Production Group Leader

Position Type:
Full-time, Permanent

Reporting to the Operations & Continuous Improvement Manager, the Production Group Leader plays a critical role in delivering safe, efficient, and high-quality manufacturing performance. You will lead and develop a frontline production team, ensuring operational plans are executed with discipline while continuously improving people capability, processes, and performance. This role combines strong shop-floor leadership with data-driven decision-making and cross-functional collaboration to drive sustainable operational excellence in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

To support the ongoing development of the site, this newly created position is offered on a full‑time, permanent basis at our Portadown facility. The role follows a clearly defined weekend shift pattern, working Friday and Monday (06:00–14:30) and Saturday and Sunday (06:00–18:00), with three consecutive rest days each week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

• Team management:
  Lead the Production Weekend Team by recruiting, inducting new members, building team skills through assessment, training, feedback, and support.
• Health and safety: protect the health and safety of all Production Stream employees through instituting and adhering to site safety culture. Implement countermeasures and mitigation plans to address identified risks.
• Facilitate & execute Continuous Improvement:
  Continuously improve standards by facilitating and executing Practical Problem Solving via Lean methodologies.
• Organise labour: optimise labour availability according to the plan, collaborate with Agency/Production Team and other site-based streams to optimise labour across the site, and cover essential roles during unplanned absences.
• KPI Management and Continuous Improvement of Metrics
• Quality: maintain product quality and adherence to GMP through management of the team and process to deliver agreed product specifications as defined in quality standards and policies.

• Proven experience in managing a team within a process environment
• Solid understanding and practical application of lean manufacturing principles and tools
• Ability to identify areas for improvement, actively plan and implement solutions, and demonstrate effective problem-solving skills
• Flexibility and adaptability to thrive in a changing environment
• Excellent teamwork and communication skills to collaborate effectively with various teams.

• A structured and supportive manufacturing environment where safety is our top priority
• A strong continuous improvement culture, underpinned by proven Lean methodologies and practical problem‑solving
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities to build leadership capability and technical expertise
• The opportunity to make a visible and tangible impact on operational performance and team development
• A competitive benefits package including:
  • 25 days’ annual leave (excluding bank holidays)
  • Healthcare benefits
  • Matched pension scheme
  • Employee Assistance Programme.

Kerry Dairy Ireland is a vertically integrated farm-to-fork business with a very substantial consumer foods presence and a leading nutritional and dairy ingredients division, delivering high-quality dairy solutions with a focus on sustainability and innovation. From partnering with local family farms to producing world‑class dairy products, we ensure every step of our value chain reflects our commitment to excellence.

With over 50 years’ experience in milk processing, dairy and nutritional technology advancement, and product innovation, we are a key stakeholder in the global food industry and creators of a strong portfolio of market‑leading dairy brands including Cheestrings, Charleville and Coleraine Cheese, Dairygold, Golden Cow and our new SMUG range. Our food, for food culture and deep‑rooted connection to our 2,800 milk suppliers differentiates our business and offers captivating opportunities for our customers and consumers.

Our dairy comes from some of the world’s richest grazing land and is produced by a network of Irish family farms that have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the…