Head of Technical in Thatcham

Our business has a long and proud history of food excellence. We produce award-winning dressings, condiments and marinades for many of the UK’s leading food manufacturers and retailers as well as nurturing our own brands: Very Lazy® and Newman’s Own®. We believe it’s our passion for good food, fine ingredients and technical excellence that sets us apart and gives us our success. We’re a spirited, adventurous and resourceful team, and we think these qualities make for something pretty unique and coveted these days. From the mayonnaise and chutneys we create to the management styles and choices we make, everything is guided by our core company values: Put people first, Bring positive energy, Do the right thing the right way and Be better everyday. It’s these values that make us look forward to coming to work every day and make English Provender company a great place to work.

This is a senior leadership role with full technical, food safety, quality, and compliance accountability for the Newport manufacturing site, supporting a mixed customer portfolio including major UK Retailers, Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), Business-to-Business (B2B) customers, and export markets. Reporting into EPCs Technical Director the role is responsible for leading all site technical activities, ensuring the effective delivery of standardised business ways of working including product quality and E2E life cycle ownership, customer requirements, regulatory compliance, audit readiness, and right-first-time product manufacturing. Working in close partnership with Site Operations, Engineering, and Supply Chain, the Customer Head of Technical plays a critical role in driving operational food safety, quality performance, and continuous improvement across the site.

• Customer Technical, Food Safety & Quality Leadership
  • Act as the primary technical interface for all customers supplied from the site, representing the business at senior technical level.
  • Be the voice of the customer on site, ensuring customer standards, codes of practice, and specifications are fully understood and embedded within site operations.
  • Lead regular customer technical reviews and KPI performance meetings, maintaining strong, transparent relationships across a mixed customer portfolio.
  • Define and deliver the site Customer Technical Strategy, aligned to business objectives, customer requirements, and site capability.
  • Actively drive and role‑model a strong food safety and quality culture, ensuring accountability at all levels of the site.
  • Maintain effective communication with regulatory bodies and certification bodies where required.
• Site Technical Management & Operational Food Safety
  • Hold full accountability for site food safety, quality, and legality, ensuring compliance with UK/EU food law, customer standards, and certification requirements.
  • Lead the site Technical team, ensuring effective day‑to‑day management of food safety and quality systems.
  • Ensure the site Food Safety Management System (FSMS) is fully implemented, maintained, and continuously improved, including HACCP, prerequisite programmes, TACCP, and VACCP.
  • Drive strong operational food safety performance, working closely with Operations to manage risks, deviations, and non‑conformances.
  • Ensure the site is maintained in a constant state of audit readiness, with robust internal audit programmes, standards validation, and corrective action management.
  • Lead all external audits and inspections (e.g. BRCGS, customer audits, regulatory visits), ensuring effective preparation, execution, and closure of non‑conformances.
• Product Launch & Process Implementation
  • Lead all technical aspects of product introductions and process changes at site level, from concept approval through factory trials to post‑launch review.
  • Ensure manufacturing processes, CCPs, quality attributes, and control parameters are clearly defined, validated, and embedded prior to launch.
  • Work with Process Technology and Operations teams to ensure safe, robust, and efficient scale‑up and implementation of new products.
  • Ensure all products are fully compliant with customer specifications, legal requirements (labelling, allergens, claims), and export regulations where applicable.
  • Oversee raw material and packaging approval, supplier risk assessment, and technical agreements.
  • Work closely with other business senior leadership and site Heads of Technical to lead, coach, and develop the site Technical team, building capability, accountability, and succession to create a singular efficient and effective EPC way of working.
  • Set clear objectives, manage performance, and ensure effective resource allocation to support production, audits, and NPD/EPD activity.
  • Ensure the team maintains up‑to‑date knowledge of food law, customer standards, and industry best practice.
  • Promote cross‑functional collaboration and continuous improvement across the site.
• Quality Performance, Complaints & Incident Management
  • Own site quality performance, including finished product testing, data trending, and management of out‑of‑specification results.
  • Lead the investigation and resolution of customer complaints, ensuring robust root cause analysis, CAPA implementation, and timely customer responses.
  • Lead all site technical incidents, including withdrawals and recalls, ensuring full regulatory compliance and effective communication.
  • Use quality, complaint, and audit data to drive continuous improvement and risk reduction.

Please note that the company does not offer sponsorship for roles that have an imminent or immediate start and therefore no sponsorship will be offered for this role. Only those candidates who have a legal right to work in the United Kingdom without requiring sponsorship from us will be considered.