Senior Engineering & Safety Manager

Are you an experienced engineering leader with a passion for automation, asset performance, and safety excellence? We are looking for a Senior Engineering & Safety Manager  to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our manufacturing operations across two production sites.

As a key member of the Business Leadership Team, you will lead our engineering strategy, drive operational excellence, champion a world-class safety culture, and deliver innovative projects that support sustainable business growth. This influential position provides engineering leadership and health & safety support across our operations, working closely with multiple departments to enhance performance, improve asset reliability, and drive continuous improvement.

This is a rare opportunity to take ownership of engineering and safety strategy within a growing food manufacturing business. Reporting directly to the Director of Operations, you will influence business-wide decision-making, lead significant capital investment and automation projects, and play a key role in delivering operational and commercial objectives.

Through effective business partnering, you will provide strategic leadership across engineering, maintenance, health & safety, automation, compliance, and capital projects, ensuring engineering strategies align with wider business objectives. The role demands a deep understanding of food manufacturing operations, strong technical expertise, and commercial acumen to deliver initiatives that create measurable business value.

Strong analytical skills, excellent communication, and the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels are essential for success in this role.

This is a full-time, permanent role , working 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday, with occasional evenings and/or weekends depending on business needs.

Key Responsibilities:

Engineering, Maintenance & Automation

• Preventative Maintenance (PM): Design, deploy, and oversee a comprehensive PM system executed primarily through strategic third-party service providers.
• Shutdown Scheduling: Plan, coordinate, and execute all engineering works and major overhauls strictly during scheduled production shutdowns to minimise downtime and maximise OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).
• Automation & Innovation: Leverage a deep passion for automation to identify, propose, and implement smart manufacturing solutions, PLC upgrades, and robotics to improve efficiency and reduce waste.
• Technical Versatility: Serve as the internal technical authority, comfortably bridging the gap between complex electrical systems and mechanical infrastructure.

Group Health & Safety Leadership

• Multi-Site Compliance: Manage and oversee the comprehensive safety program across two distinct manufacturing sites, ensuring 100% rollout and compliance with overarching Group Safety Standards.
• Culture & Compliance: Foster a zero-harm safety culture through regular audits, risk assessments, training, and continuous improvement of safety protocols unique to food production environments (e.g., ATEX, lock-out/tag-out, confined spaces).

Project Management & Capital Expenditure (CapEx)

• End-to-End Execution: Lead engineering projects from initial concept, budgeting, and scoping through to installation, commissioning, and sign-off.
• Contractor Management: Vet, negotiate with, and manage third-party vendors and engineering contractors, ensuring all work meets rigorous safety, cost, and quality KPIs.

Strategic Collaboration & Leadership

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Sit on the Business Leadership Team, contributing to broader business strategies and working collaboratively with peers in Operations, Sales, Quality, Finance, Procurement, and HR.
• Facility Partnership: Work in close partnership with the Facility Manager, who manages off-site activities across multiple locations not fully under direct company control, ensuring seamless alignment on shared infrastructure, logistics, and compliance boundaries.

About You:

Essential

• Degree-qualified in Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering or a related discipline.
• 7+ years of engineering leadership experience within food manufacturing, FMCG, or a similarly regulated environment.
• Proven track record of leading engineering teams, maintenance programmes, and capital projects.
• Strong understanding of automation systems including PLCs, SCADA, HMIs and industrial robotics.
• Experience managing third-party contractors and service providers.
• Health & Safety qualification such as NEBOSH or equivalent.

Desirable

• Project Management qualification (PMP, Prince2 or equivalent).
• Experience leading multi-site engineering functions.
• Knowledge of BRCGS, HACCP, IFS, FDA or other food manufacturing standards.

Glanmore Foods reserves the right to enhance the criteria, if necessary, for the purposes of shortlisting.

Some of the benefits we offer:

As well as a competitive salary, we also have a large range of other benefits, such as

• Perks shopping discount Card which can be used across the Island of Ireland to save at various restaurants, high street stores, hotels, day out venues, gyms, golf courses and many more
• Life assurance cover 
• Career Pathways to support career progression and/or skills development. 
• Learning & development programs available for personal and professional development & growth
• Access to wellness programs to promote mental health and wellbeing of our colleagues.
• Employee Assistance Program to guide and support our employees.
• Exciting internal reward and recognition schemes

And many more..

About Us: 

Glanmore Foods is part of the Compass Group, located in Blanchardstown, Dublin. At Compass Ireland, our people are our business. When you join the Compass Group you will be joining a supportive network of incredible individuals, each united by their passion for going the extra mile for the organisations we partner with. We are building a team who care about providing a great customer experience and want to grow and develop as we do. We are dedicated to investing in every colleague joining us and pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer; we celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all our colleagues. We consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

Please review our Privacy Notice for details on how we maintain protect and why your personal data collected when you for a job with Glanmore Foods. We will not retain any CV’s or job applications for longer than necessary.