Area Lead

Location:  Eastwood
Function:  Manufacturing
Job Reference:  7988
Employment Type:  Permanent / Full Time
Closing Date:  02/05/2026
Date:  30 Apr 2026

 

Job Title: Area Lead

Function: Food Manufacturing

Location: Eastwood NG16 3SA

Contract: Full Time, Permanent 

Shift Pattern: 12-hour Days & Nights, rotating over 3 weeks.

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Week 1

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Week 2

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Week 3

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About the Area Lead Role

Are you an experienced people manager from a fast-paced manufacturing environment, ready to take the next step in your leadership career?

We’re looking for a proactive Area Lead to join our Eastwood Bakery, where you’ll lead your team, equipment and processes to deliver safe, high-quality performance on shift.

At Warburtons, we’re looking for Line Managers who inspire their teams, develop capability, and continuously improve the way we work.

 

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead and develop your team to deliver against safety, quality, plant, and service target
  • Drive a high-performance culture, ensuring accountability and ownership across your area
  • Champion continuous improvement, using Lean and CI methodologies
  • Deliver operational excellence, consistently achieving or exceeding KPIs
  • Ensure compliance with all safety, food safety, and equipment standards
  • Identify and resolve issues quickly, minimising downtime and loss

What We're Looking For

  • Experience in a manufacturing or production environment
  • Strong people leadership and coaching skills
  • Knowledge of Lean Principles and Continuous Improvement
  • Experience in monitoring equipment performance and driving quick resolution
  • Understanding of production planning and site operations
  • SAP knowledge (desirable)

About Eastwood Bakery

Our Eastwood site operates 24/7, 363 days a year, producing fresh bakery products for customers across the Country.

  • Over 300 colleagues on site
  • Producing ~30,000 rolls and 24,000 crumpets per hour
  • A fast-paced, highly automated manufacturing environment

Why Join Warburtons?

  • Profit share bonus
  • Option to buy additional annual leave
  • 7% pension contribution
  • Life assurance
  • Discounts via “Extra Dough” platform
  • Ongoing personal development
  • Free products on site (daily essentials covered!)
  • Health & wellbeing support, including physio and 24/7 helpline

We respect and value difference. We look to create an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Companies that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, or any other aspect which makes them unique, are proven to be better companies. More importantly, creating an environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best work, is the right thing to do.