Senior Technical Manager
The company
This is an opportunity to join a market-leading food manufacturing business with a strong reputation for quality, innovation, and operational excellence. With multiple manufacturing sites across the UK, the organisation is committed to delivering safe, legal, and high-quality products while continuously improving standards, performance, and customer satisfaction.
As part of the senior leadership team, you will play a critical role in shaping the technical strategy, influencing business direction, and driving a culture where food safety, quality, and continuous improvement remain at the heart of everything the business does.
The role
As Senior Technical Manager, you will provide both strategic and operational leadership across food safety, quality, legality, and product compliance for all UK manufacturing operations.
You will lead the UK Technical function, ensuring that quality management systems, governance processes, and compliance frameworks support the consistent delivery of safe, legal, and high-quality products.
Key responsibilities include:
- Developing and delivering the UK Technical Strategy in line with business objectives.
- Leading and continuously improving the Quality Management System across multiple sites.
- Ensuring compliance with legislation, certification standards, customer requirements, and internal policies.
- Driving improvements in quality performance, complaint reduction, audit outcomes, and operational standards.
- Acting as the primary technical contact for customers, certification bodies, regulatory authorities, and external stakeholders.
- Providing technical leadership during crisis management situations, serious incidents, and product recall activities.
- Coaching, developing, and building capability within the UK Technical and Quality teams.
- Establishing meaningful KPIs and using data, trend analysis, and root cause investigation to drive sustainable improvements.
The candidate
We are seeking an experienced technical leader with a proven track record of operating successfully within a complex food manufacturing environment.
You will bring:
- Extensive experience in senior technical, quality, or food safety leadership roles.
- Strong knowledge of food manufacturing, quality management systems, and regulatory compliance.
- Expertise in BRCGS standards, HACCP, TACCP, VACCP, GMP, and customer audit requirements.
- Experience managing technical teams across multiple manufacturing sites.
- Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to engage customers, certification bodies, regulators, and senior business leaders.
- A commercial mindset combined with strong analytical and problem-solving capability.
- Experience leading continuous improvement initiatives and delivering measurable performance improvements.
- Outstanding communication, coaching, and leadership skills.
This is an outstanding opportunity for a high-calibre technical professional looking to make a significant impact within a progressive and ambitious food manufacturing business.
Engineering & Manufacturing – Food & Drink
Teesside Office
DD: +44 191 269 0668
M: +44 784 336 7206
E: lisa.bird@nigelwright.com