Microbiology Services Lead in Coleford

You are an experienced microbiology professional with a strong scientific foundation—ideally holding a degree in microbiology or a related discipline—and a solid track record gained in a food or beverage manufacturing environment. You excel in leading laboratory teams in fast‑paced settings and bring a proactive, hands‑on approach to problem‑solving. You demonstrate high standards of integrity and a deep commitment to food safety, GMP, and GLP. With strong analytical capabilities, you can interpret trends, manage risk, and confidently communicate insights across all levels of the business. You collaborate naturally, champion continuous improvement, and support the growth of your team and colleagues.

The Microbiology Services Lead is responsible for managing all microbiology activities at the Coleford manufacturing site. In this role, you oversee the microbiology laboratory, ensuring that testing of raw materials, process water, the environment and finished products is carried out accurately, reliably, and on time. You lead and develop the laboratory team, maintain high standards of Good Laboratory Practice, and ensure full compliance with company requirements, customer expectations, certification standards and regulatory obligations. You play a key role in supporting operations by providing microbiological insights, investigating trends, resolving issues, and driving continuous improvement. You also ensure that methods remain current and aligned with ISO and industry best practice, that the laboratory is always audit‑ready, and that microbiological performance is effectively communicated across the site. Ultimately, you enable the site to produce safe, high‑quality beverages by maintaining robust microbiological controls and strong scientific leadership.

In this role, you will lead and develop the microbiology laboratory team, ensuring they deliver high‑quality, timely, and reliable results. You will maintain full compliance with internal standards, regulatory requirements, and industry guidelines, while ensuring the laboratory is always audit‑ready. You will manage testing schedules, equipment calibration, media preparation, and consumables, ensuring everything operates seamlessly. A key part of your contribution will be investigating trends in microbiological performance across raw materials, processes, products, and the environment. Using root‑cause methodologies, you will identify risks, provide insights, and drive continuous improvement. You will communicate microbiological data clearly and promptly to site leadership and cross‑functional teams, helping them make informed decisions. You will also oversee method development, validation, and maintenance, and support problem‑solving by providing scientific expertise whenever required.

This is an opportunity to shape and elevate a critical technical function within a major SBFE manufacturing site. You will have visible impact on product safety, operational performance, and the development of a highly skilled laboratory team. You will operate in a supportive culture that values continuous learning, collaboration, and innovation. The role provides a platform for professional growth, with opportunities to deepen your technical expertise, strengthen your leadership capability, and contribute meaningfully to the ongoing success of the site.

To excel in this role, you will bring a degree or equivalent qualification in microbiology or a related scientific discipline, alongside experience gained in a food or beverage production environment. You will have strong working knowledge of GLP, HACCP, GMP, and microbiological methods, paired with the confidence to lead a team in a dynamic setting. Your success will come from a combination of analytical strength, attention to detail, and the ability to interpret and communicate data effectively. A flexible approach, proactive mindset, strong integrity, and the ability to collaborate seamlessly across teams will all be essential to thriving in this position.

At Suntory, we recognize that diverse knowledge, perspectives, and backgrounds contribute to our collective success. We are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace where all individuals can bring their whole selves to work every day, regardless of race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or any other protected characteristic. Our recruitment and selection processes are designed to highlight what Suntory offers as an employer while allowing candidates to share their unique skills and experiences. We understand that career trajectories vary, and if you believe your experience/background can benefit our team, we encourage you to apply. We endeavor to make our interview process as inclusive as possible and offer reasonable accommodations as needed. Together, we can cultivate a workplace where everyone can thrive and propel our mission of Growing for Good.