Engineering & Maintenance Manager

Kepak is a global food company serving international retailers and food service household names with prime cuts of meat, on-trend food concepts and ready-for-market convenience foods. 

Kepak St. Merryn in Merthyr Tydfil has combined beef and lamb processing and packing facilities. We offer beef and lamb products ranging from retail ready cuts for butchers’ counters to branded packaged meat, all as part of our service; raised on open pastures, sourced from local farmers and hand-selected by our master butchers, we produce beef and lamb products with integrity and unmatched quality assurance.

In a challenging and dynamic environment, our philosophy is always to be ‘more than’. We are more than tradition, more than quality, more than meat and more than a job.

JOB OBJECTIVE

As the Site Engineering & Maintenance Manager, you'll take the helm of all engineering operations, playing a pivotal role in our organization. Senior Leaders will rely on your expertise to ensure the engineering function operates seamlessly, staying on schedule, within budget, and upholding our high-quality standards while fully complying with regulations. You'll be at the forefront of driving safety, quality, delivery, productivity, compliance, and cost enhancements that will truly add value to our site. Mastering effective project management will be a key aspect of your success in this role.

In this role, the business will rely on you to be a trusted, decisive, and high-performing leader who puts customers first, manages quality effectively, remains cost-conscious, and empowers employees. While there will be times when a hands-on approach is necessary, you'll often lead by fostering an environment where your team feels confident to make decisions that align with their roles, skills, experience, and potential, all while maintaining full accountability for your function..

As the Site Engineering & Maintenance Manager, you'll take on the exciting challenge of inspiring your team while effectively executing the strategic decisions and initiatives set forth by senior management, even when they may not be the most popular choices. Your keen eye for innovation will keep you informed about leading-edge technologies and industry best practices.

In this role, you'll also collaborate closely with the Production, Quality, and other essential support functions within the business to ensure that the production aspect of our supply chain is always running at peak efficiency. Additionally, you will take full ownership of all day-to-day and weekly engineering KPIs, targets, and plans, ensuring that everything runs smoothly and effectively.

The core deliverables for this role are:

• Performance - drive lean /Continuous Improvement /Optimisation initiatives - using lean tools including A3 problem solving
• Quality - working alongside the Quality team, jointly lead the delivery of a real GMP culture in production and maintenance
• Costs - handover of all capital investment projects, and delivery of all savings associated with materials, labor, yield and productivity
• Compliance - surpass minimum quality standards and measures to meet plant audits.
• People & Culture - lead and set the standards for your team and support them to achieve their goals and objectives

Requirements

• 6 – 7 years middle to senior level experience of which at least 3 years will have been at senior management level
• 7+ years experience ideally in the Live Food Operations sector
• Proven expertise in managing an engineering function in the size and scale of Kepak
• Effective communication skills together with the ability to influence and negotiate to reach consensus, alignment, and commitment with people

This is very much a hands on role, with the effective management and development of the Engineering & Maintenance team at it's core.

Benefits

What can we offer you?

• On-site canteen
• Company Pension
• Further Education support
• Employee Discount Platform - All Kepak employees are entitled to access to the WrkIt platform, which offers significant discounts and cashback with hundreds of brands.
• Refer a Friend Scheme - Earn a referral bonus up to £500 for successfully referring a friend or family member to Kepak Group.
• Bike to Work Scheme - You can buy a bike and safety equipment through a salary sacrifice scheme which reduces your taxable income – meaning you pay less tax!
• Long Service Awards - We recognise, acknowledge and award the dedication and valuable contribution of long serving employees
• GroceryAid Employee Assistance Program - help with a wide range of topics including mental health and wellbeing support, family and relationship advice, debt management, back to work support, and counselling for all Kepak colleagues and their families.

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