Shift Manager

I am currently recruiting for a growing food & beverage manufacturer to recruit a Shift Manager to take ownership of a busy production shift.

This is a hands-on, tactical role in a fast-moving environment. You'll keep production on plan, manage changing priorities and ensure the shift delivers against safety, quality, service and cost targets.

The Role:

Working closely with Shift Supervisors and wider operational teams, you will:

• Take accountability for production performance across the shift.
• Manage changing priorities, labour and resources to keep production on plan.
• Lead and support Shift Supervisors and production teams.
• Maintain high standards across safety, food safety, quality and compliance.
• Monitor KPIs and take practical action where performance is off track.
• Manage downtime, waste and labour efficiency.
• Work closely with Engineering and Quality to resolve operational issues.
• Ensure effective shift handovers and clear communication across the operation.
• Support continuous improvement without losing focus on day-to-day delivery.

About You:

I am looking for an experienced Shift Manager, Production Manager or Manufacturing Team Leader from food, beverage or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.

You'll be comfortable making decisions in a fast-paced operation, adapting when plans change and moving people and resources to where they're needed most.

You should bring:

• Strong people leadership and performance management experience.
• Experience owning production, safety, quality and operational KPIs.
• A practical, resilient and solutions-focused approach.
• Good problem-solving skills and confidence making decisions under pressure.
• Experience using manufacturing/ERP systems and operational data.

Experience within high-speed filling, bottling or packaging would be advantageous, as would IOSH, Food Safety or Lean/CI qualifications.

The Opportunity

The business is growing, with increased production capacity and a growing workforce, creating strong longer-term opportunities for someone who can establish themselves and deliver consistently, there is a large opportunity to have progression.

Shift Pattern: The role is expected to transition to a permanent afternoon/evening shift from January, so applicants should be comfortable with this working pattern.