Product Manager

Product Manager Role

The Opportunity

An established food manufacturing business is seeking an experienced Product Manager to lead product quality and food safety at a high‑volume production facility. This is a key role within the site leadership structure, responsible for safeguarding product integrity, driving continuous quality improvement and acting as the guardian of brand standards.

Operating within a fast‑moving FMCG environment, the role offers genuine influence across operations, technical and supply chain teams, with exposure to customer and regulatory stakeholders both in the UK and overseas.

Key Responsibilities

- Full accountability for site product quality and food safety performance
- Lead all regulatory, customer and third‑party audits (announced and unannounced)
- Maintain, develop and audit the Total Quality Management System
- Drive a continuous improvement culture focused on quality, yield and consumer value
- Act as a HACCP team member, ensuring risk assessments, validation and verification are robust
- Oversee raw material intake quality, yield optimisation and allocation
- Manage product quality incidents and complaints through effective RCA and corrective action
- Ensure customer specifications and quality systems are accurate, current and clearly communicated
- Partner with cross‑functional teams to embed best practice and consistent ways of working
- Lead, coach and develop technical team members to ensure capability and engagement
- Act as the custodian of brand quality and integrity

About You

- An experienced Product Quality / Technical Manager from a food or fresh produce environment
- Confident leading audits and acting with authority in a regulated manufacturing setting
- Strong working knowledge of food safety legislation and customer standards
- Collaborative, resilient and commercially minded
- Comfortable influencing across functions and managing multiple stakeholders
- Detail‑focused, analytical and proactive in problem solving

Qualifications & Experience

- Degree in Food Science, Horticulture, Agriculture or similar discipline
- HACCP Level 4 and Level 4 Food Safety
- Internal and third‑party auditing experience
- Proven leadership experience within FMCG or fresh food manufacturing
- Experience driving continuous improvement initiatives
- Full UK driving licence and flexibility to travel to UK and overseas sites as required

As you know over here at Zest we like to do things properly and always want to keep you, the candidate in the loop. Applying to this 'one of a kind' role you give Zest permission to hold your information. If you want to know more about how Zest look after your personal information please visit our privacy policy on the website