Technical Manager

WE ARE 200 years of history and over 2,000 employees strong. WE ARE a business loaded with opportunity and career progression. WE ARE innovators, designers, makers and engineers who manufacture and provide smart, efficient, and effective building products and solutions.

Through our customer relationships, diverse building product range and solutions, we enable the creation of inspirational homes, places and spaces for us all to live and work better. With eight core product categories, underpinned by expert design and technical services, we work with architects, builders, merchants and the wider construction supply chain to build the face of Britain.

We are fully committed to a net zero future and continue to invest in expertise and product development to manufacture more efficiently and sustainably. We pride ourselves on leading for new, innovative and sustainable products and solutions, both for today and for a new era of building.

We are currently recruiting for a Technical Manager to join our team at our new Nostell Factory in West Yorkshire. As the Technical Manager, you will be an inspirational leader of a multi-skilled and multi-functional team, who role models our core values at all times, delivering the highest standards of health and safety, sustainability, cost control and quality. Optimising the potential of the Process Team, raw material supply chains, utilisation of our site land, asset base and production plant. You will develop a culture focused on both sustainable and Continuous Improvement (CI), where our people, plant and processes deliver exceptional performance.

Key Duties & Areas Of Responsibility For Role

Health & Safety

• Create a culture where the health, safety and wellbeing of colleagues is the absolute priority.
• Ensure all statutory obligations, company policies and procedures are understood and adhered to, by all colleagues, at all times.
• Follow and promote ALL Ibstock Safety Rules, leading by example and demonstrating the relevant Health & Safety (H&S) leadership behaviours.
• Lead and promote a positive H&S culture by following ALL training and adhering to ALL H&S policies, procedures and protocols at all times, reporting any and all hazards or issues immediately.
• Responsible for leading H&S incident investigations.
• Contribute to and drive the H&S strategy across site working collaboratively with ALL Functional Leaders and Site SHE Coordinator striving for “Best in Class”.
• Responsible for developing, leading and implementing H&S Continuous Improvement (CI) initiatives across your function, areas of responsibility and site.
• Resolution of H&S issues raised closing out ALL actions assigned to you by applying Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and implementing robust actions.
• Lead, engage and develop your team to ensure the correct “one team” approach to H&S behaviours are demonstrated.
• Deliver Toolbox Talks (TBT’s).
• Lead H&S audits across your function, areas of responsibility and site.

Quality

• Lead and promote a positive quality culture by following ALL training and resolving and or escalating ALL quality issues immediately utilising escalation procedures when relevant.
• Lead and promote a positive quality culture by ensuring ALL team members are trained on quality expectations and specifications as required.
• Ensure raw materials are correctly stored and clearly identifiable.
• To ensure that all finished product meets customer specifications, focussing on “right first time” and positive releasing product as required.
• Lead quality incident Root Cause Analysis (RCA) investigations for all justified Customer complaints and any relevant in process non-conformances at the factory.
• Contribute to and drive the Quality strategy across site working collaboratively with ALL relevant functions.
• Manage the local quality and sustainability plans and systems, including internal and external audits.

Process, People & Performance

• Ensure the Process Team adopts the Ibstock Manufacturing System (IMS) and other systems whilst developing a CI mind-set that ‘challenges the status quo’.
• Ensure accurate collection and recording of process data in the Ibstock Manufacturing System (IMS) and other systems.
• Detailed collation, analysis and interpretation of process data from our systems to conceive, implement and drive CI initiatives to develop, achieve and improve performance, KPIs, metrics, targets and objectives etc. across your function, areas of responsibility and site.
• Manage and monitor functional performance measures and all technical aspects of our processes to deliver within financial, quality and environmental constraints.
• Participation in CI initiatives across other functions supporting the delivery of improved performance.
• Input and participate in the creation of the site strategic plan.
• Training on and operation of mobile plant / Mechanical Handling Equipment (MHE) as required.
• Lead ALL relevant Functional / Tier meetings highlighting key issues and be part of suggesting solutions to key challenges and participating in the solutions.
• Chair / lead the morning team meetings and chairing the daily production meeting when required.
• Implement and sustain world-class 5S standards within the process environment.
• Manage clay procurement and extraction, stockpiling and stockpiling areas, quarries, other site external areas, and clay blending and usage.
• Oversee all aspects of Kiln and Dryer operations, including relevant auxiliary equipment.
• Ensure completion, recording and analysis of results of all technical checks.
• Co-ordinate new product development and innovation as required including raw materials.
• Work with the Group support teams on factory improvement projects.
• Continuously strive to improve the sustainability performance of products and operations.
• See Process Operatives responsibilities.
• People Management
• Has strong influencing and engagement skills demonstrated through values based leadership.

Costs

• Manage the annual functional budget, ensuring that all planned spend is correctly costed and in line with budget.
• Ensure holidays are effectively planned to guarantee full cover as required whilst minimising overtime.
• To apply CI methodologies across your function, areas of responsibility and site to reduce costs (raw material, waste, rejects etc.).
• Rationalisation of power usage through process control.
• Input and participate in the creation of the site budget.

Engineering

• Identify process improvements highlighting them to the Engineering Team Leaders, Engineering Manager, Production Managers and Factory Manager.
• Support the Engineering Manager in the creation of a robust, cost effective Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) regime that eliminates / reduces defects.
• Assist with Engineering when required building basic mechanical skills to allow safe Operator led basic maintenance activities and change-overs.
• Raise Engineering work instructions whilst in work to identify maintenance needs and operational improvements on the Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS).

New Product Development (NPD)

• To work collaboratively with new and existing Suppliers of materials and technologies.
• To functionally lead and participate in the New Product Development (NPD) process to enable the site to be in a position of being able to offer our Customers a range of market leading products.
• Developing and investigating use of new materials along with recipe formulation and technical specification.
• Horizon scanning for new technologies that will improve our products or develop our range through trending and by identifying key action points that will proactively shape improvements.

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• Has knowledge of current Health & Safety, Quality, Sustainability and Employment legislation, ideally holding NEBOSH, IOSH or other accreditations for H&S and the Environment
• Managing ISO 9001 experience or other quality accreditation or experience
• Is an outstanding operational Leader, who is flexible and meets challenge with a pragmatic and resilient approach
• High level of people leadership and development skills including experience of dealing with complex Employee Relations (ER) and conduct issues, ideally holding ILM Level 3 or equivalent as a minimum
• Self-starter who is self-motivated with the ability to work alone
• Team working with a “One Team” attitude
• Leading in a CI environment
• Demonstrable CI project deployment and implementation with an ability to drive performance improvement using Continuous Improvement tools & techniques
• Is financially competent, able to construct and manage budgets and develop capital expenditure plans
• Has strong influencing and engagement skills demonstrated through values-based leadership and role modelling positive leadership behaviours
• Highly numerate and literate with the ability to communicate at all levels
• IT literate with Microsoft office ability and able to use IT systems effectively
• Has knowledge of Ceramic Technology and Brick Manufacture

Desirable Qualifications & Experience

• Lean / CI manufacturing methodologies such as Six Sigma or other
• Clay products industry knowledge
• Being a certified and licenced counterbalance Fork Lift Truck (FLT), mobile plant or Mechanical Handling Equipment (MHE) Driver is advantageous.
• Knowledge of working with CMMS systems is advantageous

Please note, it is our policy to verify all relevant qualifications. You will be required to provide substantive proof of your qualifications, so we can verify them with the awarding body.

Job Information

Salary: Competitive

Reference: NOV20263793Job Type: PermanentExpires: Tue, Dec 1, 2026Location: Nostell