Pilgrim's Europe
Operations Manager, Operations Manager
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Operations Manager - Kitchen Range Business Unit
📍 Huntington / Peterborough ¦ 🏠Operations ¦ 💼 Full-Time
Lead Performance. Drive Profit. Deliver Excellence.
We have an exciting opportunity for a highly experienced Operations Manager to join our Kitchen Range Business Unit based in Huntington/Peterborough.
Reporting to the Site Director, you will take full responsibility for leading factory operations, delivering against profit, performance, and customer expectations. This is a senior leadership role where you will drive operational excellence, lead high-performing teams, and ensure the factory consistently achieves its strategic goals.
As part of the Pilgrim’s Europe way of working, this is a site-based leadership role, requiring visible, hands-on engagement with teams and stakeholders across the factory.
What You’ll Be Responsible For
- Own factory budget, cost control, and variance management
- Deliver profit improvement plans (PIP) and strategic cost-saving initiatives
- Manage capital expenditure and drive operational efficiencies
- Lead all factory operations to deliver output, yield, quality, and service targets
- Ensure effective planning for peak and off-peak production periods
- Maintain strong customer service levels—internal and external
- Work closely with Engineering to maximise plant uptime and reliability
- Champion a strong Health & Safety culture, ensuring full compliance and continuous improvement
- Drive safety performance across the factory, embedding accountability at all levels
- Ensure the site is fully compliant with audit, legal, and internal standards
- Deliver against all technical KPIs, ensuring product quality and food safety standards are met
- Build strong relationships with key customers and support business development
- Lead and participate in customer and internal audits
- Lead and develop a team of Production Managers and operational leaders
- Build a high-performance, engaged culture across the factory
- Drive capability through coaching, training, and succession planning
- Partner with HR to ensure effective workforce and talent strategies
- Embed a structured Operational Excellence (OPEX) approach across the factory
- Drive lean initiatives and continuous improvement programmes
- Deliver improvement plans to enhance performance and efficiency
- Lead initiatives to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact
- Ensure compliance with environmental standards and internal policies
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What We’re Looking For
- Senior leadership experience within FMCG manufacturing
- Proven track record of delivering operational and financial performance
- Strong people leadership and team development experience
- Experience driving continuous improvement and change
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
- Strong commercial acumen and problem-solving ability
Desirable
- HACCP and/or IOSH qualifications
- Degree-level education or equivalent
- Experience in high-risk manufacturing environments
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What Success Looks Like
- Achievement of factory financial targets and profit improvement plans
- Strong performance across safety, quality, and audits
- Improved production efficiency and customer service levels
- Engaged and high-performing workforce
- Sustainable improvements driven through continuous improvement
Why Join Pilgrim’s Europe?
Role
At Pilgrim’s Europe, we offer more than just a role—we offer the opportunity to lead within a global, high-performing business:
- Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package
- Career progression across a leading international organisation
- Ongoing leadership development and training
- Performance-driven culture that recognises and rewards success
- Collaborative, supportive senior leadership environment
- Employee wellbeing initiatives and support programmes
- Access to employee benefits platform and discount schemes
- Strong commitment to sustainability and responsible operations
Our Values
Our Values Shape Everything We Do
- Availability
- Humility
- Discipline
- Sincerity
- Ownership
- Determination
- Simplicity
Ready to Lead at Scale?
If you’re a results-driven manufacturing leader ready to take ownership of a complex operation and drive real impact, we’d love to hear from you.
Apply now and take the next step in your career with Pilgrim’s Europe
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