Engineering Shift Lead

Finsbury Food; Manchester; On-site; GBP 40,000 - GBP 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading specialty bakery group in Manchester is seeking an experienced Engineering Shift Lead to oversee the engineering department's operations. The role involves managing engineering schedules, providing technical support to staff, and supervising contractors to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations. The ideal candidate will possess a recognized engineering qualification and have strong people management skills. This position offers enhanced benefits, including a pension scheme and employee assistance programs.

Benefits

Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Leave

Enhanced Pension Scheme

Free Employee Assistance Programme

Retail discounts

Refer a Friend Scheme

Employee Recognition Awards

Extensive Learning & Development opportunities

Qualifications

• Have an engineering qualification.
• Ability to motivate and encourage others.
• Experience using CMMS for PPM and work orders.
• Strong people management skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage engineering work schedules and plant efficiency.
• Provide technical support to Multi-Skilled Engineers.
• Supervise contractors to ensure health & safety standards.
• Participate in daily engineering and production meetings.
• Maintain records and audits for safety standards.

Skills

Motivating others

CMMS usage

People Management

Education

Recognised engineering qualification

Job description

Park Seventeen, Whitefield, Manchester M45 8FJ, UK

Job Description

Posted Friday 30 January 2026 at 01:00

Shift: Rotating shifts, 2 days (7am-7pm), 2 nights (7pm-7am), 4 off

We have a new opportunity for an experienced Engineering Shift Lead within our Engineering Team who would be based at Kara Foodservice, in Manchester.

We’re looking for a proactive and hands‑on individual to join our team. The Engineering Shift Lead will play a key role in keeping our operations running smoothly by supporting the Engineering Reliability Lead with the day‑to‑day running of the Engineering Department. You’ll be the link between engineering and production, ensuring work schedules are met, resources are maximised, and maintenance activities drive plant efficiency.

Finsbury Food Group is a leading speciality bakery manufacturer. We constantly raise quality and efficiency standards, and build long‑term relationships with major multiple retailers and the foodservice channel. Established in 1985, Kara offers a wide range of quality sweet and savoury bakery products, including both gourmet butter and vegan brioche buns, doughballs and teacakes. The Kara Bakery can bake over 1 million baps and burger buns every day.

This is what you’ll actually do!

You will work closely with the Manufacturing Shift Leads to identify and resolve engineering issues, ensuring the smooth running of operations and maximising plant efficiency. A key part of your role will be setting and managing engineering work schedules, while driving continuous improvement across the department. You will also provide hands‑on technical support to Multi‑Skilled Engineers, helping them adopt a proactive approach to maintenance through motivation, coaching, and skills development, as well as identifying any training needs.

You will manage staff performance, dealing with absence, disciplinary matters, and grievances when necessary. Contractors working on site will be under your supervision, and you will ensure they follow agreed practices to maintain both health & safety standards and technical integrity. You’ll also be involved in repair and project work, making sure all necessary parts and resources are in place to complete tasks within agreed timeframes.

This role involves managing projects from start to finish, including overseeing contractors and running weekend shutdowns. You’ll play an active part in daily engineering and production meetings, using them to share updates, gather information, and address any issues. You will also support the Hygiene team in achieving site pest control standards and ensure full adherence to food safety policies and procedures.

You will regularly audit completed work to confirm it meets the required standard, actively contribute to the development and implementation of the department’s Health & Safety plan, and maintain accurate records and audits. Finally, you will deputise for the Engineering Manager in their absence and carry out any other duties as required.

Ideally this is you!

• Recognised engineering qualification.
• Be able to demonstrate the ability to motivate and encourage others as well as self.
• Actively use CMMS to allocate PPM’s and work orders raised to the shift teams. Ensure work orders are completed on schedule with detailed accounts of works captured.
• People Management Skills.

What’s in it for you!

• Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Leave to allow quality time with your new arrival!
• Enhanced Pension Scheme for our employees.
• Free Employee Assistance Programme (open to colleagues and their families).
• Retail discounts accessible via our Benefits Hub platform!
• Refer a Friend Scheme (up to £300 per referral – T&C’s dependent).
• Employee Recognition Awards; Extensive Learning & Development opportunities (including opportunities for sponsored professional memberships and our own in-house development course!)
• An opportunity to be part of a fantastic, growing organisation. Head over to our LinkedIn page to find out more!

Our vision is to be the leading specialty bakery group in the UK, and we want the best people in place to achieve this. Our continued success is built entirely on the talented people who work here, so employee development is important to us because everyone is a valued member of the team, and we want every individual to have the skills and capabilities to achieve both your own personal goals and our business goals. We want good people to join our company, to help our company continue to go from strength to strength. If this sounds like you, please get in contact to learn more!

Park Seventeen, Whitefield, Manchester M45 8FJ, UK