Operations Manager

Operations Manager – Food Manufacturing

Location: Greater Manchester
Salary: £70,000 – £75,000 + Benefits

Our client, a leading large-scale food manufacturer, is seeking an experienced Operations Manager to join their senior leadership team at a flagship site in Greater Manchester. This is a critical role, responsible for overseeing full-site production operations, driving efficiency, and delivering outstanding results across a high-volume manufacturing environment.

The Role

The Operations Manager will have direct responsibility for production performance and leadership of a large workforce. With 2 Production Managers then 14–28 direct reports and wider responsibility for up to 280 staff, the successful candidate will be accountable for delivering operational targets, financial measures, and cultural development across the site.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading all aspects of site production, ensuring delivery of performance, quality, and safety standards.
• Driving operational efficiency, cost control, and best practice across manufacturing.
• Managing labour costs, yield, waste, stock, and GMP performance.
• Partnering with HR and L&D on recruitment, training, and engagement initiatives.
• Ensuring all operations meet legal, regulatory, and food safety obligations.
• Acting as a cultural role model, fostering integrity, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Building strong cross-functional relationships with internal teams, external partners, and key customers.

Your Skills & Experience

The ideal candidate will be a proven operations leader with strong experience in food manufacturing, managing large teams in complex, high-volume environments.

Essential skills and experience:

• Significant leadership experience within large-scale food production (must-have).
• Track record of delivering against operational and financial KPIs.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, quality, and compliance standards.
• Experience of continuous improvement and change management.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to inspire, challenge, and develop teams.
• Commercially astute with an analytical, results-driven approach.