Job Description
Job Title: Site Head of Technical
Location: North East England
Role Overview
Responsible for leading the technical and quality function across a manufacturing site, ensuring products consistently meet legal, safety, quality, and customer requirements. The role focuses on implementing technical strategy, driving continuous improvement, maintaining compliance standards, and developing strong cross-functional relationships throughout the business.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the site technical and quality function, ensuring high standards of food safety, legality, authenticity, and product quality.
- Manage and support the technical team on a day-to-day basis, encouraging accountability, development, and continuous improvement.
- Implement and support wider business technical and compliance strategies.
- Work collaboratively with operational, commercial, and supply chain teams to ensure aligned decision-making and effective communication.
- Establish measurable objectives for the technical department and regularly review performance against agreed targets.
- Use operational and quality data to monitor site performance and identify improvement opportunities.
- Develop and maintain strong customer relationships through joint quality initiatives and effective issue resolution.
- Coordinate and lead customer visits, audits, product launches, and external inspections.
- Maintain strong audit performance and ensure compliance with relevant standards and certifications.
- Provide technical input into product development, process improvements, and manufacturing changes.
- Support wider business projects and additional technical activities as required.
About you
- Technical Leadership experience in food manufacturing (preferably chilled)
- Strong UK retailer experience (ideally M&S, Tesco, Asda, JS)
- Proven audit leadership and customer-facing capability
- Commercially aware, confident and resilient in fast-paced environment
Qualifications
- Degree or equivalent qualification in Food Science or a related discipline.
- HACCP Level 3 (or equivalent).
- Food Safety Level 3.
- Lead Auditor qualification.
- Knowledge of TACCP and food integrity principles.
- Full UK driving license.
