Quality Manufacturing Shift Lead in East Kilbride

Location: Johnstones Food Service, East Kilbride, G74 5PB

Shift: Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm

We have an exciting opportunity for a Quality Manufacturing Shift Leader to join our fast-paced food manufacturing site. Finsbury Food Group is a leading specialty bakery manufacturer. We constantly raise quality and efficiency standards and build long-term relationships within the foodservice channel.

This role sits within the Technical function and is critical in ensuring the highest standards of food safety, quality, and GMP compliance across the factory. Working closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Manufacturing teams, you will be the first point of contact for all quality-related activity during your shift.

This is what you’ll actually do!

• Take ownership of food safety and quality performance across your shift, managing incidents such as holds, concessions, and near misses, and ensuring robust root cause analysis and corrective actions are implemented.
• Develop a deep understanding of all manufacturing and ancillary processes, identifying variables that impact product quality, yield, and line efficiency.
• Audit process adherence against standards, actively leading and supporting continuous improvement activities to reduce variation and improve compliance.
• Conduct regular internal audits in line with the Quality Management System, covering CCPs, hygiene, GMP, allergens, foreign body controls, glass, PPE, and documentation, ensuring all corrective actions are completed and closed effectively.
• Manage and coordinate in-shift product and process trials and new product launches, ensuring quality and food safety standards are maintained at all times.
• Champion factory GMP standards, drive new ways of working, and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
• Investigate customer complaints and trends, identify root causes, and ensure learning and corrective actions are communicated to relevant teams.
• Accountable for equipment calibration, routine inspections, and verification activities.
• Oversee start-of-life and end-of-life taste panels, carrying out quality testing (pH, allergen, ERH, weight control, check weighing, calibration, and verification), and ensuring labels and artwork meet agreed specifications.
• Ensure customer standards, codes of practice, and BRC requirements are fully understood and embedded in day-to-day operations, confidently hosting external auditors during planned and unannounced audits.
• Lead traceability exercises and present findings clearly during customer visits and third-party audits.

Ideally this is you!

• Previous experience working in a fast-paced food manufacturing or FMCG environment.
• Strong background in quality assurance, food safety, and GMP-controlled operations.
• Proven experience leading or contributing to continuous improvement activities.
• Confident in using structured problem-solving and root cause analysis techniques.
• Good understanding of LEAN manufacturing principles and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Ability to build, coach, and motivate teams to deliver against quality, safety, and performance KPIs.
• Strong understanding of Health & Safety and Food Safety requirements.
• Trained Internal Auditor (Lead Auditor desirable).
• Knowledge of BRC standards and customer Codes of Practice.
• Strong awareness of allergen controls and foreign body management.
• Experience interacting with multiple IT systems for people, process, and plant management.
• Competent in MS Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Well organized with strong planning and time-management skills.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels.

Personal Attributes

• Strong team worker and leader who supports and develops others.
• Takes full ownership of the shift and accountability for quality and food safety standards.
• Demonstrates emotional intelligence and resilience in a fast-paced environment.
• Acts with honesty and integrity, doing the right thing even when under pressure.
• Respectful and inclusive, championing a positive culture within a diverse workforce.
• Clear, confident communicator able to influence and challenge constructively.
• Takes pride in producing high-quality products and maintaining high standards.
• Flexible and adaptable to changing priorities, demands, and business needs.
• Reliable, enthusiastic, and committed with a strong work ethic.

Role Dimensions

• Reports directly to the Technical Manager.
• Primary focus on quality, food safety, and GMP compliance within Operations.
• Works closely with peer Manufacturing Shift Leaders to deliver a stable and efficient process.
• Acts as the quality lead on shift, supporting Operations, Engineering, and Supply Chain teams.
• May have direct reports depending on site size and process complexity.
• Responsible for communicating change and standards across multiple shift patterns, including day and night shifts.
• Operates in a fast-paced manufacturing environment with shared responsibility for wider operational activities.

What’s in it for you?

• Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Leave to allow quality time with your new arrival!
• Enhanced Pension Scheme for our employees.
• 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.

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!