D R Newitt Recruitment
Head of Engineering
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Head of Engineering | FMCG | Up to £80,000
I'm exclusively managing a search on behalf of a well-established food manufacturing business seeking an experienced Engineering Manager/Head of Engineering to join its senior leadership team. This is a rare opportunity to take ownership of a key engineering function within a successful and growing organisation, offering genuine influence and autonomy.
This is a key leadership role with 2 direct reports, responsible for engineering reliability, compliance, PPM, utilities and continuous improvement across a manufacturing operation.
The Role
You’ll take ownership of the site’s engineering strategy and day-to-day performance, ensuring plant, equipment, utilities and infrastructure are safe, reliable, legally compliant and capable of supporting production and food safety standards.
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Key responsibilities include:
- Lead, develop and support a small engineering team, creating a strong culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
- Own the site PPM, engineering compliance, reliability and maintenance strategy, driving down downtime and repeat breakdowns.
- Provide hands-on technical leadership during breakdowns, commissioning and complex engineering issues.
- Take a leading role in BRCGS certification, audits, corrective actions and engineering food-safety standards.
- Oversee critical utilities including steam boilers, refrigeration/DX chillers, glycol systems, CIP and electrical infrastructure.
- Support CAPEX, NPD, equipment upgrades and process improvement projects from concept through to commissioning.
- Manage engineering contractors, suppliers, budgets and longer-term asset replacement plans.
- Drive engineering KPIs, root-cause analysis and continuous improvement across the site.
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We’re looking for an engineering leader with experience in food manufacturing, ideally within a high-care environment. You’ll ideally have:
- Previous Engineering Manager, Engineering Lead or senior engineering management experience.
- Strong understanding of BRCGS, food safety and engineering compliance.
- Experience with PPM, reliability, breakdown management and root-cause analysis.
- Exposure to dairy, fluid processing or CIP would be highly advantageous.
- Experience with utilities such as steam, refrigeration/chilling and electrical systems.
- Knowledge of Siemens automation would be beneficial.
- A hands-on, collaborative leadership style and the ability to work effectively within a small team.
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