Production Manager; CNC & Assembly

DK Recruitment are looking for an experienced CNC and Assembly Production Manager who is experienced at full operational responsibility from performance, Quality, improvement, CI and Capability.

As leader and key member of the senior leadership team, the production manager will need to translate business strategy into operational execution, delivering measurable improvements in productivity, quality, cost performance, delivery reliability and employee engagement, while building long-term organisational capability.

The role requires visible leadership presence, sound operational judgement, and the ability to balance short-term delivery performance with medium- and long-term operational transformation.

The role of Production manager will include, the end-to-end operational performance of the manufacturing value stream, alongside the Production execution and production planning performance.

Leadership and development of Production Team Leaders and Production Planners and delivery of departmental contribution to business financial and operational objectives.

Being accountable for departmental financial performance, including cost control, budget adherence and contribution to profitable manufacture.

Deploy the operational strategy aligned to company priorities

Continuous improvement and operational maturity of manufacturing processes, including Safe, compliant and efficient execution of manufacturing activities

The role exercises significant autonomy in operational decision-making, capacity planning and resource deployment to achieve agreed business outcomes.

• Translate organisational strategy into operational plans, capacity requirements and measurable departmental objectives.
• Lead execution of manufacturing strategy in the manufacturing value stream.
• Align production planning, scheduling and shop-floor execution to achieve stable and predictable operational performance.
• Provide leadership input to business planning, demand forecasting and operational strategy deployment.

• Accountable for department performance against KPIs including productivity, delivery adherence, cost efficiency, quality performance and employee engagement.
• Ensure production plans are achievable, resource-balanced and effectively executed.
• Anticipate operational constraints and implement proactive mitigation strategies.
• Drive performance transparency through structured performance management and visual management systems.
• Ensure consistent execution of production schedules across all shifts.

• Manage the Production Planners, ensuring effective production scheduling aligned to customer demand, capacity and material availability.
• Establish robust planning processes that support delivery performance, inventory optimisation and operational stability.
• Ensure alignment between Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), capacity planning and shop-floor execution.
• Balance demand, workforce capability, machine capacity and material flow to optimise throughput and minimise disruption.
• Drive continuous improvement in planning accuracy, schedule adherence and production flow.
• Collaborate closely with Supply Chain and Planning functions to ensure material readiness and efficient workflow across the value stream.

• Lead deployment and sustainability of Lean Manufacturing principles as the operating framework for the department.
• Improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) through systematic elimination of losses.
• Champion improvement activities including:
• SMED and flow optimisation
• Standard work and operational discipline
• Waste reduction and process stability
• Data-led performance improvement

• Maintain strong commercial awareness of product manufacture, ensure parts are produced efficiently and profitably in line with business expectations.
• Accountable for departmental cost performance, support achievement of operational budgets and financial targets.
• Monitor and control manufacturing costs including labour efficiency, material utilisation, overtime, scrap, rework and overhead absorption.
• Work collaboratively with Finance, Engineering and Commercial teams to understand product cost drivers and support cost reduction activity.
• Ensure production decisions consider commercial impact, balance delivery performance with cost effectiveness and long-term business sustainability.
• Identify opportunities to…