Manufacturing Team Leader in Derby, Derbyshire

Manufacturing Team Leader (Day Shift)

Location: Derby

Hours: Permanent, 39 hours per week
Day Shift:

Monday to Thursday: Flexible start between 7:00am and 8:00am, with a flexible finish between 4:00pm and 5:00pm

Friday: Flexible start between 7:00am and 8:00am, finishing at 12:00pm

Salary: Up to £46,000 per annum

We are recruiting for a Manufacturing Team Leader to join a growing manufacturing business in Derby. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced manufacturing professional with strong leadership skills to take responsibility for a manufacturing team, ensuring production, quality, safety and delivery targets are achieved while supporting and developing the team.

Key Responsibilities of a Manufacturing Team Leader:

• Lead and supervise the manufacturing team to achieve production, quality, safety and delivery targets.
• Support the Manufacturing Manager in the day-to-day running of the department.
• Conduct daily shop floor walks, engaging with the team and addressing operational issues promptly.
• Manage departmental scheduling, workload priorities and resource requirements to ensure production targets are achieved.
• Monitor team performance, provide real-time feedback and support the ongoing development and coaching of team members.
• Analyse key performance indicators and present production, quality, EHS and capacity information through SQCDP metrics.
• Promote a strong health and safety culture through hazard spotting, job safety observations and continuous improvement activities.
• Ensure adherence to work instructions, aerospace standards and company procedures, acting as the first point of contact for technical issues.
• Apply structured problem-solving methodologies to identify root causes and improve process capability, quality and operational performance.
• Manage throughput of work in priority order to achieve OTIF targets.
• Generate and review production data to ensure planned times are accurate and team members complete work within allocated timescales.
• Maintain effective systems for the maintenance, storage and replenishment of tooling.
• Allocate work according to production priorities and scheduling requirements.
• Work closely with Manufacturing Engineering and Technical teams to resolve quality issues and implement corrective actions.
• Support the training and development of team members in line with agreed training plans.
• Manage people-related procedures including recruitment, onboarding, absence management and performance management.
• Lead weekly Gemba meetings and support LEAN and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Maintain clear communication and documentation to ensure smooth operational continuity.
• Support internal and external audits by maintaining clean, organised and compliant working environments.

Key Skills of a Manufacturing Team Leader:

• Previous experience working within an aerospace manufacturing environment or to aerospace standards.
• At least three years' experience in a similar supervisory or team leader position.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and shop floor operations.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings.
• Experience of leading teams within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Experience managing production performance, workload and resource requirements.
• Strong organisational, communication and problem-solving skills.
• Good understanding of health and safety within manufacturing.
• Understanding of SQCDP, LEAN and continuous improvement principles.
• A positive leader who demonstrates integrity, respect, safety and excellence.

First Base Employment is acting as a recruitment agency in relation to this vacancy. We pride ourselves on delivering excellent service to both clients and candidates across the Commercial, Industrial and Engineering sectors.