Production Manager - Events & Exhibitions

Production Manager

Location: Farnborough, Hampshire
Salary: Up to £60,000 DOE
Reporting to: Head of Operations

About Tecna

Tecna designs and delivers exhibition stands, brand activations and event environments for clients across the UK and Europe. As our business continues to grow, we're looking for an experienced Production Manager to lead our workshop and production team at our Farnborough headquarters.

This is a leadership-first role. While an understanding of fabrication and exhibition production is important, our priority is finding someone who can effectively manage people, plan workloads, maintain standards, and create a safe, organised and efficient workshop environment.

We already have strong fabrication expertise within the team. What we're looking to add is the structure around it: robust scheduling, team development, workshop management, materials control and leadership. You'll work closely with our experienced Senior Technician, who will continue to lead by example on the workshop floor and support the development of apprentices and technicians.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the workshop team on a day-to-day basis, setting priorities, allocating workloads and ensuring projects are delivered on time and to the required standard.
• Conduct regular 1-to-1s, performance reviews and development discussions with team members.
• Create individual development plans and support progression opportunities across the team.
• Take ownership of Tecna's apprenticeship programme, ensuring apprentices receive structured training, mentoring and development.
• Foster a positive, accountable and high-performing culture focused on quality, teamwork and continuous improvement.
• Own workshop scheduling and resource planning, ensuring production activities are coordinated effectively across multiple projects.
• Work closely with the Head of Operations, Install Manager and Projects team to ensure all work is built, finished and dispatched on time.
• Maintain a safe, organised and compliant workshop environment.
• Take ownership of Health & Safety within the workshop, ensuring safe systems of work, training, inspections and documentation are maintained.
• Manage workshop equipment, machinery and tools, ensuring they are properly maintained and fit for purpose.
• Implement and manage a structured process for triaging materials and equipment returned from site.
• Maximise reuse opportunities and drive responsible management of stock and materials to reduce waste and control costs.
• Manage the workshop materials and consumables budget, ensuring spend is monitored, controlled and reported.
• Support material selection decisions, bringing a broad understanding of fabrication methods, finishes and alternatives.
• Ensure all work leaving the workshop meets Tecna's quality standards and is delivered consistently in terms of finish, materials and approach.

What Success Looks Like After 6 Months

• The workshop is operating in a safe, organised and well-managed manner.
• Health & Safety standards are embedded and consistently maintained.
• Workshop spend, materials and consumables are actively tracked and controlled.
• A structured returns and triage process is in place, maximising the value of materials and assets returned from site.
• Team members have regular 1-to-1s and clear development plans.
• Apprentices are receiving meaningful coaching and development.
• Individuals within the team are progressing and taking on increased responsibility.
• Production schedules are running smoothly with work consistently delivered on time.
• Quality standards are clear, understood and maintained across all projects leaving the workshop.

What We're Looking For

• Proven experience managing a workshop, production, fabrication or manufacturing team.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, including coaching, mentoring and performance management.
• Experience planning workloads, scheduling resources and managing competing priorities.
• Strong understanding of Health & Safety requirements within a workshop environment.
• Experience managing budgets, materials, consumables and workshop costs.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to bring structure and accountability to a busy production environment.
• A practical understanding of exhibition build standards and the ability to make balanced production decisions.
• A background in exhibitions, events, scenic construction, fit-out, theatre, film/TV production, props or a similar environment.
• Broad knowledge of materials and fabrication methods, with the confidence to recommend the most appropriate solution for a project.
• Good IT skills and experience using business systems for planning, tracking and reporting.
• A hands-on, proactive approach combined with strong leadership capability.

Nice to Have

• Experience with CNC routing, print, finishing or graphics application.
• Familiarity with modular exhibition systems, aluminium framing or tension fabric solutions.
• Experience developing apprentices, trainees or junior team members.
• Knowledge of lighting or AV integration within exhibition and event environments.

Benefits

• Annual bonus based on company performance
• 25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays
• Private healthcare
• Company pension
• Paid volunteering days
• Regular company events and socials

Why Join Tecna?

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a key department within a growing business. You'll have the platform to develop people, shape workshop operations, improve standards and ensure our production function continues to deliver exceptional results for our clients.