Team Manager in Leicester

The Team Manager is responsible for leading, developing, and coordinating a section of the production area to ensure safe, efficient, and high quality operations. This role oversees people, performance, materials, and compliance standards while driving a culture of continuous improvement. The Team Manager ensures daily production plans are delivered, teams are supported and engaged, and all operational procedures are consistently followed.

Key Responsibilities

• Health & Safety
  • Champion a strong “Safety First” culture by ensuring full compliance with all Health & Safety policies and procedures.
  • Lead timely investigations into accidents and near misses, completing area audits, risk assessments, and corrective actions within agreed deadlines.
• Food Safety & Quality
  • Maintain rigorous adherence to all Food Safety and Quality standards, embedding a “Quality Always” mindset across the team.
  • Drive the completion and follow up of audit findings, corrective actions, and quality related tasks to ensure ongoing compliance.
• People Leadership
  • Manage day to day people matters, including attendance, performance issues, and disciplinary or grievance concerns, escalating complex cases to the Production Manager as required.
  • Oversee Time & Attendance processes to ensure accurate payroll data.
  • Deliver clear, consistent communication through daily shop floor updates and weekly team briefs.
  • Maintain a visible, accessible leadership presence to support and engage the team.
  • Manage the training matrix, induction processes, and capability assessments to meet operational and customer requirements.
  • Support recruitment, selection, and onboarding activities to build a capable and engaged workforce.
• Performance & Operational Delivery
  • Ensure the successful delivery of the daily production plan by effectively managing labour, materials, and workflow priorities.
  • Monitor real time performance throughout the shift, taking proactive action to maintain flow and eliminate bottlenecks.
  • Escalate issues affecting safety, quality, downtime, material availability, or output promptly and appropriately.
  • Coach and develop team members through regular one to ones, feedback, and performance reviews.
  • Lead daily labour planning to optimise staffing levels in line with business expectations.
  • Own and drive the Pukka Live Data performance system, assigning, prioritising, and driving actions to strengthen communication, improve KPI performance, accelerate issue resolution, and reinforce accountability.
  • Provide clear direction and day to day support to Process Leaders to ensure strong KPI ownership across all lines.
  • Report performance in tier meetings, offering insights, trends, and improvement actions to the Production Manager.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across the operations function.
• Standards & Compliance
  • Maintain high GMP standards and embed a “clean as you go” culture to always ensure audit readiness.
  • Investigate, escalate, and resolve non compliance, quality, or safety concerns promptly and effectively.
  • Ensure accurate material control through strong ERP adherence, stock checks, and timely closure of production orders.
• Leadership & Site Accountability
  • Act as the senior site representative in the absence of senior management, ensuring continuity of operations, communication, and decision making.
  • Escalate operational risks to relevant stakeholders quickly to protect output and maintain site standards.

Skills & Experience

• Strong leadership and people management experience within a fast paced manufacturing environment.
• Solid understanding of Health & Safety, Food Safety, and GMP requirements.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence, support, and motivate teams.
• Experience using ERP and Time & Attendance systems (desirable).
• Ability to analyse data, identify trends, and drive improvements.
• Highly organised, proactive, and solutions focused with strong attention to detail.

Behaviours

• Demonstrates a safety driven and quality focused mindset.
• Leads by example with a visible, hands on approach.
• Takes ownership of results, performance outcomes, and operational standards.
• Works collaboratively, encouraging teamwork, respect, and open communication.
• Remains calm, adaptable, and proactive when managing challenges or shifting priorities.
• Actively role models company values and expected behaviours, setting the tone for the team and wider area.
• Promotes continuous improvement, openness, and constructive feedback.