Manufacturing Leader in Newcastle upon Tyne

Reporting to the Manufacturing Manager, the Manufacturing Leader is responsible for day-to-day operational control and coordination across manufacturing. The role sits between strategy and execution, converting manufacturing direction into daily and near-term priorities, resolving operational conflicts, coordinating people and resources, and maintaining consistent delivery performance.

The purpose of the role is to ensure daily performance, priorities and people management are handled consistently so that the Manufacturing Manager can focus on strategic manufacturing leadership, business risk, future capacity and longer-term capability development. The Manufacturing Leader role enables the manager to operate at the correct strategic level.

What You’ll Do

• Own daily operational control and coordination of direct and indirect manufacturing resources across cells and support functions.
• Convert Manufacturing Manager direction into daily, weekly and near-term manufacturing priorities, ensuring priorities are clear, realistic and communicated.
• Lead daily manufacturing meetings, using visible priorities, constraints, labor plans, KPI data, actions, and escalation points.
• Manage and support daily and near-term scheduling, including labor deployment, daily adjustments, resource conflicts, overtime recommendations, and out-of-process labor assignments.
• Act as the first point of contact for shop-floor teams and support functions for day-to-day manufacturing issues, removing blockers and resolving conflicts where appropriate.
• Coordinate across manufacturing cells and functions, including Engineering, Quality, Purchasing, Planning and Stores, to support safe, compliant and efficient delivery.
• Track time and attendance, conduct labor tracking, complete LEAP performance reviews, set objectives and check-ins, and manage conduct or disputes in line with company processes, escalating where required.
• Support Supervisors without diminishing their role; Supervisors retain ownership of hands-on technical execution, process adherence, troubleshooting, operator development and immediate safety control.
• Manage and report daily manufacturing KPIs, ensuring shop-floor data is accurate, visible and used to support decisions and corrective action.
• Drive standardization and implementation of agreed continuous improvement actions, working with Supervisors and operators to embed improvements locally.
• Manage the storage and movement of WIP within manufacturing areas, ensuring priorities, constraints, and material movement are aligned to the plan.
• Collaborate with Purchasing to ensure required supplies and consumables are available at appropriate levels to support near-term manufacturing priorities.
• Ensure only trained and competent individuals are scheduled into manufacturing processes, and that training or competency gaps are escalated and addressed.
• Allocate and plan health and safety corrective actions, support accident investigation planning, and ensure EH&S requirements are followed in day-to-day operations.
• Support internal and external audit processes by ensuring manufacturing actions, records, 5s, housekeeping, and process discipline are maintained.
• Work with Engineering, Supervisors and Operators to develop, update and document manufacturing work procedures as directed.
• Escalate genuinely strategic, high-risk or systemic issues to the Manufacturing Manager; day-to-day operational issues should normally be resolved through the Manufacturing Leader and Supervisor route.

What You’ll Bring

• College degree in business, engineering or manufacturing preferred, or equivalent experience in a manufacturing leadership environment.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience directing or coordinating a manufacturing workforce in a heavy industrial, engineering or metal manufacturing environment.

What We Value

• Experience working within the requirements of a structured corporate quality management system; AS9100 or aerospace/defense manufacturing experience would be advantageous.
• Strong operational judgement with the ability to manage daily priorities, resource conflicts, schedule pressure, labor deployment, and escalation.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate clearly at all levels of the organization and manage appropriate outcomes.
• Experience using KPIs, labor data, planning information, and shop-floor feedback to support daily decisions and corrective actions.
• Ability to coordinate cross-functionally with Engineering, Quality, Purchasing, Planning, Stores and Supervisors.
• Working knowledge of health and safety responsibilities, including training/competency control, corrective action follow-up, and accident investigation support.
• Experience implementing standard work, lean or continuous improvement activity in a manufacturing environment.
• Proficiency in digital communication and workflow tools such as Teams and SharePoint; ERP or manufacturing planning system experience is desirable.