Hygiene Manager

Maternity Cover Northfleet, Kent £50,000 – £55,000 per annum Monday to Friday Are you an experienced Hygiene Manager from a food manufacturing background who knows how to lead a large team, maintain exceptional standards and keep a busy site audit-ready? We are looking for a strong, hands-on Hygiene Manager to take the lead on hygiene, sanitation and food safety standards at a fast-paced food manufacturing site in Northfleet. This is a high-profile leadership role where you'll have real ownership of the Hygiene function – leading the team, driving standards, managing costs and working closely with Technical, Production and Engineering. What You'll Be Doing

• Lead, motivate and develop a large Hygiene team.
• Take ownership of the site's hygiene and sanitation strategy.
• Ensure compliance with BRCGS, food safety, legal and customer standards.
• Manage master cleaning schedules and deep-cleaning programmes.
• Keep the site audit-ready and support customer, regulatory and third-party audits.
• Lead the response to contamination, allergen and sanitation issues.
• Manage Hygiene budgets, labour, chemicals, PPE, equipment and other operational costs.
• Develop and monitor Hygiene KPIs, using data to identify areas for improvement.
• Drive improvements in cleaning methods, processes and team performance.
• Carry out root-cause analysis and ensure corrective actions are completed.
• Work closely with Technical, Production, Engineering and Projects.
• Provide hygiene input into new equipment, facilities and site improvement projects.
• Manage relationships with contractors, chemical suppliers and specialist providers.

What We're Looking For You'll already have solid experience managing Hygiene within a food manufacturing environment, ideally high-care or ready-to-eat. You'll also need:

• Strong experience leading a sizeable Hygiene team.
• Excellent knowledge of BRCGS, HACCP, food safety and hygiene compliance.
• Experience managing budgets and controlling costs.
• Strong knowledge of sanitation and cleaning standards.
• Experience working with Hygiene KPIs and performance data.
• Confident leadership and people-management skills.
• A practical, hands-on approach to problem solving.
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to work with senior stakeholders.
• Good Excel and reporting skills.

Qualifications Essential:

• HACCP Level 3.
• Hygienic design qualification, formal training or equivalent practical experience.

Desirable:

• Degree or equivalent in Food Technology, Food Science, Microbiology, Engineering or a related subject.
• Continuous improvement or structured problem-solving qualification.

What's In It For You?

• £50,000 – £55,000 salary
• Monday to Friday
• Modern, brand-new facilities
• On-site parking
• Electric vehicle charging points
• Heavily subsidised staff restaurant
• Staff events
• Supportive working environment
• Stream – access up to 50% of your earned pay before payday

Ready for your next challenge? If you're an experienced Hygiene Manager who enjoys leading from the front, developing people and driving high standards within food manufacturing, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today for immediate consideration.