Manager Manufacturing in Preston

At Zebra, we are a community of innovators who come together to create new ways of working. United by curiosity and a culture of caring, we develop smart solutions that anticipate our customer’s and partner’s needs and solve their challenges. Being part of Zebra Nation means you are seen, heard, valued, and respected. Drawing from our unique perspectives, we collaborate to deliver on our purpose. Here you are part of a team pushing boundaries today to redefine the work of tomorrow for organizations, their employees, and those they serve. You’ll have opportunities to learn and lead in a forward-thinking environment, defining your path to a fulfilling career while channeling your skills toward causes you care about—locally and globally. Come make an impact every day at Zebra.

The Manager Manufacturing role is a high-impact, leadership position based at our Preston, UK site. In this pivotal role, you will directly manage our manufacturing leadership team (Supervisors and Team Leads) and the hourly-paid production teams below them, coordinating operations across a 3-shift system. We are seeking a proactive, hands-on leader to elevate our site and redefine operational standards, optimize shift consistency, and build internal bench strength. If you are passionate about driving a culture of continuous improvement, coaching leaders, and building seamless cross-departmental collaboration, this role offers the platform to make a recognizable impact on the future of Preston's manufacturing success.

Responsibilities

• Preston Site Leadership & 3-Shift Standardization: Lead day-to-day operations across our 3-shift system. You will provide the leadership and framework to ensure consistency in policies, performance measures, and operational practices so that all staff experience a unified, fair management style. You will also optimize the 30-minute shift handover overlap to ensure seamless, efficient production transitions.
• Empowering Shop Floor Leadership: Support Supervisors and Team Leads transition away from administrative computer tasks to focus on shop floor leadership. You will guide them in prioritizing visible leadership, hands-on training, and regular 1-to-1 conversations to build true bench strength.
• Objective Performance & HR Management: Take full accountability for hiring, development, and team performance. You will shift the site appraisals to a more structured, year-round, metric-driven review process, actively rewarding high performers, constructively addressing poor performance, and resolving complex team grievances.
• Champion Lean, Quality, & EHS: Be the driving force in our continuous improvement journey. You will implement Lean/Six Sigma methodologies down to the operator level (including our Z-Stripe program), collaborate with the Health & Safety team to champion a zero-incident environment, and partner with Quality staff to ensure our teams consistently meet strict customer expectations.
• Proactive Financial & KPI Ownership: Provide the tools and resources to meet site cost standards. You will take ownership of Cost Centre budgets, rigorously monitor machine cycle times (set-up, run, tear-down), investigate labour and material variances, and report critical KPI metrics to senior management.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Project Leadership: Act as a strategic advisor and bridgebuilder to resolve complex operational issues. Develop strong networks with key internal teams, specifically aligning Manufacturing and Planning to work collaboratively. Additionally, you will represent the department as a project leader on significant initiatives.

Qualifications

• 5 to 8 years of proven experience in a manufacturing environment, including a minimum of 3 years in management or supervisory capacity managing shift supervisors or team leaders.
• Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or an equivalent qualification.
• Demonstrated expertise in Lean/Six Sigma methodologies with a track record of driving operator-led continuous improvement and waste reduction.
• Strong financial acumen with experience controlling departmental budgets, managing expenses, and conducting strict labour and material variance analysis.
• Exceptional leadership and conflict resolution skills, with the ability to drive cultural change, standardize processes across multiple shifts, and manage complex cross-departmental relationships.
• A proactive mindset with an ability to interpret complex data and ensure system adoption. Experience with modern ERP and manufacturing execution systems.

UK Benefits: 25 days holiday + public holidays, Car allowance, Up to 32 hours paid time off per year to volunteer with a charity of your choice, Reward & Recognition scheme - earn points to spend online, Pension Scheme with a matched contribution up to 7%, Private medical cover, Access to an innovative online learning platform, Cycle to work scheme.

Incentive Compensation: In addition to base pay, Zebra offers this role the opportunity to earn a performance-based annual cash incentive, at a target equal to 10% of base pay, in accordance with the terms of the applicable incentive plan.