Technical Manager in Leicester

Job Title: Technical Manager – Food Manufacturing Salary: £Competitive (DOE) Location: Leicester // Multi-site (2 production facilities) Type: Permanent Contract // Full Time Applicants must have current eligibility to work in the UK. Sponsorship is not available for this role. Overview: We are recruiting an experienced Technical Manager to join a growing food manufacturing business operating across two production sites in Leicester. The Technical Manager is a senior, hands-on role responsible for leading food safety, quality, legality and compliance across both high care and low care environments. As Technical Manager, you will report directly to the senior leadership team, and play a critical role in maintaining BRCGS standards, supporting innovation and driving continuous improvement while ensuring all products meet legal and customer requirements. Responsibilities for the Technical Manager: * Lead and maintain the Food Safety Management System in line with BRCGS standards across both sites * Ensure full compliance with UK food law, customer codes of practice, HACCP and allergen management * Own and manage the HACCP system, ensuring it remains robust, validated and up to date * Oversee risk assessments for high care and low care areas, including zoning, segregation and controls * Lead all external audits including BRC, customer and regulatory inspections * Maintain continuous audit readiness and manage non-conformances through effective root cause analysis and corrective actions * Ensure traceability, mass balance and product recall systems are fully tested and compliant * Lead, develop and support the Technical / QA teams across both sites * Act as the technical authority for food safety and quality-related decisions * Provide daily technical support to Production, Engineering and NPD teams * Oversee technical approval of new products, ingredients, suppliers and specifications * Ensure all products meet legal labelling, customer and food safety requirements * Manage supplier approval, monitoring and raw material assurance * Maintain robust hygiene, environmental monitoring and pathogen control programmes * Lead investigations into complaints and quality incidents, implementing preventative actions * Drive continuous improvement across food safety, quality, hygiene and documentation systems Requirements for the Technical Manager: * Proven experience in a Technical Manager or senior technical leadership role within food manufacturing * Strong working knowledge of BRCGS, HACCP and UK food legislation * Experience operating within high care / high risk food environments * Demonstrated experience leading audits and managing customer standards * Ability to confidently lead technical operations across multiple sites * Background in chilled food manufacturing is desirable * Experience supporting or approving NPD from a technical perspective is desirable * Degree (or equivalent) in Food Science, Microbiology or a related discipline is desirable Personal Traits for the Technical Manager: * Strong leadership and decision-making capability * Calm, confident and resilient when managing risk and pressure * Detail-oriented with strong commercial awareness * Excellent communicator across all levels of the business * Passionate about food safety, quality and continuous improvement