Factory Technical Manager

The Sterling Choice; Scunthorpe; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

The Sterling Choice is seeking a hands-on quality leader for a large food manufacturing site. You will own the Factory Quality function, lead day-to-day QA/QC activities, and drive standards from policy to practice on the factory floor.

In this fast-paced environment you’ll build credibility, challenge when needed, and work closely with Production and Technical to ensure risk is understood and decisions are made swiftly, keeping customer expectations and BRC requirements in check.

Qualifications

• Solid background in food manufacturing.
• Experience leading factory QA/QC teams.
• Ability to understand risk and act quickly under pressure.
• Strong stakeholder relationships and credibility on the factory floor.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day Factory Quality function.
• Ensure standards are lived on the factory floor, not just written.
• Collaborate with Production and Technical to drive improvements.
• Build credibility and challenge when needed.
• Provide decisive direction in a fast-paced operation.

Skills

QA/QC Leadership

Risk Assessment

Decision Making

People Management

Stakeholder Collaboration

Job description

When production moves quickly, Technical has to move quicker.

In a high-volume manufacturing environment, you don't always have hours to debate what happens next. You need to understand the risk, make the right call and have the credibility to bring Operations with you.

That's the opportunity here.

You'll be joining a large food manufacturing site to take ownership of everything Factory Quality, leading the day-to-day quality function and making sure standards aren't just written into procedures, but actually lived on the factory floor.

There is a strong wider Technical team around you, with specialists covering different areas of the function. That means you can focus on where you'll add the most value: the factory, the people and the decisions that keep a busy operation moving without compromising standards.

And the people piece is important.

There is a lot of experience on this site. Plenty of people know the operation inside out and have been there for a long time. Coming in and simply telling people what to do isn't going to work.

You'll need to build relationships, earn credibility and be confident enough to challenge when something isn't right. The best person for this role will get Production working with Technical, not against it.

You'll also need to be decisive.

This is a fast-paced operation where problems need to be understood and acted upon quickly. You'll be comfortable assessing risk, making sensible decisions under pressure and giving your team and the wider factory clear direction when it matters.

The standards are demanding, with significant customer expectations alongside BRC requirements. There is work to do and opportunities to improve, so this isn't a role for someone who simply wants to maintain the status quo.

You'll need a solid background in food manufacturing, experience leading factory QA/QC teams and the confidence to operate closely with Production. More than anything, you'll need to be visible, pragmatic and capable of getting things done at pace.

You don't need to be the loudest person in the factory. You do need to be someone people trust when a decision has to be made.