Company Description
At Valeo Foods UK, we're the creative force behind an array of beloved brands spanning indulgence, innovation, and tradition. From the iconic crunch of Kettle Crisps to the pure sweetness of Rowse Honey, and the rich heritage of Matthew Walker puddings, our portfolio reflects our commitment to quality and diversity.
But that's not all – our family of brands extends further, encompassing an exciting array of products and experiences. Whether it's the Wild West flavours of New World Foods, the nostalgic joy of Barratt sweets, or the timeless appeal of Metcalfe Popcorn, each brand carries its own unique story, flavour, and charm. Join us on a journey where passion meets flavour, crafting experiences that bring people together and delight taste buds.
Job Description
As Engineering Manager, you will lead the site’s 32 strong engineering team, driving operational excellence, safety, and compliance. You will be responsible for developing and implementing a robust maintenance strategy, ensuring maximum efficiency and reliability of the site’s equipment and infrastructure. You will also play a key role in continuous improvement, cost control, and strategic planning.
You will oversee all engineering activities, ensuring they align with both internal and external compliance requirements. This includes conducting risk assessments, managing contractor safety, and maintaining a safe working environment. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure that all maintenance and engineering projects meet food safety and quality standards, investigating and resolving any equipment-related product quality issues as they arise.
A key aspect of the role will be the development and execution of a preventative maintenance program, ensuring a stable and reliably functioning site. When unexpected issues arise, you will be responsible for ensuring the team responds efficiently, minimising downtime while prioritising customer needs. Alongside this, you will review asset management plans and align maintenance strategies with the overall business objectives. Managing the engineering budget will also be an important focus, ensuring cost-effective procurement of spare parts, labour, and equipment while delivering long-term value to the business.
Beyond day-to-day operations, you will oversee and drive engineering projects, managing capital expenditure (CapEx) and operational expenditure (OpEx) to ensure successful delivery. Your leadership will be instrumental in guiding the team through these projects, balancing operational requirements with business goals.
People leadership is at the heart of this role. You will be responsible for developing and motivating the engineering team, ensuring they have clear objectives aligned with the wider operational strategy. Through regular one-to-ones, training plans, and structured performance reviews, you will foster a high-performing team, ensuring continuous development and succession planning.
Qualifications
- Proven experience in a senior engineering role, ideally within food manufacturing
- Strong knowledge of electrical and mechanical engineering
- Experience of leading site services (effluent, allergen and hazards)
- Experience managing maintenance strategies and project planning
- A track record of leading teams, driving performance, and managing change
- Experience in a fast-paced, evolving manufacturing environment
- Capital project management experience
- Familiarity with project management software
Additional Information
Join Our Team: If you're ready to challenge the norm, inspire others, and make a real impact, we want to hear from you! Apply now to become part of the Valeo Foods UK family and take your career to the next level.
Top Skills
What We Do
We are a leading producer and innovator of high quality, category-defining branded food products that have a proud history that dates back to 1845.
At Valeo Foods, we are passionate about food and our portfolio of over 20 iconic food brands, which includes Jacobs, Batchelors, Kettle, Rowse Honey, Balconi, Schluckwerder, are tried and trusted by consumers across Ireland, UK and Europe for their quality, wholesomeness, nutrition and fun.
We are a diverse business that combines food production, brand development and innovation, distribution and sales. We are Ireland’s largest ambient food supplier to the grocery trade, a major supplier to the food service market through Valeo Professional, and an increasingly prominent supplier to the UK market and a range of European Markets now.
We are focused on the continued development of our excellent portfolio of category defining food brands as we look to expand our footprint across Ireland, UK, Europe and beyond with our latest acquisition in North America. We are committed to delivering quality food products through continued innovation and excellence in manufacturing. This commitment ensures that our brands retain a market leading position in each of their respective categories.
We continue to recruit people with the best skills and expertise across a range of areas including manufacturing, food science, research and development, nutrition, distribution, sales, operations, marketing, human resources and finance, and aspire to be a best in class employer, focused on developing and empowering our people.
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