Global Head of Food Safety and Defence in London

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you. As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don't compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive because we expect pace and agility, insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact.

What will this role achieve? The Global Head of Food Safety and Defence is accountable for protecting consumers and pladis global brands by leading the design, governance, and execution of global food safety and food defence programmes across all manufacturing plants, R&D facilities, co-manufacturers, suppliers, and distribution centres. This role ensures that products are designed, manufactured and distributed safely, consistently, and in full compliance with global regulatory and customer expectations. It also provides strategic leadership to prevent, detect, and respond to intentional adulteration, tampering, extortion, and emerging threats. The position acts as the organisation's top subject matter expert (SME) in food safety science, microbiology, contaminants, toxicology, allergen management, hygiene, and food defence.

What will be your key deliverables?

• Global Strategy & Governance: Develop and own the enterprise food safety and defence strategy, ensuring alignment with corporate vision, regulatory requirements, and GFSI schemes. Establish global policies, standards, and performance indicators for food safety, hygiene, allergen control, traceability, and food defence. Lead global governance forums and represent food safety and defence for the business. Ensure integration of food safety and defence into innovation, supply chain, procurement, and operations decision-making.
• Food Safety Systems & Compliance: Oversee global implementation of food safety systems including HACCP, environmental monitoring, allergen management, sanitation, and GMP compliance. Ensure global alignment to BRCGS, FSSC 22000, ISO 22000, and customer requirements. Lead global audit programmes and provide oversight to regional QA functions. Develop global risk assessment frameworks for high-risk ingredients such as cocoa, milk powder, nuts, and flavourings.
• Food Defence & Product Security: Drive global vulnerability assessments (TACCP/VACCP) and ensure sites implement and maintain mitigation plans. Coordinate with Security, Procurement, and Supply Chain to protect facilities, materials, people, and processes against intentional harm. Oversee product security across all logistics channels, including co-manufacturers, warehouses, and distribution partners.
• Incident Management & Crisis Response: Serve as Global Technical Expert for food safety and defence-related events such as product contamination, allergen cross-contact, microbiological outbreaks, and tampering/extortion threats. Manage root cause analyses, corrective action programmes, and preventive measures globally. Partner with Legal, Corporate Communications, Security, and Regulatory during crises.
• Scientific Leadership & Innovation: Provide technical leadership on food safety science, microbiology, toxicology, allergens, and emerging risks. Guide R&D and Operations on hygienic design, thermal processing, novel ingredients, and new technologies. Oversee horizon scanning for emerging global risks including fraud, cyber-physical risks and climate-driven ingredient challenges. Work with Regulatory Affairs to assess the risks and impacts of regulatory changes and develop mitigation strategies for the business.
• Talent, Training & Culture: Build and maintain a high-performing global food safety and defence community. Develop competency frameworks, training pathways, and certification programmes for food safety and TACCP/VACCP. Promote a proactive food safety culture across the entire organisation—from shop floor teams to senior executives.
• External Engagement & Advocacy: Represent the company at global regulatory forums, food safety institutes, and industry alliances (e.g., GFSI, Codex-related work, regional regulators). Build partnerships with academic institutions and external experts in food safety and defence. Benchmark industry best practices and integrate learnings into company standards.

Bring your experience.

• Essential Education & Training: Bachelor's or Master's in Food Science, Food Safety, Microbiology, Chemistry, Public Health, or related field; advanced degree (PhD or MBA) desirable. Formal training in HACCP, TACCP/VACCP, FSMA Preventive Controls, and Intentional Adulteration.
• Experience: Extensive expertise in food safety, quality, and risk management within FMCG or large-scale food manufacturing. Proven leadership of global or multi-regional teams and management of high-risk ingredients and complex supply chains. Strong track record in responding to major food safety or product security incidents; experience in chocolate, confectionery, or bakery advantageous.
• Technical Skills: Deep knowledge of HACCP/HARPC, GMP, GFSI schemes, and global regulatory frameworks. Expertise in microbiology, toxicology, allergens, sanitation, and hygienic design. Proficiency in food defence methodologies (TACCP/VACCP, FSMA IA Rule) and familiarity with digital food safety tools, traceability systems, and data analytics.

Key Competencies:

• Strategic Leadership: Influences global stakeholders and shapes organisational direction.
• Risk-Based Thinking: Translates scientific risk assessments into pragmatic business decisions.
• Crisis Management: Calm, decisive, and structured under pressure.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partners effectively with Security, Supply Chain, Procurement, R&D, Legal, and Communications.
• Scientific Rigor: Deep technical expertise with ability to innovate and challenge conventional thinking.
• Cultural Agility: Comfortable working across diverse teams, markets, and regulatory environments.
• Communication Excellence: Simplifies complex risks for non-technical audiences.

What does pladis offer you? Opportunity to self-enrol into Health Cash Plan, Stakeholder Pension Scheme, Life Assurance Cover upon enrolment to Stakeholder Pension Scheme, 25 days + bank holidays, Holiday Enhancement Scheme, 1 Volunteering Day per year, Cycle to work scheme, Discount and Cashback Scheme – make your everyday spending work hard for you on major high street brands, supermarkets and services, Access to Employee Assistance Programme, Financial Wellbeing Support, Access to great training and development opportunities.

Our Values: Purpose led – We're energised and guided by our purpose to bring happiness with every bite. Agile – We're ever evolving, we never stand still, always improving for our customers and our consumers. Positive – We're highly motivated, optimistic, courageous, and we inspire each other to be better. Resilient – We're persistent in the face of setbacks, quick to adapt, learn and move forward. Collaborative – We gain strength from operating as one pladis, winning and succeeding together.

pladis is an equal opportunities employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.