Recruitment Manager

About us:

The Bread Factory is the UK's leading artisan bakery. Founded by Gail Meija in 1993, The Bread Factory, originally known as Gail Force, began by supplying some of London's most prestigious restaurants, including many with Michelin stars. More than three decades later, we continue to work closely with the best chefs, alongside grocers, foodservice partners and our own neighbourhood bakery, GAIL's.

The Bread Factory is synonymous with quality. We have been awarded more than 100 Great Taste Awards and have held a Royal Warrant since 2016, when it was first granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 2024, the warrant was renewed by His Majesty The King.

We source our ingredients thoughtfully, partnering with farmers and millers who align with our values. The result: delicious, carefully made baked goods that support a more sustainable and nutritious food system; bringing great bread to more tables every day.

The Role

As Recruitment Manager you will own and deliver the end-to-end recruitment strategy for our bakery and manufacturing operations. You’ll be responsible for attracting and hiring the very best bakers and best-in-class manufacturing talent across technical, engineering, quality, supply chain, and operational support functions.

This role is both strategic and hands-on. You’ll build long-term talent pipelines to support growth, innovation, and our evolving ambition to be a more sustainable business — ensuring we have the right skills today and for the future.

Every day is different at The Bread Factory, but here are some of the things you will be doing:

Recruitment Strategy & Workforce Planning

• Own and deliver the recruitment strategy for bakery manufacturing, covering bakers, production, engineering, technical, and manufacturing support roles
• Partner with business and operational leaders to understand current and future capability needs
• Anticipate future skills required to support innovation, automation, and sustainable manufacturing

Sourcing & Attraction

• Proactively source and attract skilled bakers and best-in-class manufacturing talent using creative, targeted sourcing approaches
• Build robust talent pipelines across core and hard-to-fill manufacturing and support roles
• Strengthen our employer brand as a destination for purpose-led, sustainable manufacturing careers

End-to-End Recruitment Delivery

• Manage the full recruitment lifecycle from role briefing through to offer and onboarding
• Deliver a high-quality, inclusive candidate experience that reflects our purpose, values, and ambition
• Use data and insight to track recruitment effectiveness and inform continuous improvement

Sustainability & Future Focus

• Embed our sustainability ambition into recruitment strategy and attraction messaging
• Partner with leaders to identify and attract future-focused skills that support sustainable baking and manufacturing practices
• Support initiatives that promote long-term workforce sustainability, capability building, and talent development

Stakeholder Partnership

• Act as a trusted advisor to hiring managers, providing market insight and coaching on best practice
• Collaborate with key stakeholders to align recruitment with wider business and culture initiatives

Our team tells us you will be a great addition if you have:

Experience & Skills

• Proven experience in talent acquisition, ideally within manufacturing, food production, or FMCG
• Experience recruiting across both operational and support functions
• Strong sourcing capability and a track record of building talent pipelines
• Ability to think strategically while remaining hands-on and delivery focused
• Lead and coach a team to deliver overall Talent strategy

Personal Attributes

• Passion for purpose-led recruitment and building future-ready teams
• Strong commercial and stakeholder management skills
• Curious mindset with an interest in sustainability, innovation, and continuous improvement
• A natural connector who enjoys being close to the business

What’s in it for you:

• Fresh bread daily to take home to enjoy with family and friends.
• 50% discount at GAIL’s and 40% off at The Bread Factory & The Flour Station Markets.
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays
• Discounts and Savings from high-street retailers and restaurants
• 24-hour GP service
• Cycle to work scheme