Quality and Technical Manager

McCormick; Aylesbury; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading premium drinks company in the UK is seeking a Quality and Technical Manager to oversee product quality and production processes. You will bridge the gap between various teams to ensure high standards and compliance. The ideal candidate has a strong scientific background, technical leadership experience in beverages, and skills in cross-functional collaboration. This role supports significant innovation in a rapidly growing sector and requires effective communication and analytical skills.

Benefits

Competitive salary and benefits package

Opportunities for professional development

Join a dynamic and passionate team

Qualifications

• Strong scientific background, ideally with experience in microbiology.
• Experience in beverages, preferably with beer, wine, or spirits.
• Experience with SALSA, BRC, or major UK retailer audit processes.

Responsibilities

• Oversee product quality, production processes, and staff training.
• Monitor production data to ensure high quality output.
• Lead all accreditation processes (e.g. SALSA, BRC).

Skills

Technical leadership

Microbiology knowledge

Analytical mindset

Interpersonal skills

Process improvement

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Degree in microbiology or biochemistry

Job description

Job Overview

Quality and Technical Manager - Non Alcoholic Drinks Brand - Buckinghamshire - Salary Negotiable. Join a leading premium drinks FMCG business known for delivering exceptional products crafted with passion and expertise. Their commitment to quality and innovation drives everything we do, from fermentation to packaging and beyond. This rapidly growing, innovative beverage manufacturer is seeking an experienced Head of Technical / Quality & Technical Manager to bridge the gap between R&D, NPD, production, commercial teams, and customers. This role requires deep technical problem‑solving expertise combined with excellent interpersonal skills to translate information cross‑functionally. The ideal candidate will be comfortable switching between strategic leadership and hands‑on, detailed work within a small but ambitious team.

The organization operates at the cutting edge of alcohol‑free fermentation technology, offering a rare opportunity to lead technical operations in a highly innovative and evolving sector. This role carries significant responsibility, ensuring that advancements in R&D and NPD are translated quickly, accurately, and robustly into a commercial production environment.

Company Benefits

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth.
• Join a passionate and dynamic team in a rapidly growing business.

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end product quality, including production processes, SOPs, staff training, testing protocols, and continuous improvement.
• Monitor and analyse production data to ensure consistent, high‑quality output.
• Maintain full ownership of quality compliance from goods‑in to finished goods.
• Work closely with production to develop systems that support strong data monitoring and operational control.
• Identify opportunities to enhance quality, efficiency, and performance through improved production processes.
• Lead all accreditation processes (e.g. SALSA, BRC, and major retailer audit programmes).
• Maintain customer product specifications and ensure compliance with evolving standards.
• Manage relationships with external testing laboratories and ensure internal testing aligns with industry requirements.
• Act as the operational link between Production and R&D teams to scope, define, and prioritise R&D projects.
• Translate scientific insights into practical production methods, ensuring robust implementation.
• Codify scientific processes to enable scalability across future production sites.
• Work alongside engineering leads to specify, design, install, and commission new production equipment.
• Support troubleshooting and technical issue resolution as required.

Qualifications

• A strong scientific background, ideally with experience in microbiology (a degree in microbiology or biochemistry advantageous).
• Technical leadership experience in beverages—preferably within beer, wine, or spirits.
• Demonstrable experience with SALSA, BRC, or major UK retailer audit processes.
• Proven ability to work cross‑functionally across R&D, NPD, production, and commercial teams.
• A highly analytical mindset with the ability to interpret production and quality data to understand product behaviour.
• A proactive, solutions‑focused approach with a bias for action and continuous improvement.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work directly with both sales teams and customers.

If you are interested in having a chat about this role, please forward updated CVs to Mark at COREcruitment / [e-mail]. COREcruitment are experts in recruiting for Hospitality, Catering, Leisure, Retail, FM, Property and Construction sectors. We currently have over 1350 live roles across the UK, Middle East, Europe, Africa, North & Central America and South East Asia. To view other great opportunities please check out our website www.corecruitment.com or call us for a confidential chat about upcoming opportunities. Likewise, if you are looking to recruit then we would love to hear from you.