Technical Manager

Technical Manager - Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire

OV are a highly acquisitive and diverse Group that sources, manufactures and supplies the highest quality confectionery, inclusions and decorations, dairy supplies and ingredients to the global industrial food manufacturing sectors and leading Grocery Retailers.  Dedicated to making the difference to our customers and consumers, our specialist and technical knowledge enables us to solve complex challenges and create inspiring solutions. 

With nine sites across the world including manufacturing facilities in Glasgow, St Ives, Tenbury Wells, Leominster, Harrogate, Sweden, and Switzerland, and sales offices in the UK, Germany and Australia, OV Group sits within the Orkla Food Ingredients (OFI) business area of Orkla ASA, a leading supplier of branded consumer goods to the grocery, out-of-home, specialised retail, pharmacy, and bakery sectors, with a strong footprint in the Nordics but also continually growing within Europe, India and beyond.

Leading and developing a team of 8 Specification, QA and NPD Technologists, the scope of this role covers our Tenbury Wells and Leominster facilities but also extends to our international customer and supply base.  You will have responsibility for all matters relating to food safety, quality, and legality to ensure that the business maintains the highest levels of integrity required to protect its own brands and those of its customers.

You will lead all site specific internal and supplier audits, ensuring a robust auditing programme that continues to meet the requirements of BRC, SMETA, Agents & Brokers, our retail customers and other third-party accreditation schemes, and work collaboratively across functions and sites to make food safety and quality a shared responsibility. 

You will build excellent relationships working closely with our customers and suppliers, providing proactive technical management and collaborative issue resolution and be the technical interface between OV and Orkla ensuring the business meets all Orkla Group requirements.  In addition, with overall managerial responsibility for all aspects of the Quality System, you will ensure continuous improvement through the application and development of best practice.

About You…

With a relevant degree in Food Safety or equivalent, a minimum of 5 years’ experience in a technical role within a food manufacturing environment supplying to leading retailers, and demonstrable experience of successful team management and development, you will have excellent interpersonal skills, be a strong relationship builder able to influence across all levels within the business.  With an advanced Food Hygiene qualification, minimum level 2 HACCP principles and a high degree of numeracy and literacy, you will have exceptional attention to detail combined with excellent communication and presentation skills.