Hygiene Manager

Location: London Salary: Circa £60,000 + Bonus Working Hours: Monday to Friday – Days Industry: Food Manufacturing Alexander Steele Recruitment is working in partnership with an established and growing food manufacturing business in London to recruit an experienced Senior Hygiene Manager. This is an excellent opportunity for a strong and proactive Hygiene professional to take ownership of the hygiene function within a fast-paced manufacturing environment. The successful candidate will play a key role in maintaining exceptional standards of food safety and hygiene, developing a high-performing team and driving improvements across the site. We are looking for an experienced leader who combines strong technical knowledge with a hands-on approach and a genuine passion for developing people, improving processes and delivering operational excellence. Key Responsibilities * Lead, motivate and develop the site Hygiene team, creating a positive, accountable and high-performing working environment. * Identify opportunities to improve hygiene processes, operational efficiencies and cost effectiveness across the manufacturing site. * Work collaboratively with Production, Engineering, Technical and Quality teams to ensure hygiene activities support operational requirements. * Maintain high standards of food safety and hygiene, ensuring compliance with BRCGS, HACCP, customer requirements and relevant legislation. * Oversee departmental budgets, labour planning, resource allocation and external contractors to ensure an efficient and effective hygiene operation. * Take responsibility for the development and management of site cleaning programmes, ensuring effective scheduling, verification and continuous improvement. * Play a leading role in preparing for customer, third-party and regulatory audits, ensuring the site remains consistently audit-ready. * Oversee site pest control, waste management and environmental hygiene activities, ensuring appropriate standards and procedures are maintained. * Drive a strong health and safety culture across the department, ensuring safe working practices and compliance with COSHH requirements. * Implement training and development initiatives to strengthen team capabilities, improve performance and support succession planning. About You * Significant experience within hygiene management in a fast-paced food manufacturing or FMCG environment. * Proven experience leading and developing hygiene teams, ideally within a large or complex manufacturing operation. * Strong knowledge of food safety standards, BRCGS, HACCP, COSHH and hygiene management systems. * Experience managing budgets, departmental resources and continuous improvement projects. * A strong understanding of cleaning methodologies, hygiene verification, pest control and audit requirements. * Relevant Food Hygiene qualifications, ideally Advanced Food Hygiene, alongside health and safety training such as IOSH. * Excellent communication, organisational and leadership skills, with the ability to influence and work effectively across departments. * A proactive, solutions-focused and hands-on management style, with the ability to balance day-to-day operational demands with longer-term improvements. What's on Offer? 💰 Competitive salary of circa £60,000 + bonus 📅 Monday to Friday – Day shift 🚀 Excellent career development and progression opportunities 🏭 Opportunity to join an established and continually growing food manufacturing business Why Join? This is a fantastic opportunity to join a well-established manufacturing business that continues to grow and invest in its people and operations. The role offers genuine ownership of the hygiene function, with the opportunity to influence site standards, introduce improvements and develop a strong, capable team. You will work alongside experienced professionals across the business and have the opportunity to make a real impact on operational performance, food safety and continuous improvement. For an ambitious Hygiene Manager looking for a new challenge, greater responsibility and long-term career development, this is an opportunity not to be missed Interested in finding out more? Please apply with your updated CV or contact Tracey Fleming at Alexander Steele Recruitment for a confidential discussion about the position