Technical Leader Location: Leicester Department: Technical Reports to: Quality Manager About Europe Snacks At Europe Snacks, we want to be a great place to work. We do that by making sure our values of Entrepreneurship, Excellence and Care sit at the heart of everything we do. We’re now looking for a Technical Leader to join our Leicester site and help drive food safety, quality, hygiene and compliance performance across the business. The opportunity This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced technical professional who enjoys working in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment and wants to make a genuine impact. As Technical Leader, you’ll be part of the day-based Technical Team, supporting departmental objectives and site performance targets. You’ll play a key role in maintaining compliance, driving standards, coaching others, supporting investigations and helping to embed continuous improvement across the factory. Key responsibilities Food safety, quality and compliance Support compliance activity across site and help drive corrective actions through to completion Lead and maintain traceability routine testing Review and police line paperwork to ensure adherence and completion in real time Ensure lines are positively released back to production using defined swabbing schemes through QATs Carry out audits to schedule, including glass and hard plastic, bait box, GMP and internal audits Ensure site adherence to customer-specific quality assurance standards Conduct and analyse QA board testing and trending to identify key areas for improvement Ensure raw materials have approved specifications and packaging film is signed off before launches Leadership and people Work across all shifts to ensure employees understand and follow best practice Coach and mentor QAT and QC staff to improve standards and capability Educate and promote food safety and technical standards across operational teams Lead by example on safe working practices and expected behaviours Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders, customers and auditors Customer, reporting and issue management Understand the main issues impacting your area during the previous 24 hours Report NCRs daily and support closure of actions Communicate quality or compliance concerns promptly to shift management and the wider management team Support customer quality control visits and liaise professionally where required Continuous improvement and problem solving Take corrective action where product is not meeting specification Support and lead root cause analysis to prevent repeat issues Escalate recurring issues appropriately Be actively involved in continuous improvement projects and quality initiatives Help develop SOPs, manuals, procedures and defined standards to improve consistency and performance Hygiene, safety and site standards Maintain strong food safety and health and safety standards within your area Ensure PPE is worn correctly at all times Ensure equipment is cleaned in line with relevant CICs and SOPs and that the QA Lab is kept clean Drive site hygiene standards, including supporting the creation and training of cleaning cards alongside the Hygiene Supervisor Take part in weekly GMP audits with Area and Shift Managers Carry out regular line walks to identify foreign body risks and hygiene improvement opportunities Support supply and replenishment of chemicals, consumables and waste management to avoid shortages About you To be successful in this role, you’ll need to be a credible and proactive technical professional who can build trust, influence others and stay calm under pressure. You’ll likely have: Experience in a technical, QA or food safety role within food manufacturing Good working knowledge of GMP, HACCP, traceability and internal auditing Experience supporting corrective actions, investigations and root cause analysis The confidence to challenge standards constructively and hold the line where needed Strong interpersonal and communication skills A collaborative approach and the ability to work effectively across departments and shifts Strong IT skills, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint Report-writing experience, ideally including technical specifications and complaint investigations Desirable qualifications Literacy/Numeracy to National Standard Level 2 Level 3 Food Hygiene Level 3 HACCP Train the Trainer qualification Personal qualities we’re looking for We’re looking for someone who: Leads with credibility, maturity and calmness under pressure Gives timely, constructive feedback and communicates openly Works collaboratively while knowing when to support, challenge or push back Is resilient, adaptable and positive about change Can inspire others through encouragement, support and high standards Brings energy, initiative and an improvement-focused mindset Champions equality, diversity and inclusion Embodies customer focus and follows through on commitments Is passionate about technical leadership and continuous improvement Why join us? This is more than a technical role, it’s an opportunity to influence standards, support people, and help shape the future of quality and food safety on site. You’ll join a values-led business where your contribution matters and where you’ll have the chance to make a visible difference every day. Please note this role is not with sponsorship.