Technical Controller - Interim

Our Vacancies

Northampton

On-site

GBP 65,000 - 75,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Salary and benefits

Holidays

Pension contributions

Life insurance

Share save scheme

Qualifications

Employee discount platform

Wellbeing platform

Parental leave

Job summary

Greencore Northampton is seeking a Technical Controller to head the site's technical function, leading a multi-disciplinary team to ensure manufacturing operates to technical and hygiene standards.

The role involves senior customer liaison, audit governance, and delivering a compliant QMS and KPI improvements while aligning with legal and customer requirements.

Qualifications

Degree-level education with a Food Science specialization or related field.
Advanced Food Hygiene Level 4 or equivalent.
HACCP Level 4 (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points).
Level 3 Allergen Management and Level 4 Microbiological Training.
Lead assessor qualification and SEDEX knowledge.
Experience delivering a technical strategy for a manufacturing unit.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop colleagues across functions to reach potential.
Ensure food safety and quality systems align with operations.
Provide senior customer interface for joint business planning.
Maintain technical governance to meet audit and legal requirements.
Create integrated plans to resource technical and hygiene processes.
Drive technical improvement for legal compliance and advantage.
Develop and implement a QMS with audit-ready information.
Ensure capability to maintain food safety and quality compliance.
Foster a safe workplace aligned with Health, Safety and Environment policy.

Skills

Leadership

Quality systems governance

Audit management

Project management

Supplier management

Stakeholder engagement

Food safety expertise

Education

Food Science degree

Advanced food hygiene Level 4

HACCP Level 4

Allergen management Level 3

Microbiological training Level 4

Lead assessor qualification

Job description

Why Greencore?

Following the combination with Bakkavor in January 2026, we’re one of the UK’s leading creators of convenience food, driven by a simple purpose: to make every day taste better.

As a vibrant and fast-moving business, we’re proud to employ over 28,000 talented colleagues across 36 manufacturing sites and 21 distribution depots in the UK and the US. Together, we bring delicious food to life. Our products cover every meal occasion from breakfast through to dinner and dessert, with lunch and snacking in between. In FY25, our shared passion helped us achieve combined revenues of approximately £4bn.

Our extensive direct to store (DTS) network, with 17 depots across the UK, allows us to deliver fresh and frozen food both our own and from trusted partners to thousands of stores every day, ensuring consumers enjoy the very best, whenever and wherever they shop.

Here atNorthampton, we operate one of the most impressive facilities in Europe, based across a campus of 5 manufacturing units, and we have a team of around 2,000 colleagues making high quality premium products every day. We are the sole supplier of sandwiches, wraps, rolls and sushi for Marks & Spencer.

What you’ll be doing

As Technical Controller you will head up the site technical function andlead multi-disciplinary teams ensuring that the manufacturing unit operate within the required technical and hygiene process standards by adhering to customer, business and legal standards. In this role you will be a member of the Site Leadership Team.

Provide leadership and direction to ensure that across the functions colleagues are engaged, focused, developed and delivering their potential
Contribute to the site leadership team to ensure that food safety and quality systems compliment the operational model
Provide a senior interface with customers on joint business planning activities to deliver exceptional standards of customer service and adherence to customer policies and requirements
Ensure technical governance across a multi-disciplinary team to deliver audit compliance with respects to internal, external, legal and customer requirements
Create and deliver an integrated business plan to ensure that technical and hygiene processes are resourced and directed to deliver manufacturing, customer and legal business objectives
Identify and promote technical business improvement practices to deliver legal compliance and competitive advantage whilst driving functional improvements
Devise and implement a Quality Management Systems (QMS), ensuring that management information and statutory information is available for audit and MU Executive decision making
Ensure that the technical team has the appropriate capability to comply with food safety and quality compliance
Ensure that a safe working environment exists for all colleagues and that as a minimum the department meets the standards set out in the Health, Safety and Environment Policy

What we’re looking for

We’re proud to be recognised in the Gender Equity Measure Top 100 for our commitment to gender equality.

Desired: educated to degree level with a specialism in Food Science (or other relevant qualification)
Holds the following relevant qualifications: Advanced food hygiene Level 4 or equivalent, Level 4 Hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP), Level 3 allergen management and Level 4 micro biological training
Holds a lead assessor qualification
Awareness of Ethical and Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX) management
Experience of creating and implementing an internal audit plan
Experience of developing and implementing a QMS
Experience of creating and implementing a technical strategy for a manufacturing unit
Able to lead projects and project management
Demonstrable experience of supplier negotiation and managing multiple external contracts with suppliers e.g., service providers, labs, laundry, pest controls and chemical providers
Is experienced in liaising with government agencies e.g., Environmental Health Officer (EHO)
Experience of applying advanced food legislation in a manufacturing environment
Able to implement and delivering KPI improvement plans
Demonstrable experience of building sustained customer relationships and working with specific customer requirements e.g., Clean-in-place (CIP)/Thermal Process