Head Of Technical

Location:

Burton-on-Trent

Salary: £70,000 - £75,000

Contract:

Full-time, senior leadership position

Are you an experienced technical leader within food manufacturing, ready to take ownership of site-wide quality, food safety, compliance and hygiene? Do you have the strategic vision to strengthen technical standards while building a high-performing team and maintaining the confidence of major retail customers?

Our client is seeking a Head of Technical to lead its technical, quality, compliance and hygiene functions at its manufacturing site in Burton-on-Trent. This is a senior leadership role with significant influence over site performance, customer relationships, operational standards and the development of a strong food safety culture.

Reporting to the General Manager, with a group-level technical reporting line, you will be a key member of the Site Leadership Team. You will lead the QA Manager, Technical Compliance Manager and Hygiene Manager, ensuring that products are consistently manufactured to the highest standards of safety, legality, authenticity and quality.

This is an opportunity for a commercially aware, technically strong professional who can combine strategic leadership with a hands-on approach to managing risk, driving improvement and delivering results.

You will develop and deliver the site's technical strategy, ensuring it aligns with business objectives, customer expectations and wider group requirements. Taking overall ownership of the Food Safety and Quality Management System, you'll ensure systems remain robust, effective and audit-ready, while continually identifying opportunities to improve standards and reduce risk.

You will oversee HACCP, VACCP and TACCP, ensuring that food safety hazards, product authenticity risks and potential threats are properly assessed, controlled and reviewed. You'll also maintain compliance with BRCGS requirements, UK food legislation, customer codes of practice and relevant industry standards.

As the senior technical authority on site, you'll provide clear advice to the leadership team on emerging risks, regulatory changes, audit performance and technical priorities. You'll use data, risk assessments and key performance indicators to drive decision-making and ensure that technical performance supports both operational efficiency and customer confidence.

Building and maintaining strong customer relationships will be central to the role. You'll act as a key technical contact for major retail customers and food service partners, managing technical visits, customer expectations and audit requirements. You'll also maintain effective relationships with Environmental Health, Trading Standards and other relevant authorities.

You’ll lead and host customer, regulatory and third-party audits, including BRCGS and applicable certification schemes. This will involve ensuring that documentation, specifications, customer portals and supporting evidence are accurate, current and consistently maintained.

You will oversee internal audit programmes, ensure corrective actions are completed effectively and lead the response to non-conformances, customer complaints, contamination concerns and food safety incidents. Applying robust root-cause analysis, you'll ensure corrective and preventative actions address underlying issues and deliver sustainable improvements.

Traceability, mass balance, supplier assurance and raw material approval will also sit within your remit, alongside ensuring compliance with labelling, allergen and product integrity requirements.

You’ll lead the site's approach to hygiene, housekeeping, GMP, allergen management and environmental…