Avondale Foods is a leading food processing company of Fresh and Chilled products supplying leading retail businesses such as Marks & Spencer, Morrison’s and Waitrose in the UK. The Head of Technical & Quality will provide uncompromising leadership of food safety, quality, legality, and retailer compliance across the business. They will p rotect customer’s technical confidence, ensure repeatable audit success, strengthen governance and embed a proactive, disciplined and scientifically rigorous technical culture. Lead Food Safety & Compliance with Zero‑Tolerance Standards Own the full technical governance framework for BRC, retailer COPs, microbiological standards, allergen control, traceability, and GMP. Introduce strict internal monitoring, validation and verification systems. Strengthen Customer Relationships and Audit Performance Lead immediate and long‑term recovery plans to re‑establish customer confidence. Bring heightened visibility to customer COP compliance, micro performance, and factory standards. Transform Internal Audit Rigor and Technical Governance Implement a risk‑based audit model with unannounced internal audits and follow‑up verification. Introduce clear escalation protocols when audit findings are repeated, unresolved, or high risk. Raise performance expectations for all technical managers, QA teams, hygiene, and compliance roles. Build technical capability through structured training (COPs, root‑cause analysis, HACCP, customer standards). Address under‑performance quickly with coaching, development, or realignment of roles. Shift the culture from reactive firefighting to proactive prevention. Ensure GMP, hygiene, allergen control and traceability procedures are adhered to at all times. Lead Technical Support for NPD and Commercial Support commercial discussions on quality requirements, risk assessments, and retailer expectations. Crisis Management & Incident Response Lead investigation and root cause analysis for any food safety incident, customer complaint spike, or audit failure. Put in place permanent corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) to prevent recurrence. Ensure Food Safety compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements to remain audit-ready at all times. Degree‑qualified in Food Science, Food Technology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline. Extensive technical leadership experience within a complex, highly regulated FMCG environment, ideally food manufacturing supplying major UK retailers. Proven track record of leading food safety, quality, and compliance functions with zero‑tolerance standards covering BRCGS, retailer COPs, allergens, microbiology, traceability, and GMP. Experience designing and embedding governance frameworks, internal audit programmes, and risk‑based technical systems that deliver repeatable audit success. Strong background in leading technical teams through cultural change, capability uplift, high‑performance expectations, and disciplined execution. Experience supporting NPD, commercial, and supply chain functions with robust technical assessments, risk evaluations, and retailer technical sign‑off. Demonstrated capability in crisis management, root‑cause investigations, incident reporting, and implementing sustainable corrective/preventive actions (CAPA). Exposure to different product categories (e.g. chilled, frozen, ambient, high-risk) Experience supporting or leading site start-ups, restructures, or major transformations Formal training in Lean, Six Sigma, or CI methodologies Proven track record of delivering measurable improvements (e.g. complaint reduction, audit scores, waste reduction) Experience implementing digital quality or traceability systems Experience leading or supporting customer visits, audits, and critical issue resolution Ability to influence commercial decisions using technical insight Coaching and mentoring future technical leaders Experience building a strong food safety culture across an organisation Evidence of influencing at board or executive level Agile, decisive and adaptable – able to operate in a dynamic, high‑pressure environment while maintaining clarity, control, and excellent judgment. Structured, disciplined, and methodical in approach, with strong governance instincts and a commitment to “audit‑ready every day” standards. Scientifically rigorous with a deep understanding of microbiology, food safety systems, and risk‑based decision making. Strong leadership presence , able to influence cross‑functional teams, challenge constructively, and hold people to account at all levels. Proactive and prevention‑focused , constantly seeking to strengthen systems, anticipate risks, and eliminate root causes—not firefighting. Collaborative , building strong technical‑operational alignment and promoting joint ownership of standards. Resilient, determined, and improvement‑driven , with the tenacity to lead transformation, raise standards, and embed a new technical culture across the business. Demonstrable year‑on‑year improvement in hygiene, micro, and environmental monitoring trends~ Reduction in customer complaints (rate per million units)~ Recognisable shift toward a proactive, prevention‑focused technical culture
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