Food Safety Lead in Leven

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, we’re the world’s leading premium drinks company. Bring your passion and use your curiosity as you explore, collaborate, and innovate to build brands consumers love. Together with passionate people from all over the world, you’ll test new ideas, learn and grow, and unlock a brighter, more exciting future.

Our packaging site in Leven is the largest spirits bottling operation in Europe. Leven alongside Shieldhall package a huge volume of Scotch malt whiskies, white spirits and ready to drink brands to supply over 170 countries around the world. As the Food Safety Lead, you have the exciting opportunity to shape and define the food safety landscape for new zero alcohol product line at this iconic site. This role is pivotal as we embark on packaging operations exclusively for non-alcoholic beverages for the first time. You will be responsible for ensuring that the site's food safety systems are robust, compliant, and effectively implemented across all bottling operations.

In this position, you will lead and maintain the site’s Food Safety Management System (FSMS), ensuring compliance with industry standards and customer requirements. Your leadership extends to providing functional oversight for the Microbiology Laboratory to ensure effective microbiological control of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic product lines. A strong food safety culture is driven across the site to support continuous improvement within manufacturing and bottling operations. While you oversee the day-to-day activities of the Functional Microbiologist, you will guide their contributions and foster collaboration.

This is your chance to make a lasting impact by driving innovation in food safety practices at Leven!

• Lead the Food Safety plan for all alcoholic and non-alcoholic categories, including hazard analysis, CCP/OPRP management, validation, and verification.
• Ensure site readiness for all food safety audits and conduct internal audits aligned to FSSC 22000, ISO 9001, and GRMS standards.
• Oversee micro lab functional activities such as environmental monitoring, microbiological testing regimes, method updates, and trending of results.
• Manage food safety incidents for both alcohol and non-alcohol products (e.g., micro positives in non-alc products, glass breakage, foreign body investigations).
• Support raw material and packaging supplier approval with a focus on spirit and mixer-specific hazards (e.g., ethanol compliance, flavorings, syrups, acids, water).
• Ensure robust cleaning validation and sanitation controls in bottling lines and spirit supply areas.
• Deliver food safety and GMP training to support the development of strong food safety behaviours in high-throughput bottling operations.
• Lead Root Cause Problem Solving (RCPS) activities; undertake Analysis for Specific Projects to address various troubleshooting issues.
• Functionally manage the Microbiological Laboratory team along with associated budgetary responsibilities to consistently meet business requirements.

• Degree in Microbiology, Food Science, Chemical or related scientific discipline with extensive knowledge of classical microbiology techniques: aseptic technique, serial dilution, spread plating, filtration plating, water and environmental monitoring, GLP.
• Practical experience with low and no alcohol products or other high-risk food categories is advantageous.
• Experience in beverage manufacturing, preferably spirits, Ready To Drink products (RTDs), soft drinks, or other aqueous product environments.
• Familiarity with high-speed bottling, hygienic zoning, and beverage processing operations.

• Strong understanding of microbial risks in both high-ABV and low-ABV/non-alcoholic beverages, including spoilage organisms, yeast, mould, and biofilm risks.
• Proficiency in aseptic techniques, microbial identification, and microbiological method development/validation.
• In-depth knowledge of trace contaminants (non-microbial) in food and beverages with water microbiology as an advantage.
• Good working knowledge of CIP and COP systems with a track record in troubleshooting microbial issues and familiarity with sanitation/cleaning validation in bottling and blending operations.
• Expert knowledge of HACCP, GMP, ISO 9001, and food safety management systems (FSSC 22000 preferred).
• Ability to interpret microbiological data, trend results, translate findings into risk-based actions, and direct appropriate testing methods for spirits and non-alcoholic beverages.
• Knowledge of environmental monitoring programs including RLU trending, air/ATP/contact plate programs, and water quality control.
• Competent at leading root cause analysis efforts and driving CAPA closures effectively.
• Confident with QMS systems encompassing document control, specification management, and digital audit tools.

Celebrating our inclusive and diverse culture is core to Diageo’s purpose of “celebrating life every day everywhere”. This purpose is, in itself, inclusive in nature, as it values everybody irrespective of background, disability, religion, gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity. We know that for our business to thrive and for Diageo to realize its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the 180 countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base. We view diversity as one of the key enablers that helps our business to grow and our values, purpose and standards set the conditions for us to respect the unique contribution each person brings.

Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected Consumer Products Company in the world. To achieve these, we need the world’s very best people. We’re looking for people with creativity, boldness and a sense of purpose to take Diageo and our timeless, pioneering brands to the next level. If you’re ready to make a meaningful impact and thrive in a dynamic team environment, we encourage you to apply.

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