Lead food safety & compliance manager

Lead Food Safety & Compliance Manager
Lead Food Safety & Compliance Manager

The location of the role is Paddington, London (hybrid working).
The duration of the contract is 3 months initially.
The pay rate on offer is £negotiable (open to market rates - day rate via Umbrella agency).

The client is a multinational high-street retailer.

Key accountabilities of the role

* Be available always to support & lead the response to a Serious Food Safety & Compliance Incident or Crisis
* Ensure that all legal & regulatory obligations are met in full ensuring that the organization has a defensible position
* Maintain the Group Food Safety Strategy & Policy in line with significant Threat, Risk & Organisational changes
* Engage and involve Senior Stakeholders in the Group Food Safety & Compliance
* Ensure that Group Food Safety & Compliance operational processes procedures & plans are effective, up to date and meet Governance requirements in full
* Manage our Primary Authority Partner (PAP) to provide guidance and support on continuous improvement across Food Safety and Trading Standards
* Plan and respond successfully to foreseeable Food Safety & Compliance incidents that could significantly interrupt trade and operations across our business e.g. Allergens
* Identify, assess and categorise the Food Safety & Compliance risks/threats and report them to the Audit Committee via the Group Food Safety Risk Register
* Assess & improve our Group Food Safety capability through an ongoing independent Inspection Programme our Stores & Supply Chain
* Ensure that our Convenience Partners, Divisional, Regional & Store Management teams are provided with appropriate training and support tools
* Deliver a robust support visit strategy, with a clear question set, monitoring results, and reporting so we are legally compliant across Group Food Safety & Compliance
* Identify areas for improvement relating to Food Safety and Legal & Compliance - continually reviewing policies and arrangements in place to drive simplification and improved understanding
* Manage external enforcement enquiries/formal enforcement matters with support from legal.
* Identify efficiency opportunities to move to more digital ways of working, linking in with M&S Tech team to deliver. Support in designing content, testing and launch to stores
* Maintain close strategic and operational working relationships with Government Departments and Industry Working Groups e.g. the Supermarket Safety Group
* Demonstrate leadership and benchmarking for Food Safety in the Retail Sector
* Provide insight & foresight through industry benchmarking and thought leadership
* Provide accurate Food Safety and Legal & Compliance Management information and insights data to inform the stores leadership team of performance/ potential risk

Key skills and experience

* Qualified in Food Safety Level 3 & 4
* Qualified in HACCP Level 3 & 4
* Qualified in Allergens Level 3
* APLH Qualified
* In-depth and detailed knowledge of how the business operates
* In-depth understanding of all aspects of Food Safety & Compliance e.g. HACCP
* Strong stakeholder relationships and awareness
* Strong leadership across all areas of the business
* Strong and effective engagement, communication and influencing skills
* Ability to ruthlessly prioritise business-critical activities in crisis situations
* Ability to focus a team and manage through significant change and ambiguity
* Experience in planning, project and programme management
* Self-motivated and proactively acts without guidance to deliver progress
* Ability to act with integrity and provide leadership under pressure in complex, difficult and demanding situations
* Strong organizational, communication, influencing and coaching skills
* Experience of managing a large remote and central team


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