Manufacturing Manager

Our Carlisle site holds a special place in biscuit-making history, proudly recognised as the oldest biscuit factory in the world, dating back to 1831. Today, it’s powered by a dedicated team of over 980 colleagues, each playing a vital role in shaping our heritage and driving our production capabilities forward. Home to beloved brands like Carr’s and Jacobs, the site operates 9 ovens and 19 packing lines, processing an incredible 42,000 tonnes of flour every year. You’ll have overall responsibility for ensuring the manufacturing area operates safely, efficiently, and with a strong focus on quality, meeting pladis standards and customer expectations. You’ll play a key role in shaping the site’s continuous improvement strategy, supporting teams, and delivering medium- to long-term goals to keep Carlisle fit for the future.

As part of the Site Leadership Team, you will collaborate on strategic decisions, lead transformation projects, and foster a culture of operational excellence and innovation.


Quality Excellence: Deliver quality improvement plans, maintain audit compliance, and champion a mindset of “Right First Time”.
Inspire, mentor, coach, and support performance to build a culture of growth, inclusion, and engagement.
Performance & Cost: Work with teams to improve operating performance and deliver year-on-year cost efficiencies through continuous improvement initiatives.
Manage manufacturing budgets and optimise plant utilisation for maximum efficiency.
Partner with Marketing, NPD, Engineering, and HR teams to deliver successful new product launches and strategic projects.
Champion Lean manufacturing techniques and Carlisle Excellence programmes to embed problem-solving and root cause analysis.
Actively contribute to site leadership and strategic planning, influencing long-term operational goals.


Proven manufacturing experience with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Experience in change management and continuous improvement tools.
FMCG experience.
Project management and budget management expertise.
Engineering understanding in FMCG.
Initial Telephone call with Talent Acquisition
~Online Leadership Assessment
~Annual Car allowance, paid monthly, with optional Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme (
~ Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) – this is the business’s annual bonus scheme.
~ Private medical Insurance
~ Enhanced parental leave and a supportive phased return-to-work program to help colleagues balance family and career.
~ Stakeholder Pension Scheme
~ Life Assurance Cover ~ upon enrolment to Stakeholder Pension Scheme
~25 days + bank holidays
~ Holiday Enhancement Scheme
~Cycle to work scheme
~ Discounted gym membership – Carlisle and Chiswick only
~ Discount and Cashback Scheme – make your everyday spending work hard for you on major high street brands, supermarkets and services
~ Access to Employee Assistance Programme
~ Financial Wellbeing Support
~ Access to great training and development opportunities


Agile – We’re ever evolving, we never stand still, always improving for our customers and our consumers.
A happy and inclusive place to work that’s as diverse as our consumers and the communities we support, live and work in, all around the world. Where fresh perspectives and new ideas help us grow and thrive.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform key job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.