Technical Account Manager in Leek

Location: Leek, Staffordshire

Hours: Monday to Friday (Office Hours)

Salary: Generous salary depending on experience

Benefits: Free onsite parking, Generous annual leave entitlement, Matched Company Contribution Pension, Subsidised Staff Canteen, Company Shop offering discounts on Ornua products, Sports & Social Club, Staff Lottery, Discount on Bikes & Tech Scheme, Confidential Employee Assist Programme.

Ornua is Ireland’s largest of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for over 55 years. Are you a Technical Account Manager looking for the challenge of taking a mission driven organisation to its next level of success? Ornua is actively seeking a Technical Account Manager to join our Technical department as we continue our growth trajectory. The Technical Account Manager acts as a vital link between Ornua and its key clients, ensuring the technical aspects of the product and its delivery meet customer expectations and regulatory standards.

This role involves managing technical compliance, driving continuous improvement, and providing expert support for product development and problem-solving within the food manufacturing process. The role is in addition an active support function for the Specification Technologist in delivering efficient, accurate Customer Technical Experience in the generation of Customer Specifications, Artwork & the tasks covered in the role.

Why Ornua? Ornua operates from 10 business units worldwide, including 16 production facilities, and has sales and marketing teams working in-market across all four corners of the globe. The Group is structured across two divisions: Ornua Foods and Ornua Ingredients. Ornua Foods is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Kerrygold, Pilgrims Choice. Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organisation, creating value for Irish dairy farming families. Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together. We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities. Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.

Why This Role Is Valuable? As our Technical Account Manager you will be responsible for leading on:

• Customer & Retailer Support: Manage relationships with key retailers and B2B customers, ensuring compliance with technical standards and requirements. Provide technical expertise and support to customers, addressing queries, complaints, and product rejections. Attend customer meetings, audits, and site visits to present product information when required.
• Technical Compliance & Quality: Oversee technical compliance, supplier performance, and food safety across the supply chain. Identify and implement improvements in manufacturing processes and product quality. Stay up to date with food legislation, labelling regulations, and customer technical policies.
• Specification & Data Management: Create, manage, and approve product specifications to meet internal standards and customer requirements. Maintain accurate product data and records within internal systems. Prepare ingredient declarations, nutritional information, and allergen data, including customer-specific formats.
• Artwork & Packaging Compliance: Review and approve artwork to ensure technical accuracy and compliance with customer guidelines. Manage the artwork approval process and attend pre-artwork meetings to align on expectations. Generate accurate and legally compliant pack copy for product labels.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with engineering, quality control, product development, procurement, and supply chain teams to ensure seamless operations and timely product launches. Contribute technical input to new product development and collaborate on critical path management.
• Training & Communication: Provide training and support to clients on product usage and technical aspects. Communicate technical information effectively to customers and internal teams, including reporting on performance and compliance.

What You Bring To The Role:

• Relevant food science or related subject qualification / Strong technical knowledge of food science, manufacturing processes, and relevant regulations.
• Detailed and strong technical account management skills within the food industry.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to build relationships with clients and internal teams.
• Problem-solving and analytical skills to identify and resolve technical issues.
• Ability to present technical information clearly and persuasively.
• Experience with quality management systems and food safety standards.
• Familiarity with retailer specification, artwork systems & codes of practice.

Our interview process is designed to be thorough yet supportive. This process includes a first stage via Teams to allow us to get to know you better and to understand your skills and experiences and, if successful, a second stage face-to-face interview that will build upon the first stage and give you the opportunity to get a feel for Ornua and the environment in which you will be working. Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua. Would you like to make an impact?

To learn more, please visit Ornua at Ornua values diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. We also strongly encourage women and other underrepresented groups in the manufacturing industry to apply. Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and will be instrumental in driving our company’s continued success. Join us in shaping a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future. Ornua is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. We will make every effort to provide for any reasonable accessibility needs you may have during your employment with us. If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know — we’re here to support you.