Enjoy a career, packaged with care, whilst helping protect food, people and the planet
We are a key global provider of sustainable packaging solutions. We’re on a mission to make all packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable. Every day, we ensure the hygiene and safety of food and drink for people around the world. We are Huhtamaki.
You could be part of our vision. Because it’s our talented people that make it happen. Our people on the shop floor producing innovative, sustainable products. Our people in our offices delivering excellence for our customers every day. It’s every one of us working together.
We offer a place where you can feel safe, be supported, and make an impact so we can all focus on the future together.
The purpose of this role is to lead and deliver high performance across our Huhtamaki Foodservice manufacturing site in Blackburn and its end-to-end supply chain. You will be accountable for developing and executing operational plans that achieve both operational and financial targets, while ensuring the site operates safely, efficiently, and in line with business strategy.
The role also focuses on building strong customer relationships—directly and through Account Management—to ensure effective communication, collaboration, and management of expectations.
Where you’ll beHuhtamaki Foodservice - Blackburn, UK
Our site in Blackburn has over 80 years expertise in the design and manufacture of fluted paper based packaging. We are a leading provider of hot food to go packaging, ovenable bake trays, delivery packaging, ready meal and bakery solutions, confectionery pads and cosmetic liners.
What you’ll be doingDriving safe, efficient, and cost-effective operations across all aspects of manufacturing and supply chain, including conversion cost, health and safety, quality, service delivery, warehousing, inventory, procurement, sustainability, and productivity.
Providing clear leadership and direction for the site, setting and delivering operational strategy aligned to wider business objectives.
Leading the site leadership team to achieve targets across safety, quality, service, cost, and people.
Taking full accountability for production, ensuring output meets customer demand, quality standards, and cost expectations through effective oversight of planning, engineering, and supply chain functions.
Leading and embedding a strong safety culture, ensuring compliance with legal, corporate, and industry standards, while driving continuous improvement in safety performance.
Building and developing a high-performing leadership team, driving engagement, accountability, and a culture of continuous improvement, supported by robust succession planning, capability development, and performance management.
Driving operational excellence through WCO and continuous improvement initiatives, including leading key site projects, investments, and transformation activities.
Ensuring cost competitiveness, operational efficiency, and the delivery of ongoing optimisation and continuous improvement plans.
Collaborating with global operations to plan future manufacturing platforms and technologies that support growth, competitiveness, and cost efficiency.
Protecting company assets and ensuring capital projects are effectively managed.
Delivering best-in-class customer service and quality performance.
Ensuring world-class health and safety standards.
Building a high-performance culture aligned to Huhtamaki’s values of Care, Dare, and Deliver.
Ensuring sustainable talent supply, development, and engagement across the site.
Driving automation, digitalisation, and innovation across manufacturing processes.
Ensuring full compliance with Huhtamaki values, ethical standards, and legal requirements, while protecting company interests through effective external representation and industry engagement.
Significant senior leadership experience from a manufacturing environment.
Experience within packaging, FMCG, or foodservice industries (highly preferred).
Strong knowledge of end-to-end operations, including production, engineering, and supply chain.
Proven ability to lead large teams and complex organisational structures.
A track record of delivering sustainable operational and financial improvements.
Strong knowledge of health and safety and regulatory compliance.
Experience managing legal entity responsibilities and statutory compliance.
Expertise in operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Experience leading transformation and change within a complex environment.
Strong stakeholder management and ability to work effectively in a matrix organisation.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
A proactive, solution-focused approach to challenges, with confidence to make timely and difficult decisions where required.
Strong alignment with Huhtamaki’s values and a passion for food, people, and the planet.
A meaningful job: At Huhtamaki, we believe in protecting food, people and the planet. Our innovative and transformative solutions touch the daily lives of people everywhere.
Development opportunities: We care for each other – and want our talent to thrive and develop
Responsible employer: Sustainability is embedded in everything we do. We believe diverse teams fuel innovation. We invest in fostering an environment where everyone is safe both psychologically and physically and where diversity and inclusion are promoted through day-to-day behaviours, which are reinforced by our policies and practices.
Join us. Help protect food, people and the planet.
Skills Required
- Significant senior leadership experience in a manufacturing environment
- Experience within packaging, FMCG, or foodservice industries
- Strong knowledge of end-to-end operations (production, engineering, supply chain)
- Proven ability to lead large teams and complex organisational structures
- Track record of delivering sustainable operational and financial improvements
- Strong knowledge of health, safety, and regulatory compliance
- Experience managing legal entity responsibilities and statutory compliance
- Expertise in operational excellence and continuous improvement (WCO)
- Experience leading transformation and change programs
- Strong stakeholder management and ability to operate in a matrix organisation
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Proactive, solution-focused decision-making and accountability
Huhtamaki Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Huhtamaki and has not been reviewed or approved by Huhtamaki.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as comprehensive with dental and vision options, and employer contributions toward premiums are portrayed as generous. Feedback suggests this breadth makes the overall package feel competitive for many roles.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs include a 401(k) with pre‑tax and Roth options, with certain groups also having access to a pension and even deferred compensation. Feedback suggests these features stand out positively in a manufacturing context.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off, paid holidays, and generous parental leave are emphasized alongside meaningful PTO accruals. Feedback suggests this leave structure strengthens perceived total rewards even where base pay is viewed as only fair.
Huhtamaki Insights
What We Do
Huhtamaki is a key global provider of sustainable packaging solutions for consumers around the world, enabling wellbeing and convenience. Our innovative products protect on-the-go and on-the-shelf food and beverages, ensuring hygiene and safety, and help prevent food waste. We embed sustainability in everything we do. We are committed to achieving carbon neutral production and designing all our products to be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2030. We are a participant in the UN Global Compact and EcoVadis has awarded Huhtamaki with the Gold medal for performance in sustainability. To play our part in managing climate change, we have set science-based targets that have been approved and validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. With 100 years of history and a strong Nordic heritage we operate in 37 countries and 103 operating locations around the world. Our values Care Dare Deliver guide our decisions and help our team of around 18 000 employees make a difference where it matters. Our 2023 net sales totaled EUR 4.2 billion. Huhtamaki Group is headquartered in Espoo, Finland and our parent company, Huhtamäki Oyj, is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. Find out more about how we are protecting food, people and the planet on www.huhtamaki.com
