Production Manager – Food Manufacturing

Location Cavan

Role Purpose:

Lead and manage day-to-day production operations in a regulated food manufacturing environment, ensuring safety, quality, efficiency, and compliance. Oversee key processes including spray drying, evaporation, and automated systems for infant formula production.

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensure compliance with Health & Safety, GMP, and environmental regulations across all production activities.

• Lead and supervise production teams and contractors, promoting high standards of housekeeping, SOP adherence, and operational discipline.

• Collaborate with Operations, Engineering, EHS, and Quality to set departmental goals and deliver production plans.

• Plan and schedule operations in line with plant demand and resource availability.

• Drive a culture of Continuous Improvement through structured problem-solving (e.g., RCA, 5 Whys) to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

• Deputise for the Operations Manager as required.

• Support technical capability development of production staff and ensure validation of new equipment and processes.

• Monitor critical process parameters (e.g., temperature, pressure, viscosity) and troubleshoot process or equipment issues.

• Manage CAPAs, quality investigations, and ensure audit readiness.

• Support the integration and oversight of contractors on relevant production projects.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in food Process Engineering or related field.

• 10+ years’ experience in food or dairy manufacturing; experience with spray drying, evaporation, or thermal processing highly desirable.

• Strong knowledge of automated systems, ATEX-rated environments, and powder handling.

• Proven leadership, team management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

• Hands-on experience in regulated, high-volume production environments.

• Excellent problem-solving, planning, and communication skills.

For further information on this Production Manager role in Cavan please contact Caroline Kingston on +353 868395531 or email caroline@hero.ie Check out all our open jobs on our HERO Recruitment website – https://www.hero.ie/.

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