Manufacturing Development Team Leader

Manufacturing Development Team Leader

Location: Kent | Permanent

Check out the role overview below If you are confident you have got the right skills and experience, apply today.

Are you an experienced technical or manufacturing professional looking for an opportunity where you can lead a team, influence site-wide performance and make a genuine impact on safety, quality, efficiency and continuous improvement?

I’m currently supporting an exciting opportunity for a Manufacturing Development Team Leader to join a major manufacturing operation during a significant period of site expansion.

This is a key leadership role, reporting directly to the Manufacturing Development Manager, with responsibility for leading a team of Process Technicians and Process Technologists and driving improvement across a broad technical remit.

Why this role?

This is much more than a people-management position. You’ll have the opportunity to shape how the Manufacturing Development function operates, working closely with Operations, Engineering and Projects to deliver technical improvements, capital projects and long-term performance improvements.

You’ll take ownership across areas including:

• Process improvement, optimisation and technical problem solving
• Fresh water and effluent treatment
• Process chemistry and chemical efficiency
• Product quality and food-contact requirements
• Environmental compliance and permit requirements
• Water consumption and Legionella controls
• ISO management systems
• HSE and process safety
• Product development and feasibility studies
• Risk analysis and FMEA
• Data-led process and production optimisation
• Customer quality complaints and corrective actions

You’ll also play an important role in developing the team's capability, setting departmental KPIs and objectives, and building a strong safety and continuous-improvement culture.

The opportunity

The site is going through an exciting period of expansion, making this a particularly interesting time to join. You’ll have genuine scope to lead change, introduce improvements and influence how processes develop as the operation grows.

The role also provides excellent breadth, with exposure to major improvement and capital projects and the opportunity to work across wider site operations.

You’ll be a highly visible technical leader, providing practical, hands-on support while also taking a strategic view of performance, compliance and development.

What are we looking for?

We’re interested in speaking with technically strong manufacturing professionals who have experience of leading teams and delivering continuous improvement within a complex manufacturing or process environment.

You’ll need to be comfortable combining technical expertise with leadership, problem solving and stakeholder management.

Experience around process optimisation, water/effluent treatment, chemicals, quality, environmental compliance or manufacturing development would be highly relevant.

Most importantly, you’ll be someone who enjoys getting close to the operation, solving problems and turning technical insight into measurable improvements.

Interested? xwzovoh

If you’re looking for a role where you can lead people, influence technical strategy and make a tangible difference to manufacturing performance, I’d be very keen to speak with you.

For a confidential conversation about the opportunity, please get in touch.