Production Manager Whey

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Date: 6 Aug 2026

Location: KIlkenny, KK, IE, R95 W3KD

Company: TIRLÁN LIMITED

 

    

Production Manager - Whey Plant (Spray Dryers) 

Ballyragget, Co Kilkenny | On-site day role

Tirlán

Tirlán, is a world-class food and nutrition co-operative, with a diverse portfolio of quality ingredients, leading consumer and agri brands.

Tirlán owns leading brands such as Avonmore, Kilmeaden Cheese, Millac, Solmiko, Truly Grass Fed, Premier Milk, Wexford, mymilkman.ie and GAIN Animal Nutrition.

We nurture a talented team across Ireland, the US, MEA and China, delivering annual revenues of over €3 billion, and circa 2,000 people to manage our network of 11 processing plants and 52 agri branches. Our purpose is to nourish the world, while safeguarding our environment for future generations.

 

Role profile

We are now seeking a Production Manager to join our Whey Plant leadership team and play a key role in driving operational excellence, performance, safety and people development within our Spray Drying area.

Reporting to the Whey Plant Manager, you will lead a team of Shift Managers operating within a 24/7 manufacturing environment. You will be responsible for ensuring world-class standards in safety, quality, customer service, people leadership and operational performance.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced manufacturing leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment and enjoys developing high-performing teams while driving continuous improvement initiatives.

 

What You'll Do 

As Production Manager, you will:

 

Lead Safe and Compliant Operations

  • Champion Tirlán's Zero Harm culture and ensure the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing.
  • Ensure compliance with all product safety, quality and regulatory requirements.
  • Drive a culture of accountability and operational discipline across the production team.

Deliver Operational Excellence

  • Ensure production plans are executed safely, efficiently and to agreed customer specifications.
  • Drive performance against key metrics including throughput, yields, recoveries and plant efficiencies.
  • Lead robust problem-solving and corrective action processes to address operational deviations.
  • Collaborate with Planning, Engineering, Process, Quality and Despatch teams to optimise plant performance.

Develop High-Performing Teams

  • Lead, coach and support a team of Shift Managers across a 24/7 operation.
  • Foster a culture of collaboration, engagement and continuous development.
  • Drive consistency across shifts to ensure reliable operational execution and customer satisfaction.
  • Support workforce planning, talent development and performance management activities.

Drive Continuous Improvement

  • Identify, lead and implement improvement initiatives using Lean Manufacturing principles.
  • Support innovation projects that enhance productivity, quality, sustainability and operational effectiveness.
  • Contribute to Tirlán's Business Excellence agenda through a continuous improvement mindset.

Lead Change and Stakeholder Engagement

  • Act as a visible and effective leader during periods of operational change.
  • Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders across multiple functions.
  • Partner with Commercial teams to ensure customer requirements are effectively translated into production plans.

 

What You'll Bring

We're looking for a leader who combines technical manufacturing expertise with strong people leadership skills.

Essential Experience & Skills

  • Experience within a food, dairy, beverage, pharmaceutical or other regulated manufacturing environment.
  • Strong people leadership skills with a proven ability to deliver results through teams.
  • Experience driving operational performance, continuous improvement and cross-functional collaboration.
  • Strong problem-solving, communication and stakeholder management skills.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, with experience using SAP or similar production systems.

Desirable

  • Experience in dairy processing, whey manufacturing or spray drying operations.
  • Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, MES and quality management systems.
  • Understanding of products manufactured for specialist or highly regulated customer applications.

 

Personal Attributes

  • Motivated, proactive and results-focused.
  • Strong influencing and decision-making skills.
  • Customer-focused with sound commercial awareness.
  • Passionate about developing people and building high-performing teams.

 

Why Join Tirlán?

At Tirlán, you'll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within a business that combines the strength of a global organisation with the values of a farmer-owned co-operative. We offer:

  • The opportunity to lead within one of Ireland's largest dairy processing operations.
  • A culture focused on safety, innovation and sustainability.
  • Strong career development and progression opportunities.
  • Exposure to world-class manufacturing technologies and processes.
  • The chance to contribute to products enjoyed by customers around the world.

 

Join our Talent Pool

Considering a new career in Tirlán but this isn’t the role for you?! Then why not register your experience & sign up for career opportunities at www.tirlan.com/careers.

 

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

At Tirlán, we celebrate diversity, because we know that our individual strengths make us stronger together. We welcome and encourage interest from a wide variety of candidates, and we will give your application consideration, without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, or disability status. 

At Tirlán our culture will celebrate individuality, knowing that together we are more.

 

Tirlán is a Values Based Organisation - www.tirlan.com