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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Set up and manage chocolate production machinery while ensuring quality and efficiency.
- Company: Join one of the UK's favourite premium chocolate brands, Hotel Chocolat.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, discounts on products, and enhanced maternity/paternity leave.
- Why this job: Work in a chocolate-filled environment and lead a dynamic team to create world-class products.
- Qualifications: Experience in machine operation and a passion for continuous improvement.
- Other info: Permanent night shift role with excellent career growth opportunities.
The predicted salary is between 39117 - 39117 £ per year.
Responsibilities
- Setting up machinery, including but not limited to, changing over change parts of on the lines.
- Working with wolf/copper panners, CAD, auto-demolding, shell depositor and cold press, CAP depositor, CAD depositor, Fuji, Fuji2, puddles depositor, enrobers.
- Collaborating with other departments to ensure that all required items are available and ready to support the smooth efficient running of the lines i.e., machinery/ingredients/packaging.
- Communicating any shortages and discrepancies to your line manager on time to support plan completion.
- Ensuring that plan is delivered on time and to costed expectation or better with targeted quality loss of less than 1% and delivering 'Right First-Time' products.
Ownership
- Owning the start-up of the production lines, ensuring that the correct staffing is in place to hit required targets or PMR's in place on the production lines.
- Leading the team to successfully complete plan to required specifications, owning the clean down of the line between products and line start-up inspections to ensure that the line is free from any cross-contamination of the last run.
- Owning the sign-off and completing the paperwork checks.
- Continuously driving a culture of asset specific standards and settings across all shifts.
- Ensuring 100% compliance with product specification.
- Conducting GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) compliance in your work area.
- Ensuring compliance with all Health and Safety systems and being responsible for your own Health and Safety and the Health and Safety of others around you.
- Food safety standard compliance and hygiene, and PPE policies adhered to.
- Production is right first time to set specifications and requirements of our customers.
- Ensuring all Piranha requests are submitted to engineering for downtimes.
Leading
- Running the day-to-day management of the line.
- Ensuring that the team are adhering to set requirements for product and personal behaviour.
- Reporting breakdowns in a timely manner, making the right decision.
- Ensuring team training is up to date.
Supporting
- Training and mentoring new starters within the business on your asset/process.
- Leading the team in All PMR activity required on the line per product group.
- Being an ambassador of driving the culture of pride for the produce by setting and demanding high standards.
- Proactive care and targeted hygiene work with the Hygiene team to ensure work area and asset stays in the best standard.
Challenging
- Identifying opportunities, planning how process can be improved.
- PMR activity Yield / Material Variance / Packaging Waste / Inventory waste / Line Efficiency etc.
- Working project to show savings from improvements on the line/process.
- Demonstration of tools used for improvement.
- Involvement in 5S and other Kaizen instruments developed for site.
- Being able to challenge constructively and to receive feedback openly.
- Having a collaborative working approach.
- Seeking continuous personal development.
Desirable
- Knowledge of Continuous Improvement skills, with the ability to deploy critical thinking.
- HACCP trained.
Who are we?
We are one of the UK’s favourite premium chocolate brands, with a range of products spanning luxury gifts, alcohol and our pioneering drinking chocolate system, the Velvetiser. A cacao pod takes years to grow - it can’t be rushed if it’s going to be just right for our products. The same can be said for Hotel Chocolat, which originally started as a mint production company before we realised it was luxury chocolate that we were really passionate about. Now, we’re market leaders in the industry. What began as an online-only business grew to over 100 stores across the UK, and we’re still growing… Today, we’re multi-category, multi-channel, and multi-territory, and our customers, colleagues, cacao farmers and suppliers all benefit from the success we make together.
To learn more about us and read about our People Pledge - our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
As we continue our mission to make people and nature happy through reinventing chocolate, we’re looking for a Senior Machine Operative (Nights) to join our Chocolate Manufacturing Team on a permanent basis. Our Senior Machine Operatives are vital in ensuring compliance with the Production Plan in supporting delivery of our world-class chocolate on time and in full across our customer network. You will support in leading an effective team, taking ownership for the production line and change overs, driving the team in completion of required plan whilst taking into consideration cost, quality and efficiency.
Salary: £39,117 per annum. Shift Pattern: permanent night shift pattern of 10pm to 6am. As well as a competitive salary and a range of company benefits including enhanced maternity and paternity leave and Company pension contributions, you’ll receive 50% discount on all products, and a 70% discount for you and your guests when you stay at our Rabot Estate hideaway on the paradise island of Saint Lucia. The onsite location for this role is at our Factory ‘Hadley Park’, in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, right in the heart of where our chocolates are made and where weekly, we can produce between 4 to 6 million of the chocolates we all know and love. Hadley Park is just 5 minutes off the A141 and 1.3 miles from Huntingdon train station, with direct rail links to London King’s Cross.
Machine Operative in Huntingdon employer: Hotel Chocolat
Contact Detail:
Hotel Chocolat Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Machine Operative in Huntingdon
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the company inside out! Research their values, products, and culture. When you walk into that interview, you want to show them you’re not just another candidate – you’re genuinely excited about being part of their chocolate-making journey.
✨Tip Number 2
Practice makes perfect! Run through common interview questions with a mate or in front of the mirror. Focus on how your skills match the role of a Senior Machine Operative, especially around teamwork and problem-solving. Confidence is key!
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your passion for chocolate! Whether it’s sharing your favourite product or discussing how you’d improve production processes, let your enthusiasm shine through. Remember, they want someone who cares about their craft as much as they do.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up after your interview! A quick thank-you email can go a long way. It shows you’re keen and professional, plus it gives you another chance to reiterate why you’re the perfect fit for the team. And hey, apply through our website for a smoother process!
We think you need these skills to ace Machine Operative in Huntingdon
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Chocolate: When you're writing your application, let your love for chocolate shine through! We want to see that you're excited about being part of our team and contributing to our mission of making people happy with our products.
Tailor Your Experience: Make sure to highlight any relevant experience you have with machinery or production lines. We’re looking for someone who can hit the ground running, so connect your past roles to what we do here at Hotel Chocolat.
Be Clear and Concise: Keep your application straightforward and to the point. Use clear language to describe your skills and experiences, especially when it comes to compliance and safety standards. We appreciate a well-structured application!
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your details and get you in the running for this sweet opportunity. We can’t wait to hear from you!
How to prepare for a job interview at Hotel Chocolat
✨Know Your Machinery
Familiarise yourself with the specific machinery mentioned in the job description, like the CAD and enrobers. Being able to discuss how you’ve worked with similar equipment or your understanding of their functions will show that you're prepared and knowledgeable.
✨Demonstrate Team Leadership Skills
Since the role involves leading a team, think of examples where you've successfully managed a group or project. Be ready to share how you motivated your team, handled challenges, and ensured compliance with safety and quality standards.
✨Showcase Continuous Improvement Mindset
Prepare to discuss any past experiences where you identified opportunities for process improvements. Highlight your critical thinking skills and how you’ve implemented changes that led to better efficiency or reduced waste.
✨Communicate Clearly and Confidently
Strong verbal and written communication is key for this role. Practice articulating your thoughts clearly, especially when discussing performance metrics or compliance procedures. This will help you convey your ideas effectively during the interview.