Newcastle-under-Lyme
Salary: Up to £45,000 per annum
26 days holiday plus bank holidays
The Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced Production and Coatings Manager to take ownership of coating operations across multiple production facilities. This is a fantastic opportunity for a hands-on leader with strong manufacturing experience to drive performance, quality, efficiency and continuous improvement within a busy operational environment.
Reporting into senior operations leadership, you will be responsible for overseeing coating activities across several production lines, ensuring processes run safely, efficiently and to the highest quality standards. Working closely with colleagues across production, engineering, planning, quality and technical functions, you will play a key role in supporting operational excellence and delivering business objectives.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and coordinate coatings operations across multiple sites and production lines.
- Manage, coach and develop supervisory teams, ensuring high levels of performance and engagement.
- Establish and maintain consistent operating procedures and best practices across all coating activities.
- Collaborate with planning teams to balance workloads, maximise capacity and meet operational priorities.
- Monitor and analyse key performance indicators including productivity, quality, downtime, efficiency and material usage.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on quality enhancement, waste reduction and increased operational effectiveness.
- Investigate process issues, defects and non-conformances, implementing corrective actions where required.
- Work cross-functionally to support new product introductions, process developments and business improvement projects.
- Develop strong relationships with suppliers, ensuring effective technical support and product performance.
- Manage coating materials and consumables to achieve effective stock control and cost management.
- Partner with engineering and maintenance teams to improve equipment reliability and minimise production interruptions.
- Ensure compliance with all health, safety, environmental and quality standards.
- Lead investigations into significant operational incidents and oversee implementation of preventative measures.
- Contribute to future investment plans and long-term operational improvement strategies.
What We’re Looking For
Experience & Knowledge
- Proven leadership experience within a coatings, finishing or manufacturing environment.
- Strong understanding of coating processes, application techniques, curing methods, quality inspection and defect analysis.
- Experience managing production teams, resources and operational performance.
- Demonstrable success in improving safety, quality, productivity and cost efficiency.
- Experience working with KPIs, continuous improvement programmes and operational reporting.
- Good understanding of production equipment, maintenance principles and asset reliability.
- Sound knowledge of health, safety, environmental and quality management standards.
- Relevant manufacturing, engineering, coatings or management qualifications would be advantageous.
Personal Attributes
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and develop teams.
- Commercially aware, balancing operational performance with cost control and customer requirements.
- Results-driven, proactive and focused on delivering improvements.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Practical problem solver with a solution-oriented mindset.
- Organised and adaptable, able to manage competing priorities effectively.
- Strong attention to detail combined with a broader strategic outlook.
- Collaborative approach with the ability to build effective cross-functional relationships.
- Passionate about creating a culture of safety, accountability and continuous improvement.
What’s on Offer?
- Competitive salary of up to £45,000 per annum
- 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- Opportunity to lead multi-site operations
- Career development within a growing manufacturing environment
- A collaborative and supportive working culture
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