Engineering & Hygiene Manager in Northfleet

Location: Northfleet, Kent, United Kingdom

PrepWorld is seeking an experienced and driven Hygiene & Engineering Manager – Nights, to lead our site hygiene and engineering functions, ensuring best‑in‑class food safety, compliance, and operational performance in a fast‑paced food manufacturing environment. The role functions across night operations. This senior role offers the opportunity to shape and embed a high‑performing hygiene culture that drives food safety excellence, equipment reliability, cost‑effective compliance, and operational agility.

Dual reporting to the Site Engineering Manager and the FS Hygiene Manager, the role will be responsible for delivering Engineering and Hygiene KPI attainment to tasks in line with BRCGS and customer standards through a risk‑based, data‑driven approach. The role will lead a moderate Engineering team and a large Hygiene team, drive continuous improvement in equipment reliability and departmental spend, and ensure the night shift achieves consistent and audit‑ready standards. This is a senior site management position at night, acting as the senior decision‑maker across Engineering and Hygiene departments, with dotted‑line accountability to Night Operations Manager for escalations, emergency response, and product release decisions during night hours.

Engineering & Operational Oversight

• Lead and coordinate all planned engineering activities during night shifts to ensure smooth, compliant operations.
• Monitor equipment performance, resolve technical issues promptly, and minimise production downtime.
• Ensure all machinery and tools meet safety and maintenance standards; oversee permit‑to‑work compliance.
• Deliver the site hygiene plan during night operations; ensure all areas are audit‑ready (including low risk, high care, and external zones).
• Own hygiene validation processes at night (e.g., swabbing, ATP testing, allergen controls) and maintain cleaning schedules, SSOPs, and visual standards.
• Represent hygiene during customer and third‑party audits, ensuring full documentation and traceability.

Health, Safety & Risk Control

• Conduct risk assessments and ensure safe working practices across hygiene and engineering teams.
• Lead investigations into incidents and near‑misses; implement corrective actions promptly.
• Promote a proactive safety culture through training, routine checks, and compliance monitoring.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and support a multi‑cultural, multi‑skilled team to consistently deliver on hygiene and engineering targets.
• Build a culture of ownership, high performance, and continuous improvement through coaching and structured feedback.
• Develop team capability through clear objectives, regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and succession planning.
• Manage labour, chemical, and water usage to achieve cost‑effective engineering & hygiene outcomes.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement in cleaning methods, hygienic design, and digital tools.
• Track engineering & hygiene KPIs (e.g., swab pass rates, cleaning scores, chemical usage) and implement targeted improvements.

Person Specification and Skill Requirements (Essential)

• Proven leadership experience in engineering, hygiene or operational management within FMCG—ideally chilled, high‑care, or short shelf‑life production.
• A confident, visible leader with the ability to engage, challenge, and inspire large operational teams on night shifts.
• In‑depth working knowledge of engineering & hygiene practices, BRCGS standards, and food safety legislation.
• Strong understanding of microbiological, chemical, allergen, and foreign body risks in a production setting.
• A track record of using KPIs, audits, and CI tools (e.g., RCA, 5 Whys, PDCA) to drive performance and behaviour change.
• Skilled in problem solving and managing hygiene in fast‑moving, variable production environments.
• Competent with computer systems and Microsoft Office (e.g., Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• HACCP Level 3 (minimum), Food Safety Level 3, COSHH Assessor or Minimum HNC (Higher National Certificate) Engineering.
• Experience leading teams during site expansions, factory layout changes, or onboarding of major customers.
• Strong understanding of ATP, digital cleaning records, and QMS software platforms.
• Practical experience in cleaning validation, verification (including ATP), and chemical control.
• CI/Lean qualifications such as Yellow or Green Belt (or equivalent experience in Kaizen or Six Sigma).
• Experience with high‑profile UK retail customers and knowledge of their audit protocols.
• Practical knowledge of hygienic engineering design and root cause analysis techniques.

Role Requirements and Compliance

• To comply with all legal and statutory requirements applicable to the role.
• All individuals are expected to be flexible in undertaking the duties and responsibilities attached to their job and may be asked to perform other duties which reasonably correspond to the general character of their job and their level of responsibility.
• Support company initiatives and always demonstrate company values.
• Take responsibility for the Health & Safety of yourself and others, whilst at work and to comply with the company’s policies and legislation.
• All individuals are expected to maintain personal and professional development to meet the changing demands of the job and participate in appropriate learning and development activities.
• Participate in training and personal development activities as required.
• To adhere to all Group and Company Policies and Procedures at all times.
• Carry out any other reasonable tasks and duties as required by the Company.

What we provide in return

• Stream (track your earnings and instantly access up to 50% of your money as you earn it, without waiting for payday).
• On site parking with electric charge points.
• Fully paid for, Staff events.
• Staff restaurant serving heavily subsidised hot and cold food.