Operational Production Team Lead

Vadipro is looking for a hands-on Team Lead with a feel for people, efficiency, and continuous improvement.

Vadipro is the production powerhouse of the Vadigran group. From our production site in Lennik, we produce a wide range of mixtures daily for the Vadigran group's brands. We also offer our expertise and production capacity to other players in the pet sector, for whom we develop and manufacture quality private-label products.

With 70 years of history, we are a sure bet, but above all a company in full evolution and transformation. From Lennik, where it all began and where our production is still located, and Ghislenghien, where our other activities and our distribution center are now situated, we continue to build the future.

We want to move forward. Work more efficiently, continuously improve, and achieve our ambitions. Our production plays a crucial role in this. Therefore, we are looking for people who don't just want to go with the flow but want to build with us what Vadipro can become tomorrow.

As an Operational Team Lead, you are the linchpin of our production. You coordinate the daily production process and ensure that planning, output, quality, cleanliness, and safety are aligned.

You are present on the floor, lead the production team, and intervene proactively where necessary to ensure that production runs smoothly, efficiently, and with quality. You collaborate closely with the mixers, the planner, and other departments.

With your technical background; preferably strong in electricity and electromechanics, you can quickly analyze problems and solve them practically. You are hands-on, take initiative, and enjoy making processes continuously better, more efficient, and more reliable.

In short: it's thanks to you that production runs optimally.

What you will do:

• Lead your team: you coach, motivate, and grow your production team, with attention to collaboration, performance, and a good working atmosphere.
• Production Output: you drive daily production and ensure punctual, efficient, and qualitative execution.
• Technical: you are the first point of contact in case of a breakdown, you resolve it quickly with the right partners, and you proactively report machine issues before they escalate.
• Continuous Improvement: you optimize output and costs, and actively seek solutions to avoid raw material waste. Once production is optimal, you initiate steps to structurally improve processes.
• Quality & Administration: you ensure quality, hygiene, and safety, and correctly process production data as a key user of Business Central.
• Collaboration & Stock: you coordinate with purchasing (timely raw materials, no overstock) and with sales (capacity vs. market demand). You ensure the availability and correct consumption of raw materials on the production site, with attention to continuity and limiting excess stock.
• Flexibility: you lend a hand on the floor if necessary and adapt to the operational needs of the moment.

You are not a manager who only directs from an office, but someone who is themselves on the floor, knows the machines, and pulls the team along. You are passionate about technology, passionate about people, and it's precisely you who combines the two.

• Hands-on: you like to be present on the floor and get your hands dirty yourself.
• Experience: concrete background as an operational manager in a production environment, with knowledge of production planning, process optimization, and industrial machine maintenance (agriculture, food, or pet food is a plus, not a must).
• Technical: you are genuinely passionate about machines, you have technical knowledge in electricity/electromechanics, and the desire to understand how an installation works, not just that it works.
• Leadership: you motivate and lead a team, you create buy-in so that people follow you because they want to, not because they have to.
• Big Picture Vision: a pragmatist who solves problems before they escalate, acts before they affect production.
• Languages: fluent Dutch, good level of French; basic English, sufficient to communicate for example with a driver or a supplier.
• Lean: you know how to apply Lean principles concretely.
• Personality: reliable and a natural example for your team, a good listener and ready to lend a hand where needed, with passion for the job.

• Autonomy & Growth: true autonomy in a small team with short lines, you first learn our way of working, and then contribute to the growth and continuous improvement of the company.
• Contract: a full-time, indefinite employment contract (38 hours/week).
• Hours: day shifts, with an overview of the two shifts and the possibility to lead them. Flexibility during shift changes, overtime hours are compensated.
• Holidays: 20 legal holidays.
• Remuneration: a competitive salary and benefits based on your expertise and experience.
• Practicalities: commuting allowance, meal vouchers and eco-vouchers, mobile subscription and laptop.
• Staff Discount: on all products of the Vadigran group, ideal for spoiling your two or four-legged companion.
• Atmosphere: an event every quarter for the staff.