Our Client, a premium food manufacturer have an opportunity for a highly skilled Technical Manager to manage the Technical team and proactively ensure the Safety and quality of all products and processes.

Reporting into the Managing Director, an integral part of the senior management team, working with all internal functions as well as providing a service to all our customers.

Key Responsibilities

• To work as a team with the Operations Manager and other senior managers on, and to ensure compliance to, the requirements and implications of legislation, 3rd party and customer requirements.
• Lead and develop the Technical team, ensuring that resource is provided to support the delivery of product, which complies with legal, food safety and quality requirements and meets customer specification.
• To manage and review the Quality Management Systems, KPI technical objectives, and analytical trending processes efficiently and cost effectively.
• To analyse quality data and advise the senior managers of trends and where appropriate, advise on corrective and preventative action.
• To manage and review the HACCP system against legislation, third party and customer standards to comply with legal, food safety and customer requirements.
• To ensure that demands on food safety and quality are defined, understood and met consistently in an environment that is hygienically and aesthetically sound and audit/visit ready at all times.
• To provide a technical service to all our customers with telephone and electronic interface as well as face to face meetings.
• To provide a technical service to the operations and commercial teams
• To maintain & improve finished product quality and attributes to deliver continuous improvement and customer initiatives.
• Directly manage all technical led audits by customers, 3rd party and regulatory authorities.
• Interface with suppliers to manage the on-going continuous improvement process.
• Evaluate and authorise all plant and process changes against food safety, hygiene and GMP requirements.

Key Requirements

• Factory
  • Development and management of the HACCP system, Supplier Quality Assurance and Quality Monitoring Plan around current and new equipment, processes, and raw materials / packaging.
  • Develop and lead the internal audit programme to ensure QMS and HACCP standards are met.
  • Ensure that appropriate standards / specifications are set, understood and monitored with specific emphasis on process and product control.
  • Effectively manage the quality and influence the hygienic integrity of the manufacturing operation to successfully produce safe food in accordance with the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety and Food Hygiene legislation.
  • Validation and verification of systems and control measures for vegan and allergen products.
  • Ensure technical training requirements are met, including all staff trained to the appropriate level of food safety, hygiene and allergen awareness.
  • Implementing the new standards and then maintaining them with close working relationships with all members of the management team
  • Maintain the factory documentation so that records of the process and procedures are accurately monitored. Manage completion, collection, filling and archive of factory paperwork.
  • Carry out regular traceability and recall trials to verify paperwork effectiveness
  • Maintain audit details and specifications on products from suppliers
  • Monitor, investigate and close out in a timely fashion all corrective actions arising from customer complaints, internal audits and non-conformances, 3rd party and Pest Control audits, and Customer audits using Root Cause Analysis where required.
  • Maintain a log of all customers complaints and feedback
  • Arrange and conduct meetings for management reviews of the Technical KPIs and Objectives, quality manual outputs and issues of Food Safety and Hygiene legislative standards.
  • Monitor the hygiene and fabrication of the factory via internal audit
  • Manage the provision of pest control
  • Offer advice and proposals for the improvements of processes, procedures and products
  • Liaise with customers on technical issues
  • Review all laboratory results and organize corrective actions as appropriate
  • Organising and conduct quality and GMP training
  • Monitor the training records of staff
  • Manage the external calibration of all factory measuring equipment
  • Review the licenses and contract from all service provides for the correct specification and within date

• Customer
  • Produce customer specifications for all products, and review and completion of artwork as required by customers.
  • Supply RAG attribute sheets for all products
  • Supply product Quality standards for all products
  • Implement the product specification for every new product and review existing specifications to a schedule
  • Maintain a log of all customers complaints, trending and feedback
  • Monitor all KPI information – trend and notify factory of issues
  • Complete contact reports with corrective actions for all customer visits
  • Maintain 3rd party accreditation to BRC Global Standard for Food safety at A grade
  • Maintain customer approval for all areas governed by the Technical function through visits, audits and Taste panels.
  • Drive the Food Safety and Quality Culture Plan.

• General
  • To carry out any reasonable request made of you by your Manager
  • To work within agreed budget targets
  • Work within the company values.
  • Train, coach and support the Technical team to deliver the support to the Production team and customers, with succession planning in place.
  • Lead and develop the technical expertise at all levels and all departments of the company.
  • To report immediately any major non-conformances that may pose a risk to the business.

If this position is of interest, you can apply with your CV today or get in touch for more information.