Materials Leader

Materials Leader

Job title:                         Materials Leader

Reports to:                    MES Controller

Location:                        Leek, Ornua Foods UK

Salary:                             Generous salary depending on experience

Hours:                             36.25 hours per week, flexibility required to cover our shift patterns

Benefits:                         Matched Pension Scheme, 33 Days Holiday Allowance, Discounted Cheese and Butter, Subsidised Staff Canteen,  Sports & Social Club, Staff Lottery, Discount on Bikes & Tech Scheme, Confidential Employee Assist Programme               

Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for over 55 years.

Are you a people leader looking for the challenge of taking a mission driven organisation to its next level of success?

Ornua is actively seeking a Materials Leader to join our Operational department as we continue our growth trajectory.

The Materials Leader will play a key role in ensuring the accuracy, integrity and timeliness of reporting manufacturing orders and factory performance data. Leading a team of Materials Administrators, this role provides expert oversight of MES (Manufacturing Execution System) processes and acts as a superuser for the M3 system. By maintaining robust data governance and supporting factory teams, the role enables accurate reporting of manufacturing orders and drives improved factory performance.

Why Ornua?

• Ornua operates as a commercial organisation from 10 business units worldwide, including 12 production facilities located in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.


• The commercial organisation is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Ireland’s most successful food export: Kerrygold.


• It also manages the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products, the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufacturing and foodservice customers globally, and the implementation of de-risking and trading strategies to manage market volatility.


• Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organisation, creating value for Irish dairy farming families.


• Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together.


• We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.


• Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities.


• Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.

Why This Role Is Valuable:

As our Materials Leader you will be responsible for leading on;

• Manage and develop a team of three Materials Administrators across multiple shifts


• Act as a key subject matter expert for MES and M3 systems, supporting operational teams in resolving system-related issues.


• Champion the accuracy and integrity of manufacturing data in line with established documentation and process standards.


• Support the delivery of weekly reporting in a timely and accurate manner, including providing holiday cover for MES Controller reporting


• Investigate manufacturing orders with variances outside of tolerance and ensure corrective actions are taken


• Act as MES product editor and subject matter expert, identifying and resolving system-related challenges


• Build strong partnerships with Factory teams, including Manufacturing Services and Technical, to improve understanding and usage of Manufacturing Orders


• Support and contribute to New Product Development processes from an MES system perspective


• Engage with teams to identify opportunities for process improvement within MES and manufacturing reporting


• Respond to ad hoc queries and provide insightful analysis and reporting as required

What You Bring To The Role:

• Experience managing and developing a small team across multiple shifts


• Proven ability to lead, coach and support team members to achieve performance targets


• High level of attention to detail with a commitment to data accuracy


• Naturally curious with a proactive approach to problem-solving


• Strong interpersonal and communication skills


• Understanding of production/manufacturing environments (preferred)


• Intermediate to advanced Excel skills


• Comfortable working across multiple systems and adapting to changing priorities

Our interview process is designed to be thorough yet supportive. This process includes a first stage via Teams to allow us to get to know you better and to understand your skills and experiences and, if successful, a second stage face-to-face interview that will build upon the first stage and give you the opportunity to get a feel for Ornua and the environment in which you will be working.

Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua.

Would you like to make an impact?

To learn more, please visit Ornua at www.ornua.com

Ornua values diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. We also strongly encourage women and other underrepresented groups in the manufacturing industry to apply. Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and will be instrumental in driving our company’s continued success. Join us in shaping a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Ornua is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. We will make every effort to provide for any reasonable accessibility needs you may have during your employment with us. If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know — we’re here to support you.