Company Description
We are FBC UK, Fox's Burton's Companies! ……And we bake the UK's most incredible biscuits (we might be slightly biased, but we will leave that for you to judge).
Date: Mar 27, 2026
Location: Kirkham, GB
Place of Work: On-Site
We are FBC UK, Fox's Burton's Companies! ……And we bake the UK's most incredible biscuits (we might be slightly biased, but we will leave that for you to judge).
FBC UK was a match made in heaven, with two of the top UK biscuits manufacturers (Burton's Biscuits and Fox's Biscuits) coming together to create one unique, integrated company. We are home to famous iconic brands, including Maryland, Fox's, Jammie Dodger & Rocky, to name just a few. We are proud manufacturing partners to some of the biggest UK retailers and household names. We bake our incredible biscuits at eight bakeries across the UK, located at Isle of Arran, Livingston, Blackpool, Llantarnam, Edinburgh, Kirkham, Batley & Dorset and our HQ in St Pauls. Together, we employ circa 4,000 amazing colleagues across all our locations. We are committed to building an inclusive workforce that feels empowered to build a fulfilling and successful career. By embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) we create a supportive environment for people to thrive and strive to have more positive impact. We understand that having formal and on-the-job learning opportunities is key to our colleagues’ professional and personal growth. We are committed to providing an environment where everyone can learn from each other and grow through a variety of learning experiences. Our colleagues make our business special. With strong community values, we believe FBC UK is a more prosperous and fun place to work when people feel free to be themselves. We believe in the power of being authentic, entrepreneurial and supporting each other whilst meeting our business goals.
About The Role
As the Maintenance Manager for our Kirkham bakery, you will be responsible for leading and developing the Maintenance Engineering team. Your primary focus will be to drive high equipment availability and reliability through the implementation of engineering best practices and a culture of continuous improvement. You will ensure that maintenance activities are delivered safely, efficiently, and to the highest standards, while actively supporting the growth and capability of the team.
Key to your success in this role will be your leadership across three core areas:
- Engineering Maintenance & Breakdowns – Overseeing day‑to‑day maintenance operations, ensuring timely and effective response to equipment issues, and embedding robust preventative maintenance strategies.
- Training & Coaching – Supporting the professional development of the engineering team through hands‑on coaching, skills development, and performance enhancement.
- Apprentices – Managing and nurturing apprentices as they progress through their training, creating a strong pipeline of future engineering talent.
Main Responsibilities
- Champion a strong safety culture, ensuring all Engineers work safely and consistently follow site safety processes and standards.
- Lead and empower the shift engineering team to enhance plant reliability through effective preventive and reactive maintenance, while operating within the agreed engineering budget.
- Develop and deliver improvement plans, in collaboration with the Site Engineering Manager, that support the site’s financial objectives and drive performance across key KPIs including waste reduction, TOS, efficiency, and planned tonnage.
- Collaborate closely with key site functions—Operations, CI, and Health & Safety—to ensure alignment and successful delivery of site-wide objectives.
- Implement and embed Engineering Best Practice in line with the Maintenance Excellence Framework, ensuring consistent and sustainable standards.
- Maintain full compliance with all legislative, statutory, and regulatory requirements, ensuring documentation, processes, and audits remain up to date.
- Act as a role model for winning behaviours, contributing positively to the site culture and supporting an engaged, high-performing team environment.
- Drive team and individual performance to reduce equipment breakdowns and achieve maintenance KPIs such as plant availability, technician productivity, PPM completion, and training compliance.
- Work in partnership with the Electrical and Reliability engineering leads to ensure departmental KPIs are consistently achieved.
- Ensure direct reports actively participate in SIC, taking ownership of actions and delivering prioritised improvements that minimise downtime.
- Ensure Team Leaders attend all required meetings, contributing effectively and supporting cross-functional communication.
- Coach, motivate, and develop the team, recognising strong performance, addressing capability gaps, and supporting robust succession planning.
- Manage up to four apprentices, ensuring their development journey is supported through close collaboration with local colleges, effective mentoring, and strong pastoral care.
- Ensure the engineering plan is fully executed, maintaining focus, accountability, and continuous improvement across the team.
Essential
Who we are looking for
- HNC/HND or Degree in an Electrical or Mechanical Engineering discipline or equivalent, relevant experience.
- Strong understanding of Condition‑Based Maintenance (CBM) and reliability engineering principles.
- Proven background in Continuous Improvement methodologies.
- IOSH or NEBOSH qualification, trained to at least Managing Safely level.
Desirable
- Food Safety or Hygiene certification.
Experience
- Demonstrated experience leading and developing a large engineering team within a fast-paced environment.
- Hands-on technical expertise and a willingness to be visible and proactive on the shop floor.
- Experience in an FMCG manufacturing environment (preferred).
- Strong understanding of equipment reliability and asset performance.
- Practical knowledge of Continuous Improvement tools and techniques.
- Experience operating within a unionised environment.
- Proven ability to deliver against weekly and monthly KPIs with clarity and accountability.
- Strategic thinker with the ability to influence site performance and contribute to a positive, high-performing culture.
Diversity Statement
FBC UK is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all of our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at FBC UK. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative and highly rewarding.
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