Head of Food Production

• Lead end-to-end food production, including cook-chill systems, NPD pipelines, and daily operations across hot and chilled lines
• Drive facility optimisation and scale-up projects as Lina Stores grows
• Introduce and embed production automation and lean manufacturing principles
• Support and innovate process and yield optimisation programmes
• Support margin management across the full product range
• Manage, mentor, and develop a multi-disciplinary production team across multi-shift operations
• Oversee inventory systems and partner with supply chain to ensure material availability
• Collaborate with NPD to bring new products from concept to production-ready stage efficiently
• Maintain the highest standards of food safety, hygiene, HACCP, and regulatory compliance alongside the Building Manager

• 4+ years in a senior food production or operations role, ideally within premium/artisan food, QSR, or chilled food manufacturing
• Demonstrable experience running cook-chill systems and large-scale hot and chilled production
• A track record of implementing lean manufacturing and automation projects
• Strong commercial acumen, confident with costing, yield, and the relationship between production decisions and margin
• Experience leading teams of 10+ across multi-shift operations
• Excellent project management skills, facility design or scale-up experience a strong advantage
• A genuine love of food, and alignment with our values around quality and Italian food culture
• Right to Work in the UK

facility design or scale-up experience

• 50% staff discount across all Lina Stores restaurants, bars, and delis
• Discount on retail and online shop products
• 28 days’ holiday including bank holidays, increasing with service
• Workplace pension scheme
• Enhanced family-friendly policies
• Employee Assistance Programme and wellbeing support
• Long-service rewards and career development across the Lina Stores group