Senior Hygiene Manager

Starting Salary: £48,000 - £55,000 pa

Working Pattern: Site-based, Monday- Friday

An established bakery manufacturing business is looking to appoint an experienced Senior Hygiene Manager to lead its hygiene function and drive exceptional standards across a fast-paced operation.

This is a senior, hands-on leadership role with responsibility for developing and continuously improving hygiene, housekeeping, pest management, waste and cleaning standards across the site. You'll lead the Hygiene team while working closely with Operations, Technical, Engineering, Planning and Health & Safety to ensure consistently high standards of food safety and compliance.

With a strong focus on BRCGS, retailer standards and audit readiness, you will have the autonomy to challenge existing practices, identify risks and implement improvements that deliver sustainable change across the operation.

This role needs someone who can combine strategic thinking with a genuine presence on the factory floor. You'll lead from the front, influence teams outside of your direct reporting line and create a culture where hygiene is everyone's responsibility.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead, coach and develop the Hygiene team, ensuring clear standards, accountability and ongoing development
• Develop and implement the site's hygiene strategy, driving continuous improvement across cleaning and housekeeping standards
• Develop and maintain Cleaning SOPs, Cleaning Instruction Cards and risk-based cleaning frequencies
• Validate and continually improve cleaning effectiveness through inspections, environmental monitoring and trend analysis
• Lead the site's pest management programme, including prevention, monitoring, trend analysis and corrective actions
• Maintain compliance with BRCGS, retailer Codes of Practice, HACCP, COSHH, Health & Safety and relevant food safety requirements
• Act as a hygiene subject matter expert during customer, retailer and certification audits
• Lead root cause investigations and implement robust corrective and preventative actions where standards fall outside specification
• Develop and monitor hygiene KPIs, using data and trends to identify risks and drive measurable improvements
• Lead hygiene-related risk assessments, chemical controls, waste management and environmental initiatives
• Deliver hygiene and food safety training while coaching managers and operational teams on expectations and standards
• Lead hygiene improvement projects and support wider capital projects to ensure hygienic design principles are considered

What's In It for You

• A senior leadership role with genuine ownership of the hygiene function
• The opportunity to shape hygiene strategy and influence standards across the wider manufacturing operation
• A role where you'll have visibility and influence across Operations, Technical, Engineering and senior leadership
• The opportunity to lead significant continuous improvement projects across hygiene, pest management, waste and environmental standards
• The chance to develop a strong hygiene team and build capability and succession for the future

Your Background

• Significant hygiene management experience within bakery manufacturing is a must
• Strong leadership experience within a food manufacturing environment, including managing and developing hygiene teams
• Expert understanding of bakery hygiene, cleaning systems and food safety standards
• Strong working knowledge of BRCGS, HACCP and COSHH requirements
• Experience developing Cleaning SOPs, Cleaning Instruction Cards and hygiene risk assessments
• Strong knowledge of pest management within food manufacturing, including Integrated Pest Management principles and bakery-related pest risks
• Experience supporting and leading customer, retailer and certification audits
• Advanced Food Hygiene and HACCP qualifications, alongside relevant Health & Safety and COSHH training
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify trends, establish root cause and implement sustainable improvements
• A confident and influential leadership style with the ability to challenge standards constructively at all levels

Join a Business That Invests in You

This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of hygiene standards within an established bakery manufacturing operation. You'll have the scope to strengthen systems, develop people and drive meaningful improvements across food safety, cleaning, pest management and overall site standards.

If you're an experienced bakery hygiene leader who enjoys being close to the operation, developing teams and creating a culture of consistently high standards, we would love to hear from you