Elevation Recruitment Group
Director of Manufacturing
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Director of Manufacturing
£six figure *competitive base salary + bonus + car allowance + benefits
Confidential retained appointment | UK multi-site remit
Elevation Executive is supporting a major UK food and ingredients manufacturer with the appointment of a Director of Manufacturing. The business needs a leader who can set a clear direction across its sites and stay close enough to the factories to make change happen.
This role will lead Factory Managers and site leadership teams across highly automated, process-led operations serving retail, foodservice and industrial customers. The priority is to improve performance consistently across the group: stronger leadership, better service and quality, greater productivity, and tighter control of cost and waste.
The business places real value on how results are achieved. You will need to build trust with site teams, develop people, create clear accountability and work closely with Engineering, Technical, Supply Chain and Commercial colleagues. It calls for someone who can move confidently between a strategic discussion about capacity and investment and a practical conversation on the factory floor about why performance is falling short.
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The opportunity
You will:
- Lead and develop Factory Managers and site leadership teams, building capability and succession across the manufacturing network.
- Improve safety, quality, service, OEE, throughput, labour productivity and waste performance.
- Establish consistent operating standards and measures while recognising the needs of each site.
- Turn improvement plans into sustained results through visible leadership and disciplined follow-through.
- Shape capacity, capital investment and manufacturing plans to support future growth.
- Work across functions to resolve issues that affect customers, cost and operational performance.
What you will bring
Essential experience
- Senior manufacturing leadership across multiple sites in food, ingredients, beverage or a comparable process-led FMCG environment.
- A record of improving performance through Factory Managers or Site Leaders, with measurable results in service, quality, productivity and cost.
- The ability to set a manufacturing strategy and deliver it through day-to-day operational leadership.
- Strong judgement on people, investment and priorities, alongside the credibility to challenge and support teams at every level.
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Desirable experience
- Leadership of highly automated manufacturing operations.
- Delivery of capital investment, capacity expansion or significant change across a site network.
This is a substantial role with the opportunity to influence the next stage of the business’s growth. For the right person, it also offers a potential path towards Chief Operating Officer. That prospect will depend on the impact you make and the leadership capability you build around you.
The appointment is being managed on a retained and confidential basis. For a private discussion, please contact Carl Walker at Elevation Executive.
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