Operations - Front Line Manager

Overview

Location: Nicholas and Harris Ltd, Salisbury

Shift: Day Shift - 6am until 6pm, 4 on 4 off

Salary: Competitive with opportunity of growth

We have an exciting opportunity to join our operations team at Nicholas & Harris as Front Line Manager. This is a fast-paced FMCG manufacturing environment where no two days are the same.

Nicholas & Harris is part of the Finsbury Food Group and has over 180 years of heritage in craft baking. We’re a leading speciality bakery manufacturer supplying high-quality products across the food service sector. As part of Finsbury, we are committed to raising standards, investing in our people, and driving a culture of continuous improvement across all areas of the site.

Finsbury Food Group is a leading speciality bakery manufacturer. We constantly raise quality and efficiency standards and build long-term relationships within the food service channel. Finsbury offer a wide range of bakery products and are a leading frozen supplier into the Food service sector.

As a Front-Line Manager, reporting to the Manufacturing Shift Lead, you will provide visible, hands-on leadership to operational teams, ensuring the delivery of hourly and shift-based KPIs across safety, quality, service, cost and people performance. You will have full ownership of your designated production line or area, taking accountability for operational standards, output, and team effectiveness.

This is a highly operational, shop-floor-based role, where leading from the front is essential. You will be present throughout your shifts, responding quickly to issues, maintaining process discipline in a fast-paced environment, and setting clear expectations through consistent leadership and communication.

You will lead, motivate and develop large, diverse operator teams, creating an inclusive and high-performing culture while managing attendance, capability, conduct and engagement in line with company policies. This includes coaching individuals, addressing performance and behavioural issues, maintaining skills and training matrices, and identifying and developing future talent within your team.

Operationally, you will ensure conformance to production plans, deliver schedules to budgeted output rates, and control costs through effective management of labour, waste, yield and productivity. You will use Short Interval Control (SIC) and real-time data to identify variances, drive corrective actions, and support continuous improvement and OEE performance.

You will play a key role in maintaining excellent health & safety, food safety and quality standards, ensuring compliance with SOPs, HACCP, GMP, PPE and process controls, while actively participating in investigations, risk assessments and deviation management. Clear escalation of risk and close collaboration with Engineering, Technical, Planning and other support functions will be critical to success.

This role offers a strong entry point into leadership within food manufacturing, providing exposure to operational delivery, people management and continuous improvement, with clear progression opportunities into more senior leadership roles.

• Lead and manage direct operator teams to deliver hourly and shift KPIs, including safety, quality, output, waste, labour, and attendance
• Take full area ownership, ensuring conformance to daily and weekly production plans
• Put safety first, maintaining excellent housekeeping, SOP compliance, accident and near-miss investigation, and risk assessment involvement
• Ensure food safety and quality compliance, including HACCP, GMP, PPE, process controls, and deviation management with QA support
• Deliver production schedules by running to budgeted output rates and changeover times
• Control costs through effective management of labour, waste, yield, giveaway, and productivity
• Use Short Interval Control (SIC) to identify and address variances in real time
• Ensure accurate and timely shift reporting and operational administration
• Communicate proactively through team briefs, huddles, notices, and MARA meetings
• Escalate operational, safety, or quality risks to the Production Manager within agreed parameters
• Work closely with Engineering, Technical, Planning, and other support functions to drive performance
• Contribute to continuous improvement and OEE effectiveness

Essential:

• Proven experience managing and leading teams in a manufacturing environment
• FMCG experience with a solid understanding of manufacturing processes
• Strong people leadership, communication, and decision-making skills
• Numeracy skills to understand costs and performance improvement
• Clear written communication and reporting skills
• Strong problem-solving and analytical capability
• Confident using basic PC systems for reporting and communication

Desirable:

• Experience in food manufacturing
• Familiarity with automation and plant/process engineering
• Experience using ERP systems such as M3 or SAP
• Leadership or management qualifications (e.g. ILM Level 2 or equivalent)
• Continuous Improvement…