Production Manager Job Details

Production Manager

Role Summary

Kilkenny Cheese is a joint venture between Tirlan and Dutch family business Royal A-ware, a 130-year-old company with strong positions in EU and global markets. The facility has started up in 2024 as a greenfield site at Belview, Co Kilkenny.

Rooted in our rich heritage of family farming and embedded in our communities, Tirlan has evolved to bring the passion of our farmers and their high-quality ingredients to the international marketplace. Using modern-day technology and applying the best processes to our milk pool of three billion litres, we now export innovative products and tailored ingredients solutions to be enjoyed in more than 100 countries.

Royal A-ware is a traditional Dutch family business with a passion for food and with a strong entrepreneurial attitude. Demand-led, we offer our clients tailored products and services. In recent years investments have been madein the development and management of own supply chains resulting in independence, efficiency, and flexibility. Weare specialized in producing, ripening, cutting, and packaging cheese, and also produce and package cream and fresh dairy products.

Based in Belview in South Kilkenny the role reports to the Operations Manager ,w e are seeking an ambitious and driven professional to effectively lead within a fast paced and dynamic environment. The successful candidate will be a key member of the Operations team within Kilkenny Cheese Ltd and play a key role in contributing to the success of the business, by providing challenge and support to the team.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the delivery of the milk and manufacturing process plan in line with business strategy, safety and quality.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership role in the operational management of the Plant, playing a key role in the delivery of the core Plant KPIs.
• Leadership role in embedding the cultural values and behaviours of Kilkenny Cheese within the operations team.
• Actively lead and promote a culture of Safety, Compliance & Operational Excellence within the Operations team.
• Responsible for the execution of the cheese production plan and ensuring demands of planning and customers are met.
• Responsible for the day to day operational planning & execution to deliver on customer & plant requirements.
• Will be the owner for the operational capacity model, headcount planning and overall training plan for the operations function.
• Responsible for managing labour efficiency, material efficiency and operational efficiency to predetermined financial targets.
• Responsibility for product delivery, product quality and product yields on a day to day basis.
• Ensure compliance of the operations team to plant hygiene standards and responsibility to ensure the production areas remain in a constant state of audit readiness.
• Responsible for management of shift based team leads driving accountability of in-shift performance of core KPI's.
• Responsible for delivery of daily T3 production meeting
• Responsible to own & drive corrective and preventative actions to address production deviations and failures within the plant.
• Collaborate with site functions H&S, Environmental, QA, Process Technology, and Maintenance to drive consistent performance and operational improvement.
• Work with the HR Business Partner to recruit, manage and develop plant staff through training programmes and communication methods
• Operational Input to Change Control management system in line with the requirements of the production and quality environment

Key Requirements:

• A third level qualification in Food Science, Microbiology ,Engineering or equivalent required.
• Knowledge of Cheesemaking is desirable
• 3 - 5 years' management experience in a food, manufacturing or pharmaceutical environment
• Strong organisation and planning skills
• Demonstrated ability to use DMAIC methodology to root cause and address issues
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience on implementation of operational excellence including standard work, tiered meetings and continuous improvement
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to liaise effectively with internal and external stakeholders
• Results driven, customer focused with high performance capability in a fast moving challenging business environment
• Strong technical ability and attention to detail
• Proven Leadership skills with excellent communication, motivational skills with the ability to motivate and engage the team
• Strong analytical ability to analyze data, recognize trends and recommend/implement actions to drive continuous improvement

Competencies:

• Attention to Detail – you are accurate and precise in your work and can notice errors easily.
• Teamwork – you are a strong team player; proactive and can work on own initiative
• Planning and prioritising – you spend your time and the time of others on what's important. You can anticipate problems and put alternative strategies in place to resolve.
• Business acumen - you are knowledgeable in current and possible future policies, practices, trends, technology, and information affecting HR and the business.
• Customer Focus – you are dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; you are skilled at provide the right level on information based on the customer you are supporting

If you are interested in this position, please apply with an up-to-date resume.

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