Technical Compliance Manager – Lola’s

Finsbury Food Group; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Lola’s London, backed by Finsbury Food Group, seeks a seasoned Technical Leader to drive the on-site technical strategy, ensuring top-tier food safety, quality, legality and compliance.

The role demands HACCP leadership, strong knowledge of SALSA/BRC standards, and proven capability to lead cross-functional teams in a fast-paced bakery environment. This pivotal position sits within the Technical Department at Lola’s London.

Qualifications

• A degree in Food Science and a Lead Auditor qualification.
• HACCP Level 4 and Food Safety Level 3 qualifications are essential, alongside IOSH or NEBOSH.
• Strong technical leadership experience within food manufacturing, ideally in a fast-paced bakery or wider food production environment.
• Strong knowledge of food safety systems, customer standards, legislation, and audit requirements, including SALSA and BRC.
• A proven track record of driving food quality culture, leading teams, and delivering continuous improvement in operational settings.
• Commercial awareness, sound judgement, and the ability to assess risk and make confident decisions.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the credibility to build relationships across the business and with external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical function on site, delivering the technical strategy and ensuring the highest standards of food safety, quality, legality, and compliance.
• Champion a strong food quality and safety culture, embedding best practice and driving a “Health and Safety First” mindset across the business.
• Maintain and improve the Technical Compliance Management System, ensuring the site remains aligned with legislation, customer requirements, and industry standards.
• Lead audits, investigations, crisis and incident management, and follow-up actions to support compliance and continuous improvement.
• Own the site Technical and Quality Plan, supporting the journey to BRC standard while meeting SALSA and customer expectations.
• Lead the HACCP team and provide technical support across Procurement, NPD, Operations, and project teams.
• Monitor technical performance data, identify improvement opportunities, and drive delivery against key KPIs.
• Develop and lead the technical team, building capability, coaching others, and contributing as a key member of the site leadership team.

Skills

Technical leadership

Leadership experience

Communication

Stakeholder management

Education

Degree in Food Science

Job description

Location: Lola’s London, NW10
Department: Technical
Shift: Monday to Friday

About Us
Founded in 2006, Lola’s is one of the UK’s best-loved premium cake brands, known for handcrafted celebration cakes and cupcakes made fresh every day.

Now backed by Finsbury Food Group, we’re entering an exciting new phase of growth with ambitious plans to strengthen our operational capability.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join at a pivotal point and help shape the future of technical standards, food safety, quality, and compliance across the site.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the technical function on site, delivering the technical strategy and ensuring the highest standards of food safety, quality, legality, and compliance.
• Champion a strong food quality and safety culture, embedding best practice and driving a “Health and Safety First” mindset across the business.
• Maintain and improve the Technical Compliance Management System, ensuring the site remains aligned with legislation, customer requirements, and industry standards.
• Lead audits, investigations, crisis and incident management, and follow-up actions to support compliance and continuous improvement.
• Own the site Technical and Quality Plan, supporting the journey to BRC standard while meeting SALSA and customer expectations.
• Lead the HACCP team and provide technical support across Procurement, NPD, Operations, and project teams.
• Monitor technical performance data, identify improvement opportunities, and drive delivery against key KPIs.
• Develop and lead the technical team, building capability, coaching others, and contributing as a key member of the site leadership team.

What You’ll Bring

• A degree in Food Science and a Lead Auditor qualification.
• HACCP Level 4 and Food Safety Level 3 qualifications are essential, alongside IOSH or NEBOSH.
• Strong technical leadership experience within food manufacturing, ideally in a fast-paced bakery or wider food production environment.
• Strong knowledge of food safety systems, customer standards, legislation, and audit requirements, including SALSA and BRC.
• A proven track record of driving food quality culture, leading teams, and delivering continuous improvement in operational settings.
• Commercial awareness, sound judgement, and the ability to assess risk and make confident decisions.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the credibility to build relationships across the business and with external stakeholders.

Why This Role?
This is a high-impact leadership role with the opportunity to shape standards, build capability, and influence the next phase of growth at Lola’s.

If you’re an experienced technical leader who thrives in fast-paced food manufacturing and wants to make a visible difference, we’d love to hear from you.