Bakery Production Manager

Role Purpose

The Bakery Production Manager is responsible for managing the daily production operations of the bakery CPU, ensuring consistent quality, efficient production planning, food safety compliance, cost control, team supervision, and timely supply of bakery products to restaurants, cafés, retail outlets, and external clients where applicable.

This role requires strong bakery production experience, excellent operational discipline, and the ability to manage high-volume production while maintaining artisanal quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

Production Management

• Oversee the daily bakery production schedule across breads, pastries, viennoiserie, cakes, desserts, doughs, and other bakery products as required.
• Ensure production is completed on time, in full, and in line with approved recipes, specifications, portion sizes, and quality standards.
• Plan and coordinate batch production according to outlet requirements, events, delivery schedules, and forecasted demand.
• Manage workflow across mixing, proofing, baking, cooling, finishing, packing, storage, and dispatch.
• Ensure all products are produced consistently and to the required brand standards.

Team Leadership

• Supervise and coordinate bakers, pastry chefs, cake decorators, bakery assistants, packers, and production support staff.
• Allocate daily tasks and monitor team productivity, attendance, hygiene, and performance.
• Train team members on recipes, techniques, equipment use, quality standards, and food safety procedures.
• Support the Executive Chef and Head of Bakery with recruitment, onboarding, training, and team development.
• Maintain a disciplined, clean, respectful, and productive working environment.

Quality Control

• Conduct regular checks on product quality, texture, appearance, weight, taste, finish, and shelf life.
• Ensure any non-compliant products are identified, reported, and corrected immediately.
• Maintain consistency across all bakery items supplied to outlets and clients.
• Work with the Head of Bakery to improve recipes, production methods, yields, and product presentation.

Food Safety & Hygiene

• Ensure full compliance with HACCP, municipality regulations, food safety standards, and internal hygiene policies.
• Monitor temperature controls, storage procedures, expiry dates, labelling, allergen controls, and cleaning schedules.
• Ensure all team members follow personal hygiene, uniform, and safe food-handling requirements.
• Maintain accurate records for production, cleaning, temperatures, wastage, receiving, and traceability.

Inventory & Cost Control

• Monitor ingredient usage, stock levels, wastage, and production yields.
• Coordinate with procurement and stores to ensure raw materials are available for production.
• Minimise wastage through proper planning, storage, rotation, portion control, and accurate forecasting.
• Support recipe costing, product costing, and margin control where required.
• Report shortages, overstocking, quality issues, and supplier concerns.

Equipment & Maintenance

• Ensure bakery equipment is used correctly, safely, and efficiently.
• Monitor the condition of ovens, mixers, proofers, blast chillers, refrigerators, freezers, sheeters, and other production equipment.
• Report maintenance issues promptly and coordinate with the maintenance team to reduce downtime.
• Ensure proper cleaning and care of all production equipment.

Coordination & Communication

• Liaise with outlet chefs, restaurant managers, logistics, procurement, and operations teams regarding production needs and delivery schedules.
• Communicate daily production updates, shortages, delays, quality issues, and operational risks.
• Support new product trials, seasonal menus, events, retail range development, and special orders.

Required Experience

• Minimum 5–7 years’ experience in bakery production, with at least 2–3 years in a supervisory or managerial role.
• Experie