UK, Manchester Head Office/ 12 Month FTC/ SALARY: COMPETITIVE
Job Purpose
Key Responsibilities
Ownership
This role deals with a wide variety of tasks including, but not limited to the following:
- Quality and Food Safety: Manage quality management systems, implement improvements, and ensure compliance with food safety standards. This includes managing laboratory activities and the global testing plan.
- Legislation and Compliance: Ensure all products and processes meet global legislation, including accurate labelling and legal requirements for the different regions (ex: FEDIAF, AAFCO) for projects, supplier testing and global testing plan.
- New Product Development (NPD): Lead the technical aspects of new product development, ensuring formulations are stable, legal, and meet customer requirements, working closely with the Projects & Innovation teams.
- QMS Management – Manage existing MPM Quality Management System and make continuous improvements to the QMS and ensure adequate roll out of procedures/processes are conducted internally and externally stakeholders.
- Complaints – Oversee the management of the customer and consumer complaints process along with reporting, analysis and complaints reduction plans with each of the factories.
- Team Management: Oversee and coach a quality & compliance team, ensuring staff competence and development. Contributing to actions close outs for the engagement survey. Setting priorities accordingly for the team and managing their workload.
- Supplier and Key Stakeholder: Liaise with suppliers and key stakeholders on technical matters.
- Auditing and Certifications: Manage supplier approval, remote and physical audits, and maintain suppliers MPM QMS standards across MPM affiliate factories.
- Crisis Management – to ensure crisis management systems are in place and challenge tested such as recalls/withdrawals. Where required, urgent supplier visits if a high risk issue is identified.
Support:
- Support where supplier approval / onboarding challenges occur.
- Support the ongoing work by MPM as a B Corp accredited company, personally or using the team members.
- Works collaboratively on VACCP risk assessments (internal and external) & horizon scanning for raw materials and food safety.
- Cross-functional support: Support other departments, such as innovation, projects, supply chain, customer services, operations, sales and key stakeholders across the global business with technical input.
- Develop relationships with useful third‑party organisations such as Trading Standards, consultants, third‑party test facilities, industry bodies, etc. & stay ahead of the industry standards.
- Be a collaborative member of the MPM Regulatory Team, providing key feedback and support on reviewing and interpreting regulatory requirements.
- Deputy to the Head of Technical when away on work trips, holidays, off sick, etc.
- Deputy – Different areas will be mutually agreed to cover off in a deputy capacity as part of the team’s development and ability to work agile as a team when other team members are off from work.
Provide:
- Key reports, KPIs and analytics for the business from the technical team
- Provide the Head of Technical with any critical escalations that may need alignment, adjustment of overall resource or additional cost sign-off
- Any other duties commensurate with the level of responsibility of this role.
Any other duties commensurate with the level of responsibility of this role.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Education
- Food Science Degree – nice to have but not essential
- Any training in Pet Nutrition an asset
Experience
- 3-5 years’ experience in food or pet food manufacturing in a technical or quality leadership role.
- Proven experience with food safety systems and regulatory compliance.
- Experience in managing audits and regulatory inspections.
- Understanding of product development processes from within the FMCG industry
Technical Skills
- Expertise in quality management systems and laboratory testing.
- Familiarity with ERP, quality management software, and reporting tools.
- Strong knowledge of pet nutrition, ingredient functionality, and processing technologies (wet & dry food processes) would be an asset.
- IT literate including use of PowerPoint, word, excel and outlook
Soft Skills
- Strong leadership and team management skills.
- Excellent analytical and problem‑solving abilities.
- Effective communication and stakeholder management.
- High attention to detail and decision‑making capability.
- Being comfortable with conflict/ability to manage conflict
- Someone who is not afraid to challenge performance, timescales or be the bearer of bad news.
- Personal Learning – Seeks feedback and reacts / learns from experience
Is this role for you?
If this exciting opportunity sounds like a great fit for you, apply today with your CV and cover letter.
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