Senior Head Baker

Location: South London

Salary: £45,000 to £55,000 pa depending on experience

Working Pattern: Five days out of seven, including weekends

Shift Pattern: Rotating day and night production shifts, typically between 14:30 and 02:30

Future Development: Longer term progression into a pure day shift leadership role as the bakery operation evolves

This respected London bakery business, producing premium bakery products for hospitality, cafés and retail customers, is looking to appoint a Senior Head Baker to lead its bakery production function within a Central Production Unit.

This is a senior, hands on leadership role for someone with strong bakery production experience who can bring together craft, quality, people management and operational structure.

This is not a hospitality bakery role. Candidates must have experience within bakery production, whether that is a Central Production Unit, wholesale bakery, retail bakery production, artisan production bakery, food manufacturing bakery environment or another high volume bakery setting.

The business is looking for someone who still values proper bakery craft, but who is also ready to lead a team, improve standards, strengthen processes and help shape a more organised, scalable and sustainable bakery operation.

What You’ll Be Doing

Lead the bakery production team across daily production activity
Take ownership of production standards, output, consistency and quality
Ensure products are produced to specification and delivered on time
Maintain strong standards across bread, sourdough and wider bakery production
Support the team during busy production windows
Lead by example through strong technical knowledge and hands on involvement
Manage, support and develop bakers across the team
Train and coach the team to improve skill, confidence and consistency
Improve shift handovers, production communication and daily organisation
Support rota planning, holiday cover and staffing requirements
Help implement stronger process, planning and team structure
Monitor dough quality, fermentation, proving, baking and finished product standards
Oversee flour ordering, ingredient control, deliveries and storage standards
Maintain excellent food safety, hygiene and housekeeping standards
Work closely with senior management to improve operational control and production reliability

What’s In It for You

A senior leadership opportunity within a respected South London bakery business
The chance to lead a busy bakery production function within a Central Production Unit
The opportunity to work with premium bakery products supplied to hospitality, cafés and retail customers
A hands on role where craft, quality, leadership and process all matter
Real influence over team structure, standards, planning and ways of working
Longer term development towards a pure day shift leadership position
The opportunity to help build a more structured, consistent and sustainable bakery operation

Your Background

Strong bakery production experience, this is essential
Experience leading or supervising bakers within a production environment
A strong technical understanding of bread and bakery production
Good knowledge of sourdough, fermentation, dough handling and bake quality
Experience working to production plans, quality standards and output requirements
Comfortable working in a fast paced bakery production setting
Experience managing people, standards, communication and daily production activity
The ability to improve structure, process, consistency and ways of working
A strong understanding of food safety, hygiene and production discipline
Comfortable working across a rotating shift pattern, including nights and weekends initially

You may have experience in a Central Production Unit, wholesale bakery, retail bakery production, artisan bakery with meaningful production scale, food manufacturing bakery environment, multi site supply bakery operation or high volume bakery production setting.

Hospitality only bakery backgrounds are not suitable unless supported by clear bakery production experience.

Join a Business That Invests in You

This is a rare opportunity for a senior bakery production professional to join a respected South London bakery business at an important stage of development.

You will have the chance to take ownership of a key production function, lead a team, protect premium bakery standards and help shape how the operation develops over the next stage of growth.

If you are a hands on bakery production leader who can balance craft, quality, people and process, we would love to hear from you.