Location: Thetford
Salary: £45,000 plus bonus
Hours: Monday–Friday, 40 hours per week (flexibility required)
We are recruiting on behalf of a well-established manufacturing business on the outskirts of Thetford for an experienced and hands-on Production Manager. This role plays a key part in leading high-volume technical assembly operations — ensuring output, safety, and quality standards are consistently achieved while driving continuous improvement across the site.
You'll oversee daily production planning, resource allocation, workforce development, material flow, and performance leadership. A strong knowledge of MRP systems, production planning and Excel is essential.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee daily production operations across multiple technical assembly lines
- Develop and deliver weekly and daily production plans using MRP system
- Maintain stock accuracy and ensure smooth material flow to production
- Lead, mentor and support production supervisors and team leaders
- Manage temporary staffing requirements and agency relationships
- Deliver workforce planning, shift cover and labour allocation strategies
- Conduct daily briefings, manage team performance and deliver appraisals
- Coordinate with maintenance to minimise downtime and disruption
- Track and report on KPIs including output, scrap, downtime and efficiency
- Conduct root-cause investigations and implement corrective actions
- Ensure high standards of H&S, quality and compliance are always maintained
- Champion lean manufacturing, 5S and continuous improvement initiatives
- Support cost control, labour planning and budget adherence
- Oversee creation, review and accuracy of SOPs and work instructions
- Work closely with supply chain, sales, quality and senior leadership
- Experience in production or operations management within manufacturing
- Background in high-volume assembly or technical production environments
- Strong MRP knowledge and confident using Excel for data and reporting
- Proven ability to lead, inspire and develop production teams
- Skilled in planning labour, managing temporary workers and building capability
- Process-driven, quality-focused and improvement-minded
- Calm under pressure, proactive problem-solver, organised and hands-on