Lead Technical Manager

We are looking for a Lead Technical Manager to join our technical team and play a key role in driving food safety, quality, integrity and compliance across Booker’s product portfolio and supply base.

Reporting to the Head of Technical, you will help turn our technical strategy into action, strengthening our technical frameworks, governance and ways of working to ensure we continue to meet the highest standards of product assurance.

As a senior technical leader, you will work closely with teams across Booker, providing expert advice and ensuring technical considerations are at the heart of business decisions. You will identify and manage emerging risks, support continuous improvement and help build technical capability across the function.

You will also deputise for the Head of Technical when required, providing leadership across the function and representing Technical in senior meetings, incidents and key business decisions.

• Supporting the delivery of Booker’s technical strategy, turning strategic priorities into clear and actionable plans.
• Acting as a senior technical authority for food safety, quality, product integrity and compliance.
• Strengthening and embedding Booker’s technical frameworks, policies, standards and governance.
• Developing and monitoring technical KPIs to provide clear visibility of performance, compliance and risk.
• Identifying emerging technical, regulatory and industry risks and ensuring appropriate actions are taken.
• Leading technical risk assessments across products, suppliers and regulatory requirements.
• Translating scientific, regulatory and consumer insight into practical actions for the business.
• Working closely with Commercial, Supply Chain, Operations, Legal and Customer teams to ensure technical requirements are considered in business decisions.
• Ensuring technical requirements embedded within category strategies, supplier decisions and product development.
• Building strong relationships with suppliers, industry bodies and regulatory stakeholders.
• Leading, coaching and developing Technical Managers and Specialists, setting clear expectations and supporting the development of technical capability across the team.
• Driving continuous improvement across technical processes, systems and ways of working.
• Acting as a senior technical decision-maker during incidents, product withdrawals, recalls and other escalations.
• Ensuring robust root-cause analysis and corrective actions are completed across suppliers and categories.
• Providing clear, evidence-based technical recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Deputising for the Head of Technical when required, including during incidents and at senior leadership meetings.
• Supporting strategic planning, budget management and technical transformation programmes.
• Championing a product-first, quality-driven culture across Booker.

• Significant technical leadership experience within food retail, wholesale or manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge and experience of food safety, quality management, compliance and product governance.
• Experience of technical risk management, incident handling and making informed technical decisions.
• A strong understanding of supplier assurance, product development and end-to-end supply chain integrity.
• Experience of influencing senior stakeholders and working effectively across different business functions.
• Experience of leading, coaching and developing technical teams.
• The confidence and credibility to challenge constructively and influence decision-making.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex technical information for different audiences.
• Excellent judgement, attention to detail and a high level of professional integrity.
• A relevant technical or food science qualification.

Booker is the UK’s leading food & drink wholesaler. We are privileged to serve independent retailers, caterers and small businesses, from locations across the country. We operate over 190 cash and carry branches, 8 distribution centres, 5 Best Food Logistics sites, as well as 6 support centre locations across the UK.

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