Technical Manager Profile

Reporting to the Managing Director, the role holder is responsible for driving the
technical and hygiene agenda. The company employs approximately 400 people at thei
manufacturing site with an additional 200 agency/seasonal staff.

The Technical Manager operates within a unionised manufacturing environment where

continuous improvement is essential in all areas to support the business needs.

The Technical Manager will ensure that the highest product safety, quality and hygiene
standards are set and driven at all times.

The role holder will promote team ethics and developing team working through
employee training and personal development.

Role and context

The Technical manager will provide leadership, support and advice on all technical and
quality issues for the site.

Key Accountabilities of Role

1. Develop site systems to continue to improve safety, quality and cost of all
products.
2. Provide a key contact for customers to respond to technical queries and
investigate internal and external complaints and manage the customer
relationship.
3. Work with customers and internal departments to support the relationship
between the business and major retailers. e.g customer visits.
4. Work cross functionally with other departments to ensure that product quality
standards are in place for all products via influencing and understanding.
5. Develop and maintain technical policies and procedures and manage customer
auditing against policy standards including retailer audits, BRC, Sedex etc.
6. Maintain standards of hygiene and quality assurance via 3 direct reporting
Managers (Factory QA Manager, Technical Services Manager and Hygiene
Manager).
7. Ensure the completion of HACCPs for new products.
8. Ensure that product and environmental microbiological standards are maintained
for the site.
9. Devise and manage the budget for the Technical Department across the site.

Success Framework

Safety
Personally demonstrates safe behaviour and takes responsibility for the
management of health & safety of the site and its visitors
Ensure risk assessment plan is developed and completed for the department and
all hazards are assessed according to risk
Ensure that all employees are aware of the hazards in the workplace
Ensure risk assessments are considered for all activities
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 Understand content of risk assessments sufficiently to monitor and develop
behaviours
Immediately resolve all unsafe acts and conditions
Understand own health and safety responsibilities as laid down in the Company
Health and Safety
Understands the responsibilities of managers and supervisors, and ensures they
carry out the Company safe operating practices, and procedures
Is part of a proactive team that undertakes safety audits. Ensures that matters
identified are closed against agreed timescales
Actively encourages all employees to submit near misses
Ensures response to near misses and accident forms are acted in a timely manner
Champions health and safety improvements
Complete all accident investigations within 24 hours. Suggest solutions and
implement actions against agreed timescales.

Quality
GMP audits are conducted and actions closed out
Hygiene audits are conducted and actions closed out
Process control audit
Customer complaints fully investigated
Taste panel results conducted as agreed
Ensures SOPs for all tasks are available and used to ensure standardisation of
tasks. Checks and signs off the relevant technical sections
Can stop/change work activities which constitute a significant risk to safety of the
person, environment, plant or product safety/quality
Responsible at all times for ensuring optimum customer service in terms of
quality, quantity and punctuality and promoting safe working practices

People
Carries out Leadership Development Reviews and supports the leadership
programme
Monitors progress and gives constructive feedback to team
Carries out fair and impartial investigations and is able to issue disciplinary
sanctions to the recognised level
Carries out return to work interviews on the first return day
Manages people via agreed company policies and procedures
Involved in recruitment of team, working closely with HR
Ensure all teams are aware of their specific hygiene and food safety
responsibilities and targets
Develop team via regular coaching and mentoring, training and leadership by
example
Ensure that core training/competency requirements for own team are identified
In conjunction with HR/Training, develops an annual training plan for own team
and measures performance against this
Identifies own training requirements
Ensure training is documented
Promotes team working by encouraging involvement from team members
Comply with managerial responsibilities as detailed in the attendance procedures
and ensure attendance targets are met
Prioritises holiday requests
Supports new starter programme by ensuring they attend the company induction

Finance

Responsible for functional budget, including:

Labour
Materials
Any other budgeted figures - agreed
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 Cascade all KPIs clearly to all team members so that they are understood and
aligned with the business objectives and success framework.
Review performance against all KPIs and re-align, re-evaluate where necessary to
maximise productivity
SAP compliant
Person Specification
Qualifications & Experience
Qualifications Essential
Degree or equivalent Relevant degree
Other academic qualification (A-levels,
HND)
Professional qualifications inc level
Other qualifications (e.g. drivers HACCP level 4
licence)
Experience
Length of experience At least 2 years
Breadth of experience Technical Manager in the food
industry
Business partnering relationships
with retailers and not merely
customer audits
External Experience FMCG, large site turnover >30k
Specific experience Leadership skills
Team leadership
Team development and
performance improvement
Leadership
Numeracy & literacy
HACCP level 4
Ability to manage numerous
activities at one time
Knowledge of budgets,
variances and basic financial
awareness
Knowledge of GMP
Fluent with Microsoft IT
packages
Experience of managing
projects
FMCG
Behaviours The ability to build
relationships with all retailers
is critical
Analytical skills and integrity
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Desirable
Technical/food safety/hygiene
HND or equivalent
Certificate level in ILM or
equivalent
5 - 10 years
Environmental experience
Food and drink, pharmaceutical,
confectionary, automotive
manufacturing, engineering
Key success in change
management (Tangible
evidence)
Leading cost reduction
initiatives
Ability to work across
departments
Continuous improvement
Level 3 Food Safety
HACCP
Lean Manufacturing
experience
Strong analytical skills and a
good working knowledge of
spreadsheets and Microsoft
packages
Key HR Practices
Unionised environment
Flexibility to respond to
queries escalated in a 24/7
environment
 with conviction to manage
difficult decision with
retailers and internal
departments
Communication, social skills
and presence to fit within a
labour intensive
manufacturing environment
and operate at all levels of
the business
Proactive and confident in
enforcing company safety
policies and legislative
requirements
Able to work at pace, without
supervision and prioritise
Resilience and evidence of
building rapport and
relationships.

Benefits

- Salary circa XXk dependent on experience

- Company car and fuel allowance of 5.7k per annum
- 25 days holiday a year and 8 statutory holidays
- Money purchase pension scheme with 2% employers contribution
- Private healthcare cover for employee and family

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