Maintenance Manager

As the Maintenance Manager for our Kirkham bakery, you will be responsible for leading and developing the Maintenance Engineering team. Your primary focus will be to drive high equipment availability and reliability through the implementation of engineering best practices and a culture of continuous improvement. You will ensure that maintenance activities are delivered safely, efficiently, and to the highest standards, while actively supporting the growth and capability of the team.

Key to your success in this role will be your leadership across three core areas:

1. Engineering Maintenance & Breakdowns – Overseeing day‑to‑day maintenance operations, ensuring timely and effective response to equipment issues, and embedding robust preventative maintenance strategies.
2. Training & Coaching – Supporting the professional development of the engineering team through hands‑on coaching, skills development, and performance enhancement.
3. Apprentices – Managing and nurturing apprentices as they progress through their training, creating a strong pipeline of future engineering talent.

• Champion a strong safety culture, ensuring all Engineers work safely and consistently follow site safety processes and standards.
• Lead and empower the shift engineering team to enhance plant reliability through effective preventive and reactive maintenance, while operating within the agreed engineering budget.
• Develop and deliver improvement plans, in collaboration with the Site Engineering Manager, that support the site’s financial objectives and drive performance across key KPIs including waste reduction, TOS, efficiency, and planned tonnage.
• Collaborate closely with key site functions—Operations, CI, and Health & Safety—to ensure alignment and successful delivery of site-wide objectives.
• Implement and embed Engineering Best Practice in line with the Maintenance Excellence Framework, ensuring consistent and sustainable standards.
• Maintain full compliance with all legislative, statutory, and regulatory requirements, ensuring documentation, processes, and audits remain up to date.
• Act as a role model for winning behaviours, contributing positively to the site culture and supporting an engaged, high-performing team environment.
• Drive team and individual performance to reduce equipment breakdowns and achieve maintenance KPIs such as plant availability, technician productivity, PPM completion, and training compliance.
• Work in partnership with the Electrical and Reliability engineering leads to ensure departmental KPIs are consistently achieved.
• Ensure direct reports actively participate in SIC, taking ownership of actions and delivering prioritised improvements that minimise downtime.
• Ensure Team Leaders attend all required meetings, contributing effectively and supporting cross-functional communication.
• Coach, motivate, and develop the team, recognising strong performance, addressing capability gaps, and supporting robust succession planning.
• Manage up to four apprentices, ensuring their development journey is supported through close collaboration with local colleges, effective mentoring, and strong pastoral care.
• Ensure the engineering plan is fully executed, maintaining focus, accountability, and continuous improvement across the team.

Essential

• HNC/HND or Degree in an Electrical or Mechanical Engineering discipline or equivalent, relevant experience.
• Strong understanding of Condition‑Based Maintenance (CBM) and reliability engineering principles.
• Proven background in Continuous Improvement methodologies.
• IOSH or NEBOSH qualification, trained to at least Managing Safely level.

Desirable

• Food Safety or Hygiene certification.

Experience

• Demonstrated experience leading and developing a large engineering team within a fast-paced environment.
• Hands-on technical expertise and a willingness to be visible and proactive on the shop floor.
• Experience in an FMCG manufacturing environment (preferred).
• Strong understanding of equipment reliability and asset performance.
• Practical knowledge of Continuous Improvement tools and techniques.
• Experience operating within a unionised environment.
• Proven ability to deliver against weekly and monthly KPIs with clarity and accountability.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to influence site performance and contribute to a positive, high-performing culture.