Production Line Leader
As a Production Line Leader, you will play a key role in driving a fast-paced production value stream, leading teams to deliver production plans safely, on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards. This role provides hands-on, day-to-day leadership on the shop floor, ensuring teams follow standard processes and meet all health, safety, environmental, quality, and defence industry requirements. With a strong focus on operational control, people leadership, and performance delivery, the Production Line Leader keeps production running smoothly and efficiently.
Key duties:
- Supervise and support production team members to ensure work is completed to customer specification, schedule, and budget, while complying with all health, safety, environmental, and security requirements
- Plan, prioritise, and allocate work to meet daily production targets, adjusting priorities as required to maintain flow and on-time delivery
- Ensure tools, equipment, and resources are available, capable, and maintained to support production requirements
- Lead and support daily tier meetings, ensuring tier boards, KPIs, and visual management systems are maintained and accurately reflect current performance
- Monitor performance against plan, identifying variances to standard times, quality, or output, and escalate issues where required
- Support structured problem-solving activities (e.g. 5 Why, 8D) for non-conformances and performance issues, ensuring actions are implemented and sustained
- Ensure production activities are carried out in accordance with defined standard work, takt time and flow requirements
- Maintain 5S standards and visual management systems in line with company requirements
- Manage day-to-day people matters including attendance, timekeeping, discipline, engagement, and employee relations, escalating issues where appropriate
- Support delivery of training plans and ensure team members are competent and authorised to perform assigned tasks
- Promote effective communication, teamwork, and a positive working environment
- Ensure Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) activities are completed and recorded in line with schedule
- Liaise with internal functions such as Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality Assurance, and Planning to ensure production is completed to plan and to specification
- Ensure all activities are conducted in accordance with company policies, defence manufacturing regulations, quality standards, and security requirements
Skills/Qualifications:
- Experience in a flow-line or high-volume manufacturing environment
- Minimum of 1 years’ experience leading or supervising production teams
- Working knowledge of Lean Manufacturing principles and standard work application
- Experience with visual management and performance tracking
- Experience using ERP/MRP systems and production planning tools
- Competent user of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
Additional Information
SECURITY – All candidates must be in a position to obtain UK security clearance to SC level. Additional restrictions may apply on certain defence programmes.
UKSV National Security Vetting Solution: guidance for applicants – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)