This Dairy Senior Production Manager job description sets out the main duties, qualifications, skills and measures of success for the role, which is also known as Factory Manager, Plant Manager, Head of Production or Production Manager. Download it free as a Word or PDF template and adapt it for your own vacancy.
| Job title | Dairy Senior Production Manager |
| Also known as | Factory Manager, Plant Manager, Head of Production, Production Manager |
| Department | Dairy processing |
| Reports to | Site Director |
| Direct reports | Production, packing and shift managers |
What does a Dairy Senior Production Manager do?
Leads all production and packing at a large, highly automated dairy plant running around the clock. Manages a team of production managers and, through them, a large shift-based workforce, setting standards for safety, quality, cost and efficiency and building a lean, continuous improvement culture.
Dairy Senior Production Manager duties and responsibilities
Leadership and culture
- Lead, coach and develop production managers through annual objectives and reviews
- Set a strong safety, quality and food safety culture on the shop floor
- Model and embed lean ways of working, including 5S and daily performance meetings
- Take the lead on employee relations and work constructively with trade unions
- Build succession plans and develop future leaders
Production performance
- Turn site goals into production targets, standards and action plans
- Monitor safety, sustainability, quality, cost, delivery and morale measures and act on gaps
- Use OEE and loss data to drive decisions and target improvement
- Keep labour standards and line capacities up to date for all products
- Organise people and resources to deliver the production plan on a 24/7 basis
Continuous improvement
- Lead productivity and loss reduction projects using lean, TPM and Six Sigma tools
- Challenge current methods and set improvement priorities with the team
- Support scale-up and launch of new products with the development team
- Share good practice with other sites and functions
Food safety and compliance
- Make sure production complies with HACCP, company standards and the law
- Champion food safety and quality training in all production areas
- Ensure health and safety procedures are followed and incidents are investigated
- Prepare areas for audits and close resulting actions on time
Budget and stakeholders
- Help build the annual production budget and KPI targets
- Own and control the production budget once approved
- Work closely with maintenance, quality, planning, product development, supply chain and finance
- Report results and corrective actions to the site leadership team
Dairy Senior Production Manager qualifications and experience
Essential
- Degree in dairy technology, food science, production engineering, engineering or operations management, or equivalent experience
- Significant management experience in food production, typically 7 years or more
- Proven record of leading large teams in a 24/7 manufacturing operation
- Working knowledge of HACCP
- Experience of lean manufacturing and continuous improvement
- Experience managing a production budget
Desirable
- Dairy manufacturing experience, especially cheese
- TPM or Lean Six Sigma qualification
- Experience of working with trade unions
- Experience in a multi-site or international business
Skills and attributes
- Inspiring leadership and change management
- Coaching and developing people
- Data-driven decision making
- Technical problem solving
- Financial awareness
- Building teams and holding people to account
- Stakeholder management
How success is measured
- Safety incidents and near-miss reporting
- OEE and line efficiency
- Production cost per tonne against budget
- Right-first-time quality and customer complaints
- Delivery against the production plan
- Employee engagement and absence
Working conditions and safety
Site-based role in a continuous 24/7 operation, with PPE and hygiene rules in production areas. Some out-of-hours and on-call cover is expected.
- Follow health and safety rules and safe systems of work, and wear the correct PPE
- Follow food safety, hygiene, HACCP and quality procedures at all times
- Report hazards, accidents, near misses and concerns promptly
Dairy Senior Production Manager interview questions
Use these questions to assess candidates for a Dairy Senior Production Manager role. Each one includes what a good answer shows.
- How do you use OEE and loss data to choose improvement priorities?
What a good answer shows: Breaks down availability, performance and quality losses, targets the biggest gaps and tracks results over time. - How would you introduce daily performance meetings that actually change results?
What a good answer shows: Uses short, visual, data-led meetings with clear actions, owners and follow-up, not reporting for its own sake. - How would you use lean and TPM tools to reduce losses on the shop floor?
What a good answer shows: Applies 5S, operator care and root cause tools to the biggest losses, with operators fully involved. - How do you keep labour standards and line capacities up to date?
What a good answer shows: Reviews them against actual performance and product changes, and uses them for planning and costing. - The trade union opposes a proposed shift pattern change. How would you approach it?
What a good answer shows: Engages early and openly, explains the business case, listens to concerns and works towards an agreed solution. - A new product launch is struggling to reach target line speed. What do you do?
What a good answer shows: Works with development and engineering on causes, sets interim targets and supports the team through the ramp-up. - How do you build a safety culture across a large workforce working around the clock?
What a good answer shows: Leads visibly on all shifts, involves operators, acts on near misses and holds managers consistently accountable. - How do you keep production areas ready for customer and regulatory audits at all times?
What a good answer shows: Builds audit standards into daily routines, checks areas regularly and closes actions on time. - How do you develop production managers into future senior leaders?
What a good answer shows: Sets stretching objectives, coaches regularly, gives real responsibility and plans succession deliberately. - How do you work with maintenance, quality and planning to deliver the production plan?
What a good answer shows: Builds good relationships, shares priorities early and resolves conflicts constructively.
Hiring a Dairy Senior Production Manager? Advertise your vacancy on Dairy Jobs and reach a combined network of over 250,000 dairy professionals worldwide, or ask our team about recruitment support. Looking for a Dairy Senior Production Manager job? Browse live dairy jobs or create a free job alert.
Related dairy job descriptions
- Dairy Operations Director
- Dairy Factory Manager
- Milk Powder Process Manager
- Milk Powder Shift Supervisor
- Dairy Production Team Leader
- All dairy job descriptions
Frequently asked questions
Leads all production and packing at a large, highly automated dairy plant running around the clock. Manages a team of production managers and, through them, a large shift-based workforce, setting standards for safety, quality, cost and efficiency and building a lean, continuous improvement culture.
Employers usually look for: degree in dairy technology, food science, production engineering, engineering or operations management, or equivalent experience; significant management experience in food production, typically 7 years or more; proven record of leading large teams in a 24/7 manufacturing operation.
A Dairy Senior Production Manager usually reports to the Site Director. Direct reports typically include production, packing and shift managers.
Yes. Download the free Word template, add your location, contract and salary details, and adapt the duties to your site. You can then advertise the role on Dairy Jobs.
© 2026 Dairy Jobs (Specialist Recruiters Ltd). You may adapt this job description for your own vacancies. Please do not republish it.