Job Purpose
The Hygiene Manager is responsible for leading, developing and delivering an effective site wide hygiene strategy, ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness and food safety are achieved and maintained at all times. The role plays a critical part in ensuring compliance with internal standards, customer requirements and legal obligations, supporting the site’s technical and operational objectives.
The role is primarily day based; however, flexibility is required to work across different shifts, including night shifts on an occasional basis, to ensure hygiene standards, training and compliance are fully aligned across all shifts.
Key Responsibilities
Hygiene Strategy & Standards
- Develop, implement and maintain robust hygiene systems, procedures and standards across the site.
- Ensure all hygiene activities comply with company policies, customer requirements and legal obligations, including BRCGS, HACCP and food safety legislation.
- Own and continuously improve the site Hygiene Master Schedule, ensuring cleaning frequencies and methods are risk based and effective.
- Ensure equipment design, accessibility and cleanability are fully considered when defining cleaning methodologies, frequencies and validation activities, working closely with Engineering and Production.
To maintain product Food Safety, Legality, Integrity, Authenticity and Quality standards by ensuring all associated policies and procedures are adhered to.
Operational Delivery
- Provide site wide oversight of all hygiene and cleaning activities, including those carried out by production teams during line shutdowns and by outsourced amenities cleaners.
- Coordinate hygiene activities to support production plans, minimising risk and downtime while maintaining high standards.
- Develop, implement and maintain clear Cleaning Instruction Cards (CICs) for all hygiene tasks, ensuring they are accurate, controlled and reflect best practice.
- Ensure CICs and hygiene procedures are effectively deployed and embedded across all relevant areas and shifts.
Team Leadership, Training & Culture
- Provide functional leadership and guidance to all colleagues involved in hygiene tasks, influencing behaviours and standards without direct line management responsibility.
- Ensure appropriate training, instruction and competency assessment is in place for production operators undertaking cleaning activities, in collaboration with Production, Technical and Training teams.
- Oversee hygiene performance of third party amenities cleaning providers, holding suppliers to account against agreed service levels and site standards.
- Act as the site hygiene subject matter expert, providing coaching, challenge and support where gaps are identified.
- Champion a strong food safety and hygiene culture across the site and all shifts.
Audit, Compliance & Continuous Improvement
- Lead hygiene elements of internal, customer and external audits, including BRCGS and retailer audits.
- Investigate hygiene related non conformances, audit findings and incidents, implementing effective corrective and preventive actions.
- Use hygiene KPIs, trend analysis and audit data to drive continuous improvement initiatives and reduce risk.
Health, Safety & Chemical Control
- Ensure all COSHH risk assessments and Material Safety Data Sheets (SDS/MSDS) are current, compliant and readily available to colleagues and contractors.
- Ensure safe handling, storage and use of cleaning chemicals at all times.
- Ensure hygiene activities are carried out in line with site health, safety and environmental requirements and approved safe systems of work.
Cost & Resource Management
- Manage hygiene related budgets, including consumables, chemicals and external cleaning services.
- Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce cost without compromising hygiene, food safety or compliance.
Key Stakeholders
- Site Leadership Team
- Technical / Quality Teams
- Production & Engineering
- External contractors and service providers
- Auditors and customers
