Production Manager

Location: Banbury (On-site, 5 days per week)

Hours: Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm

Reports to: Managing / Operations Director

Ace Grading is a fast-growing specialist business operating at the intersection of collectibles, technology and precision manufacturing. We provide authentication, grading and encapsulation services for trading cards, combining forensic-grade processes, custom tooling and secure design to protect and elevate collectibles for customers worldwide.

What started as a founder-led operation has rapidly scaled into a high-performance production environment. As demand continues to grow, we are investing in stronger operational structure, leadership capability and scalable processes to support the next phase of expansion.

We are now looking for a hands‑on Production Manager to play a key role in stabilising and scaling daily operations.

This is not a traditional corporate production role. You will be working in a fast-moving environment where output, quality and teamwork are critical. The focus will be on strengthening leadership layers, improving workflow structure, driving performance consistency, and building scalable operational foundations as the business continues to grow.

The Production Manager will lead multiple operational functions and sit at the centre of our production ecosystem, balancing people leadership, operational execution and continuous improvement. This is a pivotal moment for the business, and the Production Manager will sit at the heart of that journey.

• Day‑to‑day leadership responsibility for functional leads, and supporting operational areas. The indirect team size is approximately 40–45 employees within fast-moving production functions.
• Directly manage and develop functional leads, building accountability and ownership
• Create structure, clarity, and consistency in team operations
• Oversee workflow management, production planning, and operational coordination
• Ensure delivery against quality, productivity, and turnaround targets
• Partner with the Managing/Operations Director to introduce scalable operational processes
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency and quality
• Maintain strong alignment, stable and predictable production output and quality standards.
• Improve visibility and tracking of performance metrics
• Strong, visible leadership presence on the production floor

• Production or operations leadership experience in fast-paced, high-volume environments
• Background in manufacturing, logistics, or similar operational settings highly desirable
• Experience with in scaling or growing businesses
• Proven track record of managing teams and improving performance
• Comfortable in hands‑on, non-corporate environments

• Visible, people-focused leader who leads from the front
• Direct communicator who builds trust and accountability
• Confident real-time decision-maker
• Resilient, pragmatic, and solutions-driven
• High ownership mindset with strong emotional intelligence

• Experience in KPI-driven environments
• Strong workflow and productivity management
• Familiar with performance tracking and reporting
• Process improvement mindset (Lean desirable)
• Exposure to quality or compliance-focused environments beneficial

If this sounds like the right opportunity for you, please apply via Linked In with your CV.

We review applications on a rolling basis and encourage early applications.

We are building something ambitious and fast-moving and this role is central to that journey.

If you are a hands‑on production leader who enjoys bringing structure to growing environments, developing teams, and delivering real operational impact, we would love to hear from you.

This is an opportunity to shape how production operates, influence leadership decisions, and grow alongside a business entering its next stage of scale.