Head of Technical

Why Greencore?

We're a leading manufacturer of convenience food in the UK and our purpose is to make every day.

We're a vibrant, fast-paced leading food manufacturer. Employing around 13,600 colleagues across 16 manufacturing units and 17 distribution depots across the UK. We supply all the UK's food retailers with everything from Sandwiches, soups and sushi to cooking sauces, pickles and ready meals, and in FY23, we generated revenues of £1.9bn.

Our vast direct-to-store (DTS) distribution network, comprising of 17 depots nationwide, enables us to make over 10,400 daily deliveries of our own chilled and frozen produce and that of third parties.

What you'll be doing

As the Head of Technical for Central Functions, you will provide support and functional leadership to central technical function and engage with sites to ensure that the technical agenda, customer, supply base and business priorities are all aligned and deliver a competitive edge through technical excellence.

* Provide strategic leadership and direction through continuous advancement of technical performance, aligned to functional activity, which keeps Greencore's product and processes safe, legal and compliant.

* Maintain a strategic relationship with the Site Technical teams to ensure alignment and compliance with customer expectations and site requirements.

* Engage with Purchasing, Group SME's and Business Improvement functions to ensure technical governance is maintained throughout and a consistent approach is managed with sites and customers.

* Support Group Sustainability and Ethical teams on strategic delivery of Group key performance indicators, including resource management, nutritional compliance, waste reduction and modern slavery within supply chains.

* Disseminate and improve technical performance and compliance through best practice adoption and communication internally and externally.

* Provide a senior interface with customers and joint business planning activities to deliver exceptional standards of customer service and adherence to customer policies and requirements.

* Represent the Technical function at external research and advisory bodies to drive consistent technical agendas that meets the business and customer needs.

* Build capability centrally through a combination of, coaching and training to build and direction sustain the technical function in line with business needs.

* Support the achievement of our inclusion and diversity aspirations through role modelling and personally leading and hiring inclusively, embracing and encouraging diversity.

This is a maternity cover role for a period of 7 months.

What we're looking for

We're not all the same at Greencore and our differences help us to make every day taste better for all our stakeholders. We truly put our people at the core and are proud of our diversity.

Your skills will include:

* Ideally educated to degree level with a specialism in Food Science

* Technical experience within the food industry, including setting technical strategies

* Professional qualifications including Level 4 HACCP, Level 4 Food Hygiene, Advance Microbiological training, Level 3 Allergen Management

* Demonstrates analytical problem-solving skills at all times including during times of pressure

* Lead assessor qualification

* QMS - design and implementation

* Specific technical requirements - CIP / thermal processing

* Experience of managing external contracts such as chemical providers, labs, laundry, pest control etc.

* Government agency experience such as EHO / TSO

* Advanced food legislation and legal knowledge

* Proven experience of leading and operating with senior teams, internally and externally

* Proven ability to operate at a strategic level but still maintain an analytical focus on technical matters

* Can demonstrate an ability to manage problems, complaints and deviations from practice in a professional and effective manner

* to resolve and prevent reoccurrence

* Experience of senior customer management and personal credibility

What you'll get in return

* Competitive salary and job-related benefits

* Holidays

* Pension up to 8% matched

* Company share save scheme

* Greencore Qualifications

* Exclusive Greencore employee discount platform

* Access to a full Wellbeing Centre platform

* Car allowance

* Bonus

* Spouse Cover PMI

Throughout your time at Greencore, you will be supported with on the job training and development opportunities to further your career.