Production Manager in Rownhams, Hampshire

Interim Production Manager – Engineering Manufacturing

Immediate Start

Southampton | Competitive Day Rate | Immediate Opportunity

Experienced. Hands-on. Organised. Dependable.

We're looking for an experienced Interim Production Manager who can step into an established engineering operation, take ownership and keep everything running smoothly while we recruit a permanent appointment.

This is an opportunity for a capable, pragmatic professional who knows how to quickly get to grips with a business, establish priorities, support the team and maintain operational performance.

No grand transformation programme required. We need someone who can bring structure, consistency and sound judgement to a busy production environment.

The Company

Our client is a highly regarded British engineering business designing and manufacturing specialist load monitoring and subsea systems used around the world.

Their products operate in demanding environments where precision, reliability and quality are critical.

With a turnover approaching £5 million, the business has an established production team and a strong reputation for technical excellence.

The Assignment

Your priority will be to provide steady, effective leadership of the production function, ensuring customer commitments are met, quality standards maintained and the team has the direction and support needed to perform.

You'll quickly familiarise yourself with existing processes, understand the immediate priorities and take responsibility for the smooth day-to-day running of production.

We're looking for someone who is comfortable rolling up their sleeves, making sensible decisions and resolving issues before they become problems.

What You'll Be Responsible For

• Production delivery: Manage daily production activities, schedules and resources to ensure customer orders are completed on time and to specification.
• Team leadership: Provide clear direction, support and accountability to the production team, maintaining morale, productivity and effective communication.
• Planning and priorities: Keep production schedules realistic and achievable, balancing workloads, capacity and changing customer requirements.
• Stock and materials: Maintain effective oversight of stock availability, production kitting and material requirements to avoid unnecessary delays.
• Quality and standards: Ensure established quality procedures are followed, addressing non-conformances and maintaining high standards of workmanship.
• Operational problem-solving: Deal promptly and practically with day-to-day issues, removing obstacles and keeping production moving.
• Performance management: Monitor key production KPIs, identify emerging concerns and maintain clear communication with senior management.
• Continuous improvement: Make sensible, practical improvements where appropriate, without creating unnecessary disruption to the operation.
• Handover: Maintain clear records and provide a structured handover to the incoming permanent Production Manager.

Who We're Looking For

You'll be an established Production Manager, ideally with previous interim experience, who is confident stepping into an unfamiliar environment and becoming effective quickly.

You'll bring:

• A strong background in engineering or technical manufacturing, ideally within an SME.
• Proven experience managing production teams of 10+ people.
• Excellent production planning, scheduling and resource management skills.
• Sound knowledge of stock control, quality management and manufacturing processes.
• A practical understanding of ERP systems and production reporting.
• The confidence to make decisions, prioritise effectively and manage competing demands.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to quickly establish credibility with an existing team.

The Right Approach Matters

We're particularly interested in someone who is:

• Calm and assured: Brings stability, sound judgement and a measured approach to operational challenges.
• Hands-on and practical: Happy to be visible on the shop floor and involved in the detail.
• Well organised: Creates clarity around priorities, responsibilities and deadlines.
• People focused: Builds trust quickly, listens to the team and provides supportive, consistent leadership.
• Solutions oriented: Focuses on what needs to happen rather than overcomplicating matters.
• Adaptable: Understands the nature of interim assignments and can work effectively within existing structures.

You'll know when to take action, when to involve others and when to leave well-established processes alone.

Why This Assignment?

This is a clearly defined interim opportunity with a straightforward objective: maintain a well-run, productive operation and provide dependable leadership during a recruitment transition.

You'll be trusted to take ownership of the day-to-day production function, work closely with the existing team and ensure the business continues to deliver for its customers.

Interested?

If you're an experienced Production Manager with the availability, confidence and practical approach to make an immediate contribution, we'd like to hear from you.