Job Title:   General Manager

Hours of work (Temp/perm): 40 hours a week, usually Monday to Friday however at least one Sunday a month will be required

Location: Wash Barn, Buckfastleigh, Devon

Salary: c£70k depending on experience

About Riverford

Every week, Riverford delivers organic food to around 85,000 homes and businesses across the UK. This takes loads of brilliant people, from growers to IT experts, and more besides!

We’re a friendly, forward-thinking bunch, and our three core values – Stronger Together, Do Things Well and Independence – run through everything we do. We celebrate diversity, valuing, supporting and developing the whole person as an equal opportunities’ employer.

In 2018, Riverford became employee owned. Working here makes you a ‘co-owner’, our way of saying ‘employee’. It’s not just a name – every co-owner can play a part in shaping Riverford.

We’re also proud to be a B Corp – a certification for ethical businesses who work not just for profit, but also to benefit people and the planet.

What you’ll be doing

Every week, our main production site – Wash Barn, Devon – packs over 45,000 veg boxes, 9000 recipe boxes, and 250,000 individual items. This equates to around £70 million of retail sales annually. We are a largely manual operation, relying on great organisation and teamwork to achieve the results that are needed.

This role is key to Riverford’s success; you’ll head up the site where our business was founded! As General Manager, you will be responsible for the entire of Wash Barn on a day-to-day basis, as well as its strategic development – spanning intake, production, planning, stock and dispatch, with direct reports in each of these areas.

You will be working in a very fast paced, changing environment, where no two days are the same; you must be comfortable with this, and be able to effect change in such an environment. Crucial to this position will be your ability to manage multiple demands from a diverse team, and mentor each of them to ensure that they are achieving their full potential.

Alongside great people and operational skills, you will need excellent analytical skills to support your day-to-day operational analysis, weekly and monthly financial reporting. 

General Manager responsibilities:

-        Leadership of Wash operations and over 250 co-owners

-        Lead our “Keeping the Beet” CI programme driving continuous improvement through your team and operation, developing co-owner ideas has to part of your approach.

-        Coach and mentor, your production managers and broader team to set them up as the leaders of tomorrow.

-        Ensure every item packed and dispatched meets our customer expectation for quality.

-        P&L responsibility £70 million site, labour budget of over £6 million

-        Identify, plan and proposed CAPEX requirements manage the associated project and implementation that goes with them.

-        Continued development of health and safety culture and standards for all co-owners on site.

Skills & experience:

-        Excellent operational experience and capability to lead the site.

-        A proven background working in a fast-paced FMCG manufacturing environment is a must.

-        Experience of working with short shelf-life products and understanding the challenges that come with this would be a real advantage.

-        Previous experience of CI and ideally formal qualifications and a track record to back your improvements up.

-        P&L understanding and experience of developing budgets and presenting at a senior level.

-        Project management experience within a fast-paced environment

-        Exceptional leader – be confident in your decisions and collaborate with others.

-        Clear and thoughtful communicator

-        Be motivated by change and improvement with a natural ability to inspire others to follow and share ideas.

This role will suit someone who has experience of leading high-performing teams and is looking for their next challenge in a values-driven organisation.

In addition to a competitive salary, Riverford also offer a wonderful benefits package including 33 days holiday pro rata (including bank holidays), annual profit share; 10% of all our profits are split equally between all co-owners, 25% off everything we sell and heavily discounted organic breakfasts and lunches to name just a few!

For a full Job Description and to learn more about Riverford Organics, please take a look at our website.

This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.