Technical Manager

The first point of contact for escalation of both internal and externally raised issues. Ensuring that the factory produces food that meets legislative, safety and quality standards though correct implementation of standards and customer codes of practice. Report the site KPI’s in defined meetings, driving towards improving audit scores and reducing customer complaints. Substitute for the Head of Technical.

Coordinate all audits from a factory perspective, ensuring relevant corrective and preventative actions are put in place within the required timescales.

Develop and maintain a robust online Quality System including Micro Standards, on Quor, that meets legal requirements and complies with customer Codes of Practice and Guidelines.

You will be required to ensure that any expenditure within your control is in line with budgetary limits and approved by the budget holder.

Act as a key member of the site’s internal audit programme, driving improvements and compliance. Coordinate with the Group Internal Audit manager to ensure audits are up to date and completed on time.

Drive consistency of QA approach across shifts and actively encourage a positive, yet challenging, working relationship with the operations, hygiene and engineering teams.

Effectively manage QA team members in a proactive manner on a daily basis. This may include but is not exhaustive to organising team meetings, undertaking performance reviews, completing team administration, managing ad hoc HR issues, recruitment and training/development activities.

Key interactions with all internal disciplines.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities:

• Ensure the site’s quality & safety management system inc. quality manual and procedures are regularly maintained and reviewed to achieve continuous improvement.
• Coordinate the creation/ amendment and approval of procedures to ensure regulatory bodies/ customer requirements are interpreted, implemented, and achieved within the factory
• Lead the site HACCP team, ensuring food safety hazards are appropriately considered with robust control measures implemented. Ensure reviews are conducted to keep the HACCP system ‘live’ and relevant in line with NPD/ EPD, factory or equipment changes etc.
• Lead 3rd and 2nd party audits and visits as required e.g. BRC, EHO, customers. Ensure robust corrective and preventative actions, are logged on Quor, using RCA as appropriate, are implemented and submitted in line with timescales for external and/or internal audits to prevent reoccurrence
• Ensure a high standard of product safety, legality & quality assurance is maintained from goods intake through to dispatch of products via:
• a) Internal audits of GMP / HACCP / Hygiene / Glass & Hard Plastic/ Fabrication using Quor
• b) Effective pest control is delivered via contracted providers
• c) Product & WIP quality assessment
• d) Communication of trends and consequent actions for Technical KPIs
• e) Ingredient, environmental & product sampling & trend analysis

Act as a key contact point for internal & external business customers regarding technical matters affecting product safety, legality & quality. Be the first point of escalation for any internal or external day-to-day issues

Dictate and coordinate completion of factory-based actions using data provided by the technical services and laboratory teams for complaints, micro OOS and other factory related technical KPIs in order to continually drive improvement. Communicate actions and consequent results as appropriate to internal/ external customers via KPI/ Period reports or reviews

Provide a cost effective & resource efficient factory technical function via:

a) maintaining budgetary requirements for the factory technical department

b) recruiting, managing, coaching & developing factory technical staff

c) controlling structure and maintaining job descriptions

d) implementing objectives, conducting PDPs and appraisals in line with the company’s technical strategy

e) identifying training & development needs

Ensure the QA teams are suitably skilled and continually developed to drive improvement within the factory environment. Conduct performance management/ disciplinarians/ other HR processes as appropriate

Ensure that all relevant legislations affecting food safety & legality are being followed on site

Liaise with the NPD and Process team during product development & factory trials to ensure products can be produced to the agreed quality and safety standards. Analyse and approve microbial product shelf life, making suggestions to improve shelf life as required

Liaise with factory-based teams I.e. Operations, Hygiene, Engineering, conducting regular audits/ reviews raising non-conformances on Quor, as appropriate, to challenge and drive improvement. Enable trending within the department for Non-Conformances, Concessions, GMP’s etc.

Attend and contribute to internal and external forums as Food Safety and Quality subject matter expert

Ensure all customer portals are updated promptly to close out actions with raised therein, e.g. site visit actions, consistency panel actions.

Be directly involved with enquiries from local authorities e.g. EHOs, TSOs

Effectively manage customer complaint or other technical OOS investigations from a factory perspective, liaising with the Group Technical Services team to produce investigation reports. Provide evidence/ information to facilitate corrective actions

Conduct incident management for any internally or externally raised food quality, safety and legality issues, acting as a key member and deputy lead of the site’s crisis management team

Manage and maintain up to date factory based technical risk assessments with focuses on foreign body, allergens, segregation inc. barrier control, and product integrity

Contribute to the site’s Food safety culture plan as part of the technical management team

Oversee the management and maintenance of factory-based systems e.g. packaging/ auto coding and checkweigher systems

Ensure that all Health and Safety procedures are adhered to. Ensure that direct and indirect reports are trained in these procedures including risk assessments, and are made aware of the Company’s Health and Safety Policy

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• Formal qualification to HND standard or above in Food Technology or related discipline
• Experience in chilled food manufacturing environment, ideally ready meals
• Experience of dealing with major retailers
• Understanding of food legislation, particularly as regards legal labelling
• Understanding of retail COP’s relating to labelling standards and critical path (to launch) management
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Experience in a retail customer facing role
• Knowledge of Quor would be beneficial but not essential

Please note: This job description outlines the core responsibilities and duties of the role. It is not an exhaustive list, and the role may evolve over time to include additional tasks and responsibilities in line with business needs.

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