The Oval Partnership is working with an established food manufacturing business to recruit an experienced Compliance Manager to take ownership of its technical compliance agenda.

This is an excellent opportunity for a senior Technical or Quality professional who knows what outstanding compliance looks like, and importantly, knows how to make it work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Reporting to the Head of Technical, you’ll have significant responsibility and visibility across the site. You’ll own and continually develop the Quality Management System, lead audit and certification activity, oversee customer technical compliance, specifications and supplier assurance, and ensure the business remains ready for the scrutiny of customers, certification bodies and regulators.

The opportunity

We’re looking for someone who can take real ownership of the compliance function: setting high standards, identifying risk, challenging where necessary and building robust systems that support food safety, legality, quality and customer expectations.

You’ll work closely with colleagues across Technical, Quality, Process, Hygiene, NPD, Operations, Engineering and Procurement, making this an influential position at the heart of the site.

Your remit will include:

• Owning and continually improving the site Quality Management System

• Leading and coordinating BRCGS, customer, certification and regulatory audits

• Managing the internal audit programme and ensuring corrective actions are effectively closed out

• Maintaining strong HACCP governance

• Owning customer technical requirements, portals and associated documentation

• Managing finished-product specifications and ensuring products are fully approved ahead of launch

• Coordinating artwork and label compliance

• Leading the supplier approval and ongoing supplier monitoring programme

• Maintaining allergen, TACCP/VACCP, food defence and food fraud systems

• Monitoring changes in legislation, certification standards and customer requirements

• Tracking compliance and supplier-performance KPIs and identifying emerging risks

• Developing compliance capability across the Technical team and wider business

About you

• You’ll already have built strong Technical or Quality management experience within food manufacturing and be comfortable operating in an environment where standards are high and customer expectations are demanding.
• We’re particularly interested in people who combine strong technical knowledge with the confidence and communication skills to influence others. You’ll be highly organised, commercially aware and able to translate complex regulatory, certification and customer requirements into practical systems that work on the factory floor.
• You should bring strong experience of BRCGS and external audits, Quality Management Systems, supplier assurance and performance monitoring, specifications, customer technical systems and artwork/label compliance.
• You’ll ideally hold HACCP Level 4 and Food Safety Level 4, or equivalent qualifications. Internal or Lead Auditor experience and exposure to major UK retailers would be particularly valuable.

Why consider this role?

For the right person, this is an opportunity to have genuine influence over how technical compliance is delivered.

You’ll have ownership rather than simply administration, working closely with senior Technical leadership while building relationships across the wider operation. The business is looking for someone capable of strengthening systems, developing people and creating a culture in which compliance is understood, owned and consistently delivered.

If you’re an experienced food industry Technical, Quality or Compliance professional who enjoys raising standards, solving problems and making sure a manufacturing operation is genuinely audit-ready, we’d be very interested in speaking with you.

To find out more, contact me in confidence or apply with your CV today