Production Manager
Production teams are the lifeblood of any manufacturing organisation, so the role of the production manager is a pivotal role that links the employees on the shop floor and the senior managers and directors on the board. As production manager, you’ll be taking strategic and operational instructions from the board with regard to productivity, and converting them into actions that maximise profits for the company.
As with any managerial role, your day will partly be taken up with technical work – ordering materials, keeping machinery and supply chain operational etc. – but will also be spent dealing with personnel, whether that’s recruitment, motivation and discipline, or planning human resources for projected or seasonal needs. Of course, in larger companies, much of this work can be delegated, but you’ll still be responsible for making sure the goals of the company are met by steering the production department.
Production skills required
Production is a huge subject, covering the entirety of the manufacturing sector, so a production manager in a certain sector will have a very different set of responsibilities to one in another. Experience in a particular sector will therefore stand you in good stead within that industry, thanks to a knowledge of regulations, compliance and technical details too. Production manager jobs are often advertised through sector-specific channels for this reason.
That said, many of the skills of the production manager are transferable, especially in related sectors, so you shouldn’t be put off if an exciting role is advertised in an industry tangential to your current one. Skills such as communication, attention to detail, good planning and speed of learning will always be sought by companies hiring production managers.
Production Manager Jobs in Dundee
Dundee is an industrious city that has changed its roles many times over the centuries. Its North Sea-facing front made it ideal for whaling, and the industries that surround it, such as boatbuilding, whale oil processing and jute manufacture (it was discovered that jute could be lubricated with whale oil). Those industries are gone now, but after World War II the city was to have something of a boom. The company NCR set up in Dundee, initially making shop cash registers, and later moving on to making banks’ cash machines. The company was also a pioneer of the now-ubiquitous magnetic strips, and also made computers.
The electronics company Morphy Richards was formed and based in Dundee after a merger, and Michelin tyre factory was also established. All this time, industry worked along shipbuilding, but by the 1980s this industry was in terminal decline. Along came Timex, who manufactured Sir Clive Sinclair’s ZX Spectrum in the city; this home computer was a huge success, owing to its colour graphics and reasonable price. However the Timex factory closed in the early 1990s.
The city was also a publishing magnet, and many a child grew up reading DC Thompson’s famous output: Beano, Dandy and the gung-ho Commando comic books. And when they grew up, they played Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto, developed by Dundee’s Rockstar Games. There is also a strong biomedical and biotech industry in the city.
Dundee is such a thriving place that no short article can do it justice. And of course, all this moving of materials and products, and the servicing of its 150,000 population means that Production Manager positions are regularly required.
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Production managers and jobs found at Cast UK
At Cast UK, we only deal with professional level candidates, so you know you’re going to find an excellent shortlist when you use us for your recruitment needs. Our consultants use their own recruitment skills as well as our cutting-edge tech and extensive networks to source candidates who tick more of the right boxes for your positions. Call us on 0333 121 3345 to talk recruitment.
If you are an experienced production manager in any industry, there’s a good chance that brilliant companies are looking for your skills right now. Please follow the link below and fill in the registration form below.
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