Technical Manager
Join apetito at a transformational moment in our journey. Having exceeded £260m turnover, we are now investing over £100m in building a state‑of‑the‑art manufacturing facility—a major milestone that will support our continued growth and innovation in food manufacturing.
As our new Technical Manager, you’ll play a pivotal role not only in leading food safety and quality during the operational phase, but also in shaping the future of the site as it comes to life. This includes valuable involvement throughout the installation and commissioning of the new facility—an opportunity few roles can offer.
What You’ll Be Doing
* Work closely with the current Site Technical Manager to support the team with a strong focus on systems, governance, and compliance.
* Build a deep understanding of our complex operation—managing hundreds of ingredients and materials that go into producing hundreds of delicious, nutritious recipes.
* Begin partnering with the project team as the new build progresses, ensuring that food safety and quality standards are fully embedded throughout installation and commissioning.
* Recruit, develop, and inspire your new team, building strong relationships across the site.
* Design and implement robust quality systems to support the new kitchen’s launch.
* Ensure we achieve food registration and secure an AA grade against the BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety at the earliest opportunity.
apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings. Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness.
Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.
* The health and safety of self and others
* Leadership of the Kitchen West Quality and Food Safety Auditing team
* Oversight of process control, validation, HACCP and related systems
* Providing and supporting team and colleague training
* Leading internal and 3rd party audits ensuring compliance is maintained to the highest levels
* Minimisation of held materials and finished stock
* Submission and presentation of monthly reports in relation to key accountabilities and KPI’s
* Maintaining respected, collaborative and influential relationships with colleagues and external personnel
* Prevention, investigation and closure of incidents and customer complaints
* Control and input to the setting of the Kitchen East technical budget
* Pest Control for Kitchen East
* Provide cover for the Group Technical Manager, Technical Manager Kitchen East and QFSA supervisors
* Experienced Technical Manager
* Passion for food safety and quality
* Food safety related degree
* Able to prevent rather than react to issues
* A strong understanding of the BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety and related food regulation
* Creation and continuous improvement of HACCP based quality management systems
* Certification that enables you to undertake internal audits and host 3rd party audits
* Management and control of food allergen and microbiological risks
* Use of digitalised quality systems alongside common office based software
* Investigation, resolution and prevention of issues and complaints
* Mentoring, coaching and developing people to maximise individual, team and business potential
Ideally, you will also have experience of setting KPI's, use of SAP and of working in a complex ready meals business or similar environment. However, rarely does someone tick all the boxes and so if that’s you but you feel you are right for the role then please apply.
Benefits
* Competitive salary - accredited Living Wage employer
* 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
* Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
* Discretionary annual bonus scheme
* Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
* Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
* Subsidised canteen
* Free parking
* Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
* apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts
As a family‑owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of. We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well‑being for all our customers. We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people. We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040. Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer. Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future. We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds. Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.
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