsbury Food Group.

Location: Lees of Scotland, N Caldeen Rd, Coatbridge, ML5 4EF

Shift: Monday-Friday; 12 months fixed term

Salary: Competitive

We have an exciting opportunity to join the Operations team in the role of Site Manufacturing Lead at our Lees site as part of ‘Finsbury Food Group’.

Our Coatbridge bakery and household Scottish brand has been crafting iconic confectionery and meringues since 1931. Lees stands out for its ability to create confections that are more than just sweets – they’re edible nostalgia. Our iconic snowballs, teacakes, and meringues have woven themselves into the fabric of Scottish culture, becoming go‑to treats for both everyday indulgence and celebratory moments.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join one of the UK’s largest bakery businesses that will offer you great opportunities for growth and development. At Finsbury Food Group, we are passionate about investing in our teams, creating great development opportunities for everyone.

We are looking for a dynamic and driven leader to take full ownership of our factory’s manufacturing operations across all shift patterns. As part of the Site Leadership Team, you’ll lead from the front — ensuring excellence across Safety, Quality, Service, Cost, People, and Sustainability.

You will work closely with Engineering, Quality, People, NPD and Hygiene teams, as well as directly managing key operational areas, to drive continuous improvement and deliver outstanding performance. With a strong focus on putting the customer first and fostering a “Zero Waste” mindset, this is a role for a confident leader who thrives in a fast‑paced FMCG environment and embraces change with energy and positivity.

This is what you’ll actually do!

• In this role, you will lead and inspire your teams through visible, hands‑on leadership, building effective, high‑performing groups that are structured, engaged, and aligned with a strong operational culture. You will embed a culture of continuous improvement that challenges the status quo, driving sustained enhancements in performance, efficiency, and quality across the factory. With a clear focus on operational excellence, you will take ownership of achieving and exceeding all key performance indicators, including safety, quality, service, cost, and people metrics. A key part of your role will be championing the development of others, ensuring robust succession planning, conducting competency reviews, and implementing tailored training plans that promote both individual and team growth. You will work collaboratively with cross‑functional partners in Operations, Technical, Engineering, and Supply Chain to deliver shared objectives and ensure alignment with the broader factory strategy. As a visible advocate of change, you will foster innovation, encourage new ways of working, and instil a “Better tomorrow than we are today” mindset throughout your teams. Above all, you will maintain and uphold the highest standards of health and safety, food safety, hygiene, and environmental compliance, ensuring the factory operates to the very best industry and corporate standards. As the Site Manufacturing Lead, you will demonstrate strong, visible leadership that embodies the company’s values and inspires high performance across all teams. You will take full responsibility for building and developing effective, engaged, and high‑performing teams, ensuring the right structure, capability, and culture are in place to deliver success. Through clear communication, motivation, and accountability, you will lead a team of operational managers and ensure each individual is supported through objective setting, performance reviews, and ongoing development. You will foster an empowering, inclusive environment where collaboration, fairness, and respect are central to daily operations, and where continuous improvement is embedded as a shared mindset across all functions. Working closely with Operations, Technical, Engineering, and Supply Chain, you will drive cross‑functional alignment to deliver the site’s manufacturing strategy and business plan. You will ensure operational excellence through strict adherence to all corporate, legal, and safety standards, maintaining exceptional performance in food safety, hygiene, environment, and quality. Your focus on people will extend to proactive succession planning, skills development, and effective management of key metrics such as performance, retention, absence, and labour optimisation. You will play a key role in driving the site’s KPIs and ensuring year‑on‑year improvements in efficiency, service, and quality, while leading your team to adopt a “Right First Time” approach to new product development and continuous improvement. As a leader, you will also build positive relationships with trade union and health and safety representatives, ensuring open communication and a collaborative working culture. Above all, you will lead by example — demonstrating integrity, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to excellence in everything you do.

Ideally this is you!

We’re Looking For a Motivated, Forward‑thinking Leader Who

• Champions teamwork, ownership, honesty, communication, and respect.
• Is passionate about developing people and fostering a culture of engagement and accountability.
• Thrives on challenge and embraces change with optimism.
• Is analytical and commercially astute — turning insight into meaningful action.
• Has strong interpersonal skills and can influence at all levels.
• Is self‑driven, adaptable, and dedicated to continuous personal and team development.

Essential

• Proven leadership in a fast‑paced manufacturing or FMCG environment.
• Demonstrable experience of leading high‑performing teams and embedding continuous improvement.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and KPIs, with the ability to influence performance and profitability.
• Confident working knowledge of ERP systems and manufacturing performance tools.
• Qualifications: IOSH Managing Safely, Level 3 Food Hygiene, and ideally Green Belt in CI.
• Understanding of P&L and cost management principles.

Desirable

• Manufacturing or Engineering qualification.
• Experience in the bakery or food manufacturing sector.
• Project management skills and exposure to NPD/EPD launches.

What’s in it for you?

• Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Leave to allow quality time with your new arrival!
• Enhanced Pension Scheme for our employees
• Death in Service Benefit
• Free Employee Assistance Programme (open to colleagues and their families)
• Retail discounts accessible via our Benefits Hub platform!
• Refer a Friend Scheme (up to £300 per referral – T&C’s dependent)
• Employee Recognition Awards· Extensive Learning & Development opportunities (including opportunities for sponsored professional memberships and our own in‑house development course!)
• An opportunity to be part of a fantastic, growing organisation. Head over to our LinkedIn page to find out more!

Our vision is to be the leading specialty bakery group in the UK, and we want the best people in place to achieve this. Our continued success is built entirely on the talented people who work here, so employee development is important to us because everyone is a valued member of the team, and we want every individual to have the skills and capabilities to achieve both your own personal goals and our business goals. We want good people to join our company, to help our company continue to go from strength to strength. If this sounds like you, please get in contact to learn more!