Manufacturing Development Team Leader

A fantastic opportunity for an experienced Manufacturing Development Team Leader to join the technical team of a global packaging / recycling manufacturing business during a major site expansion programme. Permanent position. Monday to Friday. Excellent company benefits.

Reporting to the Manufacturing Development Manager, the Manufacturing Development Team Leader will manage a team of Process Technicians and Process Technologists. The role covers water and effluent treatment, process chemistry, chemical management, product quality, environmental compliance and continuous improvement across a large process manufacturing site.

This is a varied, hands-on leadership position with responsibility for delivering safe, efficient and compliant manufacturing processes.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead, manage and develop the Manufacturing Development team.
• Promote a strong departmental safety culture and drive HSE improvements.
• Monitor and optimise chemical usage, process efficiency and manufacturing costs.
• Oversee fresh-water and effluent treatment processes, including dissolved air flotation and anaerobic and aerobic treatment.
• Maintain environmental permit compliance and coordinate water-reduction and Legionella-control programmes.
• Lead product development, feasibility studies and process improvement projects.
• Use process modelling, quality data and production data to improve performance, material usage and plant reliability.
• Oversee quality standards, testing equipment and customer complaint investigations.
• Support ISO management systems, COSHH, food-contact, hygiene and environmental compliance.
• Lead and support risk assessments and FMEA studies to reduce operational risk and plant downtime.
• Work closely with Operations, Engineering and Projects teams to deliver improvement and capital projects.
• Deputise for the Manufacturing Development Manager when required.
• Participate in the site duty-management and on-call rota.

Manufacturing Development Team Leader requirements:

• Degree or Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering.
• Technical or process experience within manufacturing, chemicals, paper, packaging, water treatment or another process industry.
• Previous people-management or team-leadership experience.
• Practical knowledge of chemicals and COSHH requirements.
• Strong analytical and hands-on problem-solving skills.
• Ability to interpret process, production and quality data.
• Experience of environmental, quality and health and safety compliance within an industrial setting.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with technical, operational and engineering teams.
• Six Sigma Green Belt qualification would be advantageous.
• Paper or packaging manufacturing experience would also be advantageous.

The Package:

• Permanent position
• 40 hours per week
• Monday to Friday, 8:00am–4:30pm
• Daily 30-minute unpaid meal break
• Company pension: 6% employer contribution and minimum 3% employee contribution
• Participation in the on-call rota
• Opportunity to join a leading international manufacturer during a major period of investment and expansion

This is an excellent opportunity to lead a technically important department and make a measurable contribution to the safety, compliance, quality and performance of a major manufacturing operation.

For further information or an informal discussion, please contact Tim Hill at Technical Placements.