Production Manager

Role Purpose

To plan, lead and actively oversee day‑to‑day production operations, ensuring products are manufactured safely, efficiently, and to specification. This is a hands‑on production leadership role within a small manufacturing environment, with strong accountability for output, quality and productivity.

Key Responsibilities

Production Operations

Plan and manage daily production schedules to meet customer demand and delivery commitments.


Allocate labour and resources to maintain smooth workflow and minimise downtime.


Work alongside the production team on the shop floor to maintain pace, standards and output.

Quality & Compliance

Carry out in‑process quality checks and ensure products meet specification prior to release and industry standards.


Reduce defects and rework through root‑cause analysis, coaching and preventative actions.


Ensure production activities comply with health, safety and housekeeping standards.

People and Team Leadership

Lead by example, setting clear expectations and maintaining consistent standards.


Monitor performance, provide clear feedback and develop team capability through coaching.


Build flexibility and resilience across the production team.

Continuous Improvement

Identify practical improvements to processes, layout and methods to increase efficiency.


Support the introduction of simple systems for production tracking and reporting.

Reporting & Communication

Produce accurate daily and weekly production reports, reporting to the directors each week.


Escalate issues promptly and work collaboratively with warehouse, sales, purchasing and other management colleagues.

Success Measures

Production efficiency consistently at or above 95%


Defect or rework rate at or below 0.5%


Zero lost‑time accidents within production


Well‑organised, safe and productive shop floor

Experience & Skills

Proven experience supervising or managing production in a manufacturing or SME environment


Proven experience of continuous improvement techniques


Strong working knowledge of health and safety requirements


Practical, organised and confident decision‑maker


Experience using basic ERP or production tracking systems desirable

Person Specification

Essential Experience and Skills

At least three years in a supervisory or management role in production operations.


Experience with production planning and reporting.


Strong organisational skills and ability to prioritise in a busy SME environment.


Knowledge of health and safety procedures and compliance standards.


Clear and confident communicator and effective problem solver.


Straightforward, dependable and able to gain respect without micromanaging.


Demonstrated ability to coach and develop staff.

What We Offer

Competitive salary with performance bonus.


Small, supportive team environment where your impact is visible.


Hands-on leadership role with scope to shape processes and people.


We offer steady weekday hours (Monday to Thursday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and Fridays finishing at 3 pm), giving you evenings and weekends free.


25 days holiday plus bank holidays.


Pension scheme and staff discount.


Free on site parking