Group Technical Director

QLM Search is partnering with a leading international food manufacturing group to appoint a Group Technical Director.

Reporting directly to the CEO and joining the Executive Committee, this is a high-profile role with full responsibility for Food Safety, Quality and Technical strategy across a significant European manufacturing footprint.

The business is entering an important period of investment and development, and the Group Technical Director will have a direct voice in decisions around growth, investment and risk.

The Role

The Group Technical Director will set the technical strategy across the Group, ensuring consistently high standards of food safety, quality and regulatory compliance across its manufacturing operations.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading the Group's Food Safety, Quality and Technical strategy
• Setting standards and governance across a complex, multi-site European manufacturing network
• Leading executive-level technical relationships with major grocery retail and foodservice customers
• Providing the CEO and Executive Committee with clear technical leadership on investment, growth and risk
• Leading the response to significant technical or food safety issues
• Protecting product integrity, authenticity and traceability across the supply chain
• Supporting investment, acquisitions and integration from a technical perspective
• Representing the Group with customers, regulators and the wider industry

We are looking for an established technical leader with experience in a large, complex food manufacturing business.

You will bring:

• Executive-level Technical leadership experience within food manufacturing
• Strong experience working with major UK and European grocery retailers
• A track record of leading multi-site technical organisations
• Experience operating across an international manufacturing footprint
• Strong knowledge of food safety, quality, regulatory compliance and technical governance
• Experience supporting major investment, acquisitions or business integration
• A track record of successfully leading through complex technical or crisis situations
• The ability to operate comfortably at Executive Committee level while remaining close to manufacturing operations

This is an opportunity to take on a genuinely Group-level role within a significant European food business at an important point in its development.