Technical Manager

A leading contract manufacturer of personal care and homecare products is currently looking to recruit for the role of Technical Manager.

This is a role without line management responsibility, focused more specifically on technical project and customer management from a technical perspective, ensuring their customers are well catered for from cradle to grave.

The successful applicant will have several years of post-graduate development chemistry experience within the personal care, cosmetics, or homecare manufacturing industries, along with good commercial acumen and great communication skills.

Key responsibilities:

1. Develop novel formulations across personal care and household areas.
2. Work closely with the Project & Commercial teams to ensure full support on all customer projects from concept through commercialization, including ongoing business support for specific global customers.
3. Generate new product ideas and concepts, conducting regular market reviews to identify gaps in the market that the business could fill.
4. Monitor the environmental and regulatory landscape to ensure the company is at the forefront of regulatory compliant, sustainable products.
5. Initiate, organize, manage, and conduct laboratory experiments and process trials to determine compatibility and performance of new formulations, fragrances, and packaging for global customers.
6. Manage all product testing, both internally and externally, to assure safety, efficacy, and regulatory compliance of all customer products.
7. Create and populate internal and external customer-specific product specifications.
8. Technically support other departments such as Operations and Sales to ensure product quality, manufacturing efficiency, and cost optimization in a timely manner.
9. Identify and evaluate new preservative systems.
10. Work closely and frequently with suppliers to identify trends, cost optimize, and specify raw materials (formulation, packaging).
11. Work closely with the Quality Assurance team to resolve complaints and customer inquiries in a timely manner.
12. Develop communication channels with key customers to enable the timely exchange of information relating to product updates and launches.

Skills, experience, and qualifications:

1. Science Degree, ideally in chemistry or related field.
2. In-depth relevant experience in project management, product development, engineering, or operations discipline.
3. Several years of post-graduate formulation development experience within personal care or homecare products.
4. Working knowledge of GLP/GMP, COSHH, and safe lab practices.
5. Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.