EC’s Manager - Internal Only in Poole

Diversity matters. We are building a brand that represents the people of the world. It’s what you do that counts, and we are always looking to expand perspectives and voices to shape our future. We see you, we celebrate you, we want you!

Who we are: You might know us as the inventors of the bath bomb, but there’s more to this great-smelling, partly employee-owned, family-run company than pioneering cosmetics. We believe our business should put more back into the world than it takes and demonstrate that capitalism can be a force for good. The Living Wage Foundation’s statement 'a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay' is one that we are proud to commit to in the UK. As an accredited Living Wage employer, we put our people first and fight cruel practices like animal testing, promote regeneration, and show that it is what’s inside that counts - whether that’s an ingredient in a product, or the minerals in a smartphone.

About the Role: We're looking for a Manager to lead our EC’s Manufacturing operation at Unit 17. This is a key role within the manufacturing team, responsible for making sure we can safely, efficiently and consistently deliver the fragrance products our global business needs. You'll be leading the manufacturing operation and the people within it, with a strong focus on developing the team, improving how we work and making the most of our manufacturing capability. There'll be plenty of opportunity to shape how the department develops, from improving processes and reducing waste through to planning future capacity and supporting new products and investment.

Responsibilities will include:

• Leading the EC Manufacturing operation
• Lead the day-to-day manufacturing operation, ensuring we safely deliver the right products, at the right time and to the required quality, to meet global supply and customer demand
• Set and monitor key operational KPIs across Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and People, using these to drive performance and improvement
• Work with Quality and operational teams to identify and resolve quality issues, improve processes and prevent recurring problems
• Manage departmental budgets and operational costs, working with Finance to understand financial performance, identify opportunities and ensure resources are used effectively
• Plan and manage capacity, resources and future manufacturing requirements to support changing business needs
• Identify and manage operational risks, ensuring appropriate contingency and business continuity plans are in place for critical people, equipment, materials and processes
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce waste and deliver sustainable cost savings across the operation
• Leading and developing our people
• Lead and develop the management and operational teams, creating clear expectations, accountability and a positive team culture
• Coach and support people to build capability, confidence and leadership skills, with a focus on progression and succession planning
• Develop multi-skilled teams and flexible ways of working to strengthen our resilience and ability to respond to changing demand
• Ensure teams have the training, support and resources they need to work safely and effectively
• Improving how we work
• Champion Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement across the department, encouraging teams to identify and solve problems
• Use production data and team knowledge to improve productivity, quality and efficiency while reducing waste and downtime
• Lead improvement projects and implement changes that deliver measurable operational and cost benefits
• Lead and support operational change, ensuring new processes, systems, equipment and ways of working are successfully implemented and adopted by the team
• Support manufacturing investment and new technologies where these can improve capability, efficiency or future capacity
• Production planning & product delivery
• Work with Production Planning and wider teams to ensure production plans are achievable and aligned with business demand
• Work with Procurement, Supply Chain and Stock teams to ensure materials are available when needed while managing stock levels effectively and minimising waste and obsolescence
• Lead the manufacturing readiness of new products, ensuring people, processes, materials and capacity are in place for successful launches
• Support product discontinuations through effective production planning and stock depletion strategies
• Keep key stakeholders informed of manufacturing capacity, plans, challenges and product availability
• Working across the business
• Build strong working relationships with Finance, Procurement, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Packaging, Product Development and other teams that support manufacturing
• Work with Finance and other stakeholders to support budgeting, forecasting, business cases and investment decisions
• Bring manufacturing expertise to wider business projects, new product development and operational improvements
• Work collaboratively to resolve issues and ensure customer and global supply requirements are met
• Provide clear updates to the wider Manufacturing leadership team on operational performance, risks, capacity, financial performance and improvement activity
• Safety, Quality & Compliance
• Maintain high standards of GMP, Health & Safety, ATEX and fire safety across the manufacturing operation
• Lead a proactive safety culture, ensuring risks are identified, managed and continuously improved
• Ensure the department is prepared for internal and external audits and that any actions or improvements are followed through
• Support environmental and sustainability initiatives, including waste reduction and responsible use of resources

Who we're looking for:

We're looking for an individual who can combine strong operational leadership with a genuine focus on people. You'll be confident in making decisions, solving problems and challenging how we do things, while bringing people with you and creating an environment where teams can do their best work.

You'll ideally have experience in:

• Leading a manufacturing or production operation, with responsibility for performance, delivery and cost.
• Leading, coaching and developing people, including managers and operational teams.
• Using data, KPIs and financial information to understand performance and make informed decisions.
• Production planning, capacity management and working with changing customer demand.
• Continuous improvement, Lean Manufacturing and delivering measurable improvements.
• Managing operational change, including new processes, systems, equipment or ways of working.
• Working collaboratively across different teams and balancing competing priorities.
• Managing Health & Safety, quality and compliance within a manufacturing environment, with experience of ATEX being particularly valuable.

Most importantly, we're looking for someone who is curious, collaborative, accountable and improvement-focused, and who wants to help shape the future of EC Manufacturing.

Benefits:

• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
• 6 months of full pay for parental leave (primary caregiver must qualify for SMP)*
• Enhanced paternity leave*
• Bonus scheme
• Day off for weekday birthdays
• Holiday purchase scheme
• 50% discount on Lush products and spa treatments
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted rail and bus season tickets
• Employee assistance programme
• Wellbeing & mindfulness sessions
• Access to employee-led Community Networks, including Disability and Chronic Illness, Family Support, Global Majority (Race and Ethnicity), LGBTQIA+, Menopause and Neurodiversity communities.
• Tailored gender affirming care*

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