Area Lead

At Warburtons, family is at the heart of our business. Five generations' worth of expertise that goes into making our bakery products allows us to continue a tradition of baking inherited over the past 150 years. Warburtons is the largest bakery brand in the UK, but that doesn't allow us to rest on our laurels. We are pioneers of the industry and ambitious market leaders, always seeking to challenge ourselves and convention. It is part of our philosophy to provide honest good sense on issues of health and well-being, helping the whole family to enjoy our products as part of a healthy, balanced diet, through a range of products to suit all meal occasions, lifestyles and tastes.

Bakery 41 is our newest bakery in Wakefield and will become our 13th site, helping strengthen our UK-wide bakery network. Located just ten miles from Tuscany Park and right by the M62 / M1 junction, it gives us added capacity and flexibility to support customers and consumers every day. At around 190,000 sq ft - similar in size to Tuscany Park - Bakery 41 gives us the space we need today, and the headroom to keep moving forward tomorrow.

The Recipe

To lead and develop an Area within Manufacturing Operations, ensuring that the Area runs safely, efficiently and effectively. Driving continuous improvement to maximise Area and Team performance and to ensure that fresh, quality products reach the Internal Customers both on time and in full.

Key Accountabilities and Measures

• Ensure all individuals, including engineering / contractors working within the bakery environment conform to health, safety and environmental legislation, policies and standards, initiating any required action so that the site is healthy and safe and free from accidents.
• Continuous improvement opportunities are identified and site-based projects delivered to completion with business benefit demonstrated.
• Responsible for driving the required action and behaviours to ensure that the Area performance is in-line with or better than KPI targets.
• Takes responsibility for producing and delivering unbeatable quality products to Warburtons standards.
• Makes decisions as appropriate to ensure all product produced is in line with Company standards. Supports others across the site to fully understand and adhere to the quality requirements.
• Monitors plant, equipment and employees to ensure compliance with food safety legislation, initiating any required action in a timely manner.
• Responsible for maintaining company and statutory hygiene standards throughout designated Areas including principals of basic food hygiene and good housekeeping.
• Contributes to the development of revenue and capital budgets and is accountable for expenditure within their Area, ensuring budget/flex budget targets are achieved.
• Execution of site level planning activity ensuring compliance to the overall Manufacturing plan.
• Motivate, develop and coach the team to ensure they achieve the KPI’s, personal targets and development plans as identified in their role profiles and via performance review meetings.
• Manage underperformance promptly through regular reviews and appropriate actions plans.

Essential Ingredients

• Communicating skills: Articulate/develops effective, long-term relationships with key people. Shares information in an open and helpful manner. Listens to and welcomes new ideas from others and asks helpful questions.
• Coaching and mentoring skills: Takes responsibility for the training and coaching of others. Willingly shares own knowledge and experience. Helps colleagues develop on an informal basis adapting coaching style as required.
• Influencing & negotiating skills: Identify key people and work with them to get them on board. Expresses own views with conviction.
• Analysing and problem solving skills: Anticipates problems before they occur and takes steps to deal with them/correctly & swiftly identifies the underlying problem & finds appropriate solutions. Working Knowledge & utilisation of Continuous Improvement techniques.
• Time & project management skills: Prioritises and manages own work load in a systematic and organised manner to ensure tasks are delivered as promised. Regularly monitors work carried out by others to ensure tasks are delivered to time, quality and other requirements and makes improvements where required.
• Innovating skills: Sees and develops different perspectives on common issues relating to own job. Develops a culture where creativity and innovation are valued and rewarded.
• Decision making skills: Makes timely decisions/takes account of the wider risks & implications. Has the confidence to defend decisions assertively.
• Commercial skills: Recognises day-to-day issues, which are commercially important to the business.
• Strategic thinking skills: Demonstrates an awareness of the process of change and of the need to respond to values and culture in developing strategy.
• Management & leadership skills: Inspires others to perform/uses a range of management styles/deals effectively with performance issues/creates a sense of trust in the team. Takes on board feedback received in relation to own leadership style.

Extra Dough

At last and by no means least, you will want to know what your bread's worth: A slice of the annual profits (discretionary profit share). Family time is important to us and we know it will be to you so you have the opportunity to purchase up to an extra week's annual leave. Award winning pension scheme with company contributions of 7%. Life assurance. Products you will love along with deals and discounts for you and the family through our Extra Dough website. Continued investment in your personal development. Fully stocked kitchens filled with our delicious products for you to enjoy with your daily brew! Support for your health and wellbeing, including access to free physiotherapy, 24/7 access to a confidential helpline for practical advice and a comprehensive occupational health service.

We respect and value difference. We look to create an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Companies that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, or any other aspect which makes them unique, are proven to be better companies. More importantly, creating an environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best work, is the right thing to do.