Technical Services Manager (Contract) in Chichester

The primary responsibility of this role is to lead and deliver food safety, technical, and compliance strategies across Nature’s Way Foods, ensuring safe, legal, and high-quality food is consistently produced. The role has accountability for supplier assurance, technical compliance systems, and ethical standards, while maintaining strong internal and external stakeholder relationships and ensuring alignment with regulatory, customer, and industry requirements.

This position plays a critical role in maintaining due diligence, supporting supplier performance, and protecting customer trust through robust compliance frameworks, auditing, and continuous improvement.

• Lead and develop the Supplier Assurance and Specifications function, ensuring effective capability, governance, and performance.
• Own food safety, legality, due diligence, and product integrity across the supply base, ensuring consistently safe and compliant raw materials.
• Monitor supplier legal compliance (e.g. pesticide MRLs, microbiological performance), leading investigations and corrective actions for non-conformances.
• Create, implement, and continuously improve food safety and technical compliance strategies, policies, and procedures within the QMS.
• Lead implementation and auditing of the NWF Compliance Standard and internal audit programmes across all sites, driving best practice and continuous improvement.
• Partner with senior leadership, customers, and suppliers to maintain best-in-class food safety and due diligence standards, representing NWF as required.

Proven auditing experience within FMCG and perishable food environments, with a strong technical background and understanding of food and pesticide legislation. Experience working across multiple food categories (including produce), multi-site operations, and with major retailers and foodservice customers. Qualified Lead Auditor/Assessor with Advanced Food Hygiene and HACCP Level 3–4 certification. Degree (or equivalent) in Food Technology or a related discipline desirable, with demonstrable people management experience.

Nature’s Way Foods is the leading manufacturer of prepared salads, coleslaw and “food-to-go” for supermarkets and retailers, and as such we work closely with farmers across Europe. Our culture is inclusive, and our people are diverse spanning 39 different languages. We operate four manufacturing facilities capable of producing over 326m units per year. It is an exciting time to join Nature’s Way Foods as we are growing rapidly and there are genuine opportunities to progress within the organisation.

At Nature's Way Food, we believe that diversity and inclusion are key to driving innovation and achieving excellence. We are dedicated to building a diverse team that reflects the communities we serve and the world we live in. Together, we can become best at fresh.