Lead Food Safety & Compliance Manager

Experis; London; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Part time

Job summary

A multinational high-street retailer seeks a Lead Food Safety & Compliance Manager in Paddington, London (hybrid). Responsibilities include leading compliance responses, ensuring legal obligations, and managing stakeholder relationships. Ideal candidates will have qualifications in Food Safety and HACCP (Levels 3 & 4), strong leadership skills, and the ability to navigate complex situations. Competitive and negotiable pay rates apply.

Qualifications

• Qualified in Food Safety Level 3 & 4.
• Strong understanding of Food Safety & Compliance.
• Ability to manage a large remote and central team.

Responsibilities

• Lead response to Serious Food Safety & Compliance incidents.
• Ensure compliance with legal & regulatory obligations.
• Manage training and support for Convenience Partners.

Skills

Food Safety Level 3 & 4

HACCP Level 3 & 4

Allergens Level 3

APLH Qualified

Stakeholder relationship management

Leadership skills

Project and programme management

Effective communication skills

Job description

Overview

Lead Food Safety & Compliance Manager

The location of the role is Paddington, London (hybrid working).

The duration of the contract is 3 months initially.

The pay rate on offer is £negotiable (open to market rates - day rate via Umbrella agency).

The client is a multinational high-street retailer.

Responsibilities

• Be available always to support & lead the response to a Serious Food Safety & Compliance Incident or Crisis
• Ensure that all legal & regulatory obligations are met in full ensuring that the organization has a defensible position
• Maintain the Group Food Safety Strategy & Policy in line with significant Threat, Risk & Organisational changes
• Engage and involve Senior Stakeholders in the Group Food Safety & Compliance
• Ensure that Group Food Safety & Compliance operational processes procedures & plans are effective, up to date and meet Governance requirements in full
• Manage our Primary Authority Partner (PAP) to provide guidance and support on continuous improvement across Food Safety and Trading Standards
• Plan and respond successfully to foreseeable Food Safety & Compliance incidents that could significantly interrupt trade and operations across our business e.g. Allergens
• Identify, assess and categorise the Food Safety & Compliance risks/threats and report them to the Audit Committee via the Group Food Safety Risk Register
• Assess & improve our Group Food Safety capability through an ongoing independent Inspection Programme our Stores & Supply Chain
• Ensure that our Convenience Partners, Divisional, Regional & Store Management teams are provided with appropriate training and support tools
• Deliver a robust support visit strategy, with a clear question set, monitoring results, and reporting so we are legally compliant across Group Food Safety & Compliance
• Identify areas for improvement relating to Food Safety and Legal & Compliance - continually reviewing policies and arrangements in place to drive simplification and improved understanding
• Manage external enforcement enquiries/formal enforcement matters with support from legal.
• Identify efficiency opportunities to move to more digital ways of working, linking in with M&S Tech team to deliver. Support in designing content, testing and launch to stores
• Maintain close strategic and operational working relationships with Government Departments and Industry Working Groups e.g. the Supermarket Safety Group
• Demonstrate leadership and benchmarking for Food Safety in the Retail Sector
• Provide insight & foresight through industry benchmarking and thought leadership
• Provide accurate Food Safety and Legal & Compliance Management information and insights data to inform the stores leadership team of performance/ potential risk

Key skills and experience

• Qualified in Food Safety Level 3 & 4
• Qualified in HACCP Level 3 & 4
• Qualified in Allergens Level 3
• APLH Qualified
• In-depth and detailed knowledge of how the business operates
• In-depth understanding of all aspects of Food Safety & Compliance e.g. HACCP
• Strong stakeholder relationships and awareness
• Strong leadership across all areas of the business
• Strong and effective engagement, communication and influencing skills
• Ability to ruthlessly prioritise business-critical activities in crisis situations
• Ability to focus a team and manage through significant change and ambiguity
• Experience in planning, project and programme management
• Self-motivated and proactively acts without guidance to deliver progress
• Ability to act with integrity and provide leadership under pressure in complex, difficult and demanding situations
• Strong organizational, communication, influencing and coaching skills
• Experience of managing a large remote and central team