Job Description:

SITE ENGINEERING MANAGER

ROBERTSBRIDGE – EAST SUSSEX

Salary up to £80k DOE + Bonus + Car + fantastic benefits

High volume manufacturing, including a mix of heavy industry and FMCG

Over 100 years of heritage

Products that surround us all on every street, every day

A team of over 40

A senior leadership team position

A culture underpinned by World Class Manufacturing

If that sounds like your kind of environment, keep reading.

We are supporting this national brand owned and operated by one of the largest manufacturing groups in the world in the search for an Engineering Manager to lead the site’s full engineering function, mechanical, electrical/automation and facilities, with 4 direct reports and a large multi‑disciplinary team behind them. This is a senior leadership role with real scope: operational excellence, WCM and improvement projects, long‑range investment planning, and ownership of a multi‑million‑pound maintenance and CapEx budget.

What you’ll be responsible for

• Leading the site engineering strategy and delivering the route map for reliability, performance and continuous improvement.

• Managing and driving the safety-first culture across the site.

• Managing and developing the engineering leadership team (Maintenance Manager, Electrical & Automation Manager, Facilities Manager).

• Ensuring the development and training across the wider team, ensuring future capability and succession planning for the site.

• Playing a full part in the site senior leadership team, breaking down silos, driving a “one team” culture and improving collaboration between Engineering, Operations, Logistics and other functions.

• Leading practical change management: moving the culture towards root‑cause learning, problem‑solving and sustainable improvement from a site leadership perspective, not just engineering.

• Driving WCM/CI activity across the plant, supporting pillar owners and embedding sustainable improvements.

• Full ownership of maintenance planning, risk reduction, shutdowns, and critical spares.

• Contract selection, relationship, and performance management.

• CapEx planning and execution, typically up to £3 p.a., including presenting business cases and shaping the long‑range plan with a 3 to 5 year planning horizon.

What we’re looking for

• Engineering leadership experience in a manufacturing or process environment.

• Strong people and change leadership, proven experience of shifting behaviours, implementing new ways of working and delivering change through others, not just through personal expertise.

• Experience operating as part of a site leadership team, balancing functional priorities with overall site performance.

• Proven delivery of CI/WCM projects. Formal training is WCM, Six Sigma, and other lean tools would be a great advantage.

• Comfortable managing large budgets, complex projects and multiple contractors.

• Degree‑qualified OR an apprenticeship‑led route with strong fundamentals and a track record of progression.

• Formal safety management training, ideally NEBOSH.

• Project management training would be an advantage, e.g Prince2

Why this role matters

You’ll be stepping into a respected role with the opportunity to modernise systems, uplift standards, improve cross-functional working, and shape the next era of engineering performance at Robertsbridge.

Package

• Competitive salary (up to £80k DOE)

• Company car

• Bonus (c. 20% based on business performance)

• PLC company benefits

If you’re an engineering leader who thrives in a high‑volume, continuous‑process environment and you want a role with real influence, we’d like to speak with you.

PMB Manufacturing & Technical Recruitment are operating as a recruitment business in respect of this vacancy.