This position will suit someone who enjoys having real accountability for hygiene standards and who wants to play a visible role in food safety performance across the site. You'll be responsible for leading the hygiene function, setting standards, developing people and driving improvement across hygiene, sanitation, pest control and microbiological controls. ________________________________________ Key responsibilities * Full ownership of site hygiene standards, sanitation programmes and cleaning systems. * Development, maintenance and verification of cleaning schedules and instructions in line with food safety and audit standards (e.g. BRCGS). * Management of hygiene chemicals, consumables, equipment and suppliers, including cost control and performance management. * Oversight of pest control, environmental monitoring, microbiological testing and water sampling programmes. * Driving microbiological risk reduction and hygiene improvement initiatives across the site. * Ensuring safe storage, handling and use of hygiene chemicals in line with COSHH and safety requirements. * Conducting internal hygiene audits, trending results, root cause analysis and corrective actions. * Leadership of the hygiene team, including rotas, training, performance management and development. * Delivery of hygiene and waste-handling training and awareness across the wider site. ________________________________________ We're keen to hear from candidates who can demonstrate: * Experience in a Hygiene Manager, Hygiene Lead, Technical or Food Safety role within food manufacturing. * Strong knowledge of hygiene systems, microbiology, cleaning validation and audit standards. * Knowledge of BRCGS, HACCP and food safety legislation. * A proven ability to lead teams, manage suppliers and drive standards. * A proactive, organised and improvement-focused mindset. Qualifications are beneficial but not essential, and may include: * Degree, HND or equivalent in a relevant discipline. * HACCP / Food Safety qualifications (Level 3 or 4 preferred). * COSHH or chemical handling knowledge. ________________________________________ Why consider this opportunity? * A role with real ownership and influence over hygiene and food safety standards. * The opportunity to lead, shape and improve hygiene culture on site. * A mix of strategic responsibility and operational involvement. * Strong alignment with Technical and QA leadership. ________________________________________ If you're an experienced Hygiene professional who might be open to a new conversation - or you're simply curious to hear more - we'd welcome an initial, confidential discussion. As you know over here at Zest we like to do things properly and always want to keep you, the candidate in the loop. Applying to this 'one of a kind' role you give Zest permission to hold your information. If you want to know more about how Zest look after your personal information please visit our privacy policy on the website (url removed)