Technical Compliance Manager in Trowbridge

At apetito, we are committed to delivering the highest standards of food safety, quality and compliance. We’re looking for an experienced Technical Compliance Manager to help us maintain and continually improve these standards. As Technical Compliance Manager, you will lead the validation, verification and audit of our UK food safety and quality systems. You’ll work closely with technical and operational teams to ensure full compliance with legal requirements and maintain our AA grade BRCGS Food Safety certification. This is a fantastic time to join us as we grow towards £300m in turnover, investing in a new, state‑of‑the‑art frozen food manufacturing facility alongside our existing site in Trowbridge. Your responsibilities will cover both sites, offering significant opportunity for development as our operations expand.

apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings. Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness. Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

Responsibilities:

• Behaving in a manner that ensures the H&S of yourself and others.
• Ensuring food safety and quality compliance remains in line with company expectations, BRCGS AA grade requirements and other 3rd party expectations.
• Engaging with and supporting audits by external personnel.
• Maintaining respected, collaborative and influential relationships with colleagues and external personnel.
• Scheduling and completion of food safety and quality focused internal audits.
• Completion of root cause analysis for all significant failures.
• Implementation and success of corrective actions.
• Management of services and standards provided by technical contractors e.g. pest control and equipment calibration/maintenance.
• Ensuring HACCP and related process control systems and procedures are validated, verified, effectively applied and up to date as a key member of HACCP teams.
• Ensuring appropriate training and support is maintained for individuals involved in applying HACCP based procedures.
• Reduction of Customer Complaints.
• Submission and presentation of monthly reports in relation to key accountabilities and KPI’s.

Qualifications/Personal Qualities:

• Essential:
• Experience in food safety and quality compliance in a complex food manufacturing environment.
• Internal Auditor certification.
• Working knowledge of food safety and quality risks.
• Confidence creating, developing and maintaining food safety and quality management systems.
• Confident with using computer software.
• Strong communication skills.
• Self-motivated.
• Meticulous, accurate, analytical fact-based approach.
• Able to build strong relationships with colleagues.
• Flexible and adaptable.
• Full driving licence and own transport to be able to visit sites nationwide.
• Desirable:
• Lead auditor qualified (if not already held, this course must be passed to complete the probationary period).
• Advanced food hygiene/HACCP.
• Thorough knowledge of relevant BRCGS Standards.
• Experience as a SAP user.
• Food science or related degree; equivalent level of industry experience will also be considered.

Company Benefits:

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer.
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays.
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year.
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme.
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%.
• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary.
• Subsidised canteen.
• Free parking.
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas.
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts.

Our Values:

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of. We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well‑being for all our customers. We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people. We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040. Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer. We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds. Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we are on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.