Technical Lead

Finsbury Food Group; East Kilbride; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Enhanced Pension Scheme

Death in Service Benefit

Free Employee Assistance Programme

Retail discounts via Benefits Hub

Refer a Friend Scheme (up to £300)

Learning & Development opportunities

Job summary

Finsbury Food Group is seeking a Technical Lead to guide the site’s technical strategy at Johnstones Food Service in East Kilbride. You’ll lead a multi-disciplinary team to uphold food safety, quality and regulatory standards while partnering with Operations, Engineering and NPD.

You will drive continuous improvement, manage QMS and lead BRCGS accreditation, audits and KPI reporting to the Site Leadership Team.

Qualifications

• Degree in Food Science or equivalent discipline with leadership experience.
• Level 4 HACCP qualification and Lead Auditor certification.
• Senior Technical/Quality leadership in food manufacturing or FMCG.

Responsibilities

• Own the site technical strategy for food safety, quality and compliance.
• Lead the technical function and develop a high-performing team.
• Maintain QMS, HACCP, and audit readiness including BRCGS accreditation.
• Collaborate with Operations, Engineering, NPD and Commercial teams on launches and improvements.
• Drive continuous improvement, reduce waste and improve operational efficiency.

Skills

Leadership

Problem-solving

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Root cause analysis

Cost improvement

Cross-functional collaboration

IT literacy

Education

BSc in Food Science

HACCP Level 4

Lead Auditor qualification

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

Technical Lead

Location: Johnstones Food Service, East Kilbride

Shift: Monday to Friday

We have an exciting opportunity for a Technical Lead to join our Site Leadership Team at Johnstones Food Service in East Kilbride.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join one of the UK’s largest bakery businesses, along with great opportunities for growth and development. At Finsbury Food Group, we are passionate about investing in our teams, creating great development opportunities. This role is ideal for an experienced Engineering Lead looking to deliver demonstrable improvements such as extensive automation in a complex site with multiple retail customers.

As a key member of the Site Leadership Team, you’ll provide strategic leadership across food safety, quality, compliance and technical excellence. Working closely with Operations, Engineering, Commercial, NPD and Group Technical teams, you’ll drive continuous improvement, maintain industry-leading standards and ensure our products consistently meet customer, legal and regulatory requirements.

This is what you’ll actually do!

As Technical Lead, you’ll take ownership of the site’s technical strategy, ensuring food safety, quality and compliance remain at the forefront of everything we do. You’ll lead the technical function, developing a high-performing team while embedding a culture of continuous improvement across the site.

You’ll be responsible for maintaining robust Quality Management Systems, HACCP plans and food safety processes, ensuring the site remains compliant with customer requirements, legislative standards and industry best practice. You’ll oversee the site’s BRCGS accreditation, lead customer and third-party audits, and ensure the business remains audit-ready at all times.

Working closely with Production, Engineering and NPD, you’ll support successful product launches, identify opportunities to improve manufacturing performance and drive projects that enhance product quality, reduce waste and improve operational efficiency. You’ll use data, trend analysis and structured root cause techniques to investigate issues, identify improvement opportunities and implement long-term solutions.

You’ll lead the site’s approach to customer complaints, technical withdrawals, depot rejections, pest control and hygiene standards, ensuring corrective actions are implemented effectively and sustainable improvements are achieved. You’ll also oversee departmental budgets, develop meaningful technical KPIs and provide regular performance reporting to the Site Leadership Team.

Success in this role will be measured through audit performance, customer satisfaction, food safety compliance, complaint reduction, successful product launches, continuous improvement delivery and your ability to develop a strong technical culture across the site.

Ideally this is you!

• Degree qualified in Food Science or an equivalent discipline
• Level 4 HACCP qualification
• Lead Auditor qualified
• Significant experience within a senior Technical or Quality leadership role in food manufacturing or FMCG
• Strong working knowledge of BRCGS Standards, HACCP, food safety legislation and customer Codes of Practice
• Experience leading customer, third-party and regulatory audits
• Proven experience developing and leading high-performing technical teams
• Strong understanding of Quality Management Systems and continuous improvement methodologies
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with experience using root cause analysis to drive sustainable improvements
• Commercially aware with experience managing departmental budgets and delivering cost improvements
• Strong leadership, communication and influencing skills with the ability to build effective relationships across all levels of the business
• Experience working collaboratively with Operations, Engineering, NPD and Commercial teams
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office and ERP systems
• A proactive, resilient and solutions-focused approach with a passion for driving technical excellence

What’s in it for you?

• Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Leave to allow quality time with your new arrival!
• Enhanced Pension Scheme for our employees
• Death in Service Benefit
• Free Employee Assistance Programme (open to colleagues and their families)
• Retail discounts accessible via our Benefits Hub platform!
• Refer a Friend Scheme (up to £300 per referral – T&C’s dependent)
• Employee Recognition Awards Extensive Learning & Development opportunities (including opportunities for sponsored professional memberships and our own in-house development course!)

An opportunity to be part of a fantastic, growing organisation.

Our vision at Finsbury is to be the leading specialty bakery group in the UK, and we want the best people in place to achieve this. Our continued success is built entirely on the talented people who work here, so employee development is important to us because everyone is a valued member of the team, and we want every individual to have the skills and capabilities to achieve both your own personal goals and our business goals. We want good people to join our company, to help our company continue to go from strength to strength.