Factory Technical Manager

The Company

Nigel Wright is delighted to be supporting a leading UK food manufacturer in the search for a Factory Technical Manager.

This is a highly visible, hands-on technical leadership role, ideal for someone who enjoys being on the factory floor, working cross-functionally with Production, Engineering, Hygiene and Quality teams to drive standards, improve audit performance and champion a positive quality culture.

Reporting to the Site Technical Manager, you will act as the key link between Technical and Operations, ensuring products consistently meet customer and regulatory requirements whilst maintaining audit readiness across the site.

This is an opportunity to join a well-established food manufacturing business where quality and technical standards are genuinely valued. You'll work closely with an experienced Site Technical Manager and play a key role in further strengthening factory standards, audit performance and quality culture across the operation.

The Role

• Lead day-to-day technical standards across the factory
• Conduct regular factory walkarounds, identifying risks and driving corrective actions
• Ensure the site remains audit-ready at all times
• Coach and influence Production, Engineering, Hygiene and Warehouse teams to embed best practice
• Support customer, retailer and third-party audits
• Drive continuous improvement activities to reduce non-conformances and improve compliance
• Manage pest control activities and site technical standards
• Collect and manage customer approval samples
• Provide leadership and support to quality teams when required
• Work flexibly across shifts to ensure standards are maintained consistently throughout the operation

The Candidate

We are looking for an experienced food manufacturing professional who enjoys being close to the operation and leading from the front.

You may currently be a Factory Technical Manager or perhaps a Quality Manager, QA Manager or Technical professional ready to step into a broader factory-facing role.

You will ideally bring:

• Experience within food manufacturing
• Strong understanding of food safety, quality systems and HACCP
• Experience supporting customer and third-party audits
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams
• Previous people management or supervisory experience
• A practical, hands-on approach with a visible factory presence
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to build credibility at all levels of the business.