Head of Operations (Food Production)

Head of Operations / (Site Production Manager)

Location: Milton Keynes
Salary: c£70-75k+  plus Car Allowance + Bonus
Reporting to: Site Director

Lead. Innovate. Deliver.

Are you an experienced Factory Operations Leader with a passion for driving efficiency, quality, and performance in food manufacturing? Do you thrive in a fast-paced, high-volume environment where you can make a real impact? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you!

At Compleat Food Group, we’re on a mission to create exceptional food experiences while continuously improving our operations. As Head of Operations, you will take full ownership of manufacturing, materials control, and continuous improvement, ensuring that our site delivers best-in-class results.

What You’ll Be Doing:

✅ Leadership & Strategy – Inspire, develop, and lead teams to achieve operational excellence.
✅ Factory Performance – Oversee production, planning, and process optimisation to maximise efficiency.
✅ Lean & CI Focus – Drive a culture of Continuous Improvement, using Lean principles to enhance productivity.
✅ Safety & Compliance – Champion health, safety, and food quality standards, ensuring full compliance.
✅ Cost & Budget Management – Deliver operational cost savings while maintaining high performance.
✅ Stakeholder Collaboration – Work closely with supply chain, technical, and commercial teams to align operations with business goals.

What We’re Looking For:

 Minimum 5 years of senior factory management experience in the food manufacturing industry.
Proven track record in high-volume food production, ideally in chilled food.
Strong understanding of Lean Manufacturing, Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement, and KPI management.
Experience managing large teams in a 24/7 fast-moving, progressive production environment.
Ability to drive cost-saving initiatives while ensuring high-quality standards.
A hands-on, people-focused leader who thrives on delivering tangible results.
Experience working within a multi-site chilled food manufacturing business is desirable.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary & benefits package as you would expect from a growing company of our size
• Opportunity to shape processes and operations strategy in a fast-growing chilled food manufacturing business
• Mentorship from industry leading manufacturing experts.
• A high-impact leadership role with significant career progression potential across our fast growing agile group
• A company committed to sustainability, safety excellence, quality and people development
• Opportunity to make a difference within a newly re-purposed site, where you can really make the role your own.

Benefits to Include:

• Car Allowance & Bonus 
• 33 Days annual leave
• 2 Employee Volunteering Days per year
• Online and High-street retailer discount scheme
• Employee well-being and community support groups
• Informal and Formal training opportunities with personalised online LMS platform
• Charity Initiatives and Team events
• 24/7 Access to Grocery Aid (Free Financial, Emotional and Practical Support)
• Physical Wellbeing Benefits – Free on demand exercise hub and various gym discounts.
• Online Wellbeing benefits
• Free Financial wellbeing – mortgage calculators, budget tools, financial aid tools
• Holiday Discounts via Online Retail Discount

Ready to Make an Impact?
This is a fantastic opportunity for a talented Factory Manager/Production Manager looking to take their next step up into Head of Operations  – somebody who is ready to make a real impact within a fast-paced and innovative £1.1bn chilled food company. As part of our team, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the operations strategy, drive positive culture change, and lead exciting new initiatives across our Milton Keynes site. If you have the expertise, leadership, and passion for really driving operational excellence in a new site, we’d love to hear from you! 

The Compleat Food Group fosters an inclusive, respectful culture where everyone feels safe, supported, and valued. We welcome diverse talent, knowing it drives exceptional results and a better workplace. We are committed to Fairness, Equity, Inclusivity, and Respect, we ensure all colleagues can thrive by bringing their whole selves to work. As an equal opportunity’s employer, we provide all the support you need to succeed.

Contact us with any questions about Diversity & Inclusion or accessibility during the application process.

Recruitment Agencies: 

We have a small, active and trusted Preferred Supplier List to assist us if required. We do not acknowledge any speculative CVs or unsolicited candidate introductions. We only accept CV submissions for roles released to you directly by our Talent Acquisition team.

If you would be interested in working with us please send a message to recruitment@compleatfood.com  and should we have any roles we need additional support with we will reach out to you.