Do you have strong leadership skills and an understanding of different manufacturing processes?
If so, a career as a production manager could be perfect for you. This role involves working for a company and overseeing the manufacturing process to make sure things run smoothly.
You need to be very organized to do this job and be able to work well with managers and workers to resolve problems. While this role can be stressful at times, there is a lot of scope for advancement.
To find out if this could be your dream job, check out my in-depth…
Contents
Production Manager Job Description
A typical job description should provide an overview of the company and its products. It will explain where the job will take place and what your main responsibilities will be. It may even describe the size of the production line and the average number of employees.
The job description will explain the educational background and skills that you need to have. It may include the ideal skills and attributes that the perfect candidate should have. This will help you to work out if you would be the right fit for the job and organization.
Typical Responsibilities And Duties
A large part of this job involves administration work and liaising with managers and clients. You need to have a good understanding of the scope of the work and how to perform it in the best way. Here are some of the main responsibilities and daily duties you are likely to be charged with:
Production Planning
This is one of the most important duties you need to be able to take care of. You need to be able to work out what will be produced, the best production method, and the timeframe. This helps you to set production and sales targets and make sure they are achieved.
Production Control
This involves finding ways to minimize costs and production waste. The focus is on producing goods for the lowest price and in the least possible amount of time.
Quality Control
While speed and cost are of the essence, quality is also an important concern. You will be responsible for making sure all products reach a certain standard. This often involves finding ways to control and monitor the quality of the products.
Method Analysis
You need to be able to evaluate the different production methods and choose the best one. This involves conducting an in-depth analysis of the different methods. You need to reevaluate the methods during production to ensure they are the most effective.
Inventory Control
You need to be able to monitor and control the company’s inventory. This will help you plan how much needs to be made to prevent understocking or overstocking. This helps waste to a minimum and reduces the risk of running out of product.
Work Measurement
This involves measuring the level of work of each employee. It is necessary to be able to motivate employees to reach their full potential. When certain employees consistently fall behind, it is necessary to determine which measures to take.
Other common duties and responsibilities include:
- Estimating costs and preparing budgets
- Reporting to upper management
- Enforcing health and safety precautions
- Approving maintenance work and the purchasing of equipment
- Ensuring the law, health, and safety protocol are upheld
Essential Skills
This role involves a combination of both hard and soft skills. While you need to have detailed knowledge of production, soft skills help you relate to other employees. Here are some of the most important skills you need to have to do this job successfully.
Communication skills
You need to be able to liaise and collaborate with management. It is important to be able to write clear reports and conduct presentations when necessary. You may also be required to communicate with clients via the phone, email, and in-person.
Teamwork
You need to develop a good working relationship with different departments in the company. When problems arise, it is essential to work together to solve them in the best possible way.
Leadership
You need to demonstrate to employees and managers that they can have faith in your decisions. Delegate tasks well and explain them clearly.
Organization skills
You need to be able to prioritize orders to make sure products reach clients on time. It is essential to be able to balance many different tasks. Each task must be completed in the best possible way to satisfy clients.
Other important skills include:
- Basic computer skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Identifying potential problems
- Confidence
- Attention to detail
Education And Experience
Depending on the organization, it is possible to win this role without a degree. Some companies provide internships, and other paid training programs to new employees. However, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration or a related field will help you advance more quickly.
The Career Path
You need to have intermediate to expert level experience in the field to secure this role. Most people who work as production managers have between five and ten years of experience in the production industry.
If you want to take your career to the next level, it is a good idea to earn a Master’s Degree. This should ideally be in business administration.
The Working Environment
Most of this work is likely to take place in the processing plant to monitor and control operations. You are also likely to work in an office, where you will plan operations. Meet with clients and managers, either in the processing plant or an office.
You are likely to work 35 or 40 hours a week from Monday to Friday. Depending on operations, you may also be required to work on the weekends from time to time. This role can also involve occasional travel to meet with clients and visit other processing plants.
Create The Perfect Resume!
Our website boasts endless resume advice articles such as our Achievements To List On Your Resume, How To Write A Letter of Interest, or How To Address A Cover Letter, Job Titles On Resume, or what about the Most Important Skills To Put On A Resume, or How To List References On A Resume, as well as our Motivation Letter Writing Guide, How To List Education On A Resume, and even our Hobbies Interests To Put On Resume to get you started.
But we didn’t stop there! We also found these outstanding books on the matter, such as the English for Academic CVs, Resumes, and Online Profiles, Land Your Dream Job: Join the 2% Who Make it Past Resumé Screening, and CVs, Resumes, and LinkedIn: A Guide to Professional English, or the Resume Formats book.
As well as the Marketing Yourself in the Age of Digital: CVs, Applications, Interviews, Social Media, LinkedIn, for online applications and the Optimize Your Resume: DOs and DON’Ts the SamNova Way, Resume Writing: 10 Ridiculously Simple Tips, the Resume Format Guide and finally How to Write an Amazing IT Resume all available online in 2023.
Optimize your online presence…
Online profiles are pretty much crucial in job hunting these days, so check out my advice on the Best Linkedin Profile Tips and Best Linkedin Recommendation Examples.
I also recommend reading the LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies, or of course the LinkedIn For Dummies, the How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile… And 18 Mistakes to Avoid, and Ignite Your LinkedIn Profile, or even LinkedIn Riches: How To Use LinkedIn For Business, Sales and Marketing! books also available online today.
And for the more professional CV, the Expert Resumes and Linkedin Profiles for Managers & Executives will help you stand out from the crowd.
Final Thoughts
The average salary for a production manager is around $98,000 per year. If you have a lot of specialist skills and experience, you can also earn much more than that. Some talented professionals use this role to advance into a higher-paid position.
After gaining experience, there are numerous jobs in the same field you could advance to. These include inventory manager, sales and market manager, finance manager, and general manager.
In some cases, you may have to learn additional skills, but you will usually be rewarded with a much higher salary.
All the very best with your Production Manager Job!