Interim Technical & Quality ContractsCover offered on roles from QA Manager through to Head of Technical. Whether it is babysitting an existing role or a complete department overhaul and direction change, support can be offered from 3 months up to 12 months+Internal AuditingAnnual packages tailored to your business that will ensure full compliance (including retailer standards and /or other customer codes of practice), in addition to recommending areas for improvement.Packages for: BRC Food Safety v8, BRC Agents & Brokers v2 & BRC Storage & Distribution v3Supply Base ManagementBespoke supplier risk assessment and management programs delivered, enabling focus on the right suppliers, cover the right topics and forge excellent working relationships with your suppliers.TrainingTraditional, mandatory Food Safety and HACCP training (Level 1-4), in addition we can put together bespoke packages to improve staff knowledge and engage them with food safety culture.Examples include: Foreign Body Hazards, Cleaning & Hygiene, Allergens, Process Control and others to suit.Consultancy & SupportPackages to suit food businesses large or small to ensure you stay food safe, legal and exceed your customers expectation on quality. E.g. System implementation

Employed by Destiny Foods in Manchester; turning over £20m to manage the technical agenda over 2 sites (manufacturing and storage & distribution). Offering help support and coaching to all levels of the business and ultimately ensure delivery of safe, authentic, and legal products to our customers within the guidelines of their codes of practice and to the highest level of quality.Key Responsibilities / Achievements:Initial stabilisation of site to pass BRC at AA in month 3.Reviewed and streamlined the QMS & HACCP systems ensure strong departmental foundations were in place in addition to satisfying BRC v8 and all aspects of customer codes of practice.Recruited permanent team of Hygiene Manager, Compliance Manager, Quality Systems Manager, and additional QA, integrating them into the team and company quickly through clear role definition and empowerment. Brought the storage & distribution site under the scope of BRC ensuring the correct systems and procedures were in place and trained out.In partnership with operations, instilled a bottom-up approach by engaging all levels of staff to ensure they were given the right tools to understand and competently carry out their roles (e.g., internal training packages, use of supplier expertise, online workshops)Implementation of more robust NPD gate system, ensuring the factory were involved earlier in the process to successfully deliver each project smoothly. Started the food safety culture journey by engaging with staff using methods from daily factory floor walk rounds to full site presentations to coaching in small groups.

Delivery of Food Safety & HACCP training levels 1-4

Employed by Futura Foods in Minffordd, Wales and turning over £20m, the purpose of this role was to enable site to take the next steps in Technical management. Customers: Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Farm Foods, Business to BusinessKey Responsibilities / Achievements:Full site review, identifying areas requiring improvement. Tasks and improvements were managed through a site wide tracker.Implementation of display boards and supporting meetings to improve communication across site. These included a daily operations meeting, KPI display for all staff, root cause and 5 why boards.Standardised and rolled out line specifications giving clarity to operators. Allocated coding to all raw material, packaging and finished product ensuring these were used universally across site.Refined the NPD process to ensure clarity on each project and a clear handover to site with all relevant information.Engaged all staff into a food safety and quality culture using various training coaching tools.Developed process control forms for each product to ensure machine setting and conditions remained consistent.Re-structured the electronic and physical files, aligning to BRC for each of navigation for the wider team.Defined departmental roles to give clarity and ownership to post holders.Formalised the grading and concession protocols to ensure a solid due diligence was in place

Employed by Brecks Food in Selby turning over £17m, the initial aim was to stabilise the technical department on site and deliver the first BRC v8 audit on site, with the secondary aim of delivering a new build factory for Meat-Free. Customers: Quorn, Veggie Butcher, Tesco, Sainsbury’sKey Responsibilities / Achievements:Delivered BRC v8 with a grade AA by structured planning and cross functional involvementAligned QMS to BRC to make documents easily accessible for anyone in the businessMoved site from announced to unannounced audit program through site improvementsManage a team of 2 to ensure products are manufactured to agreed brand standards and specifications, in addition to everyone having role clarity.Implemented a site engagement plan to bring food safety culture to life, resulting in better audit results and reduced complaint levelsCoordinated business wide projects to improve SAP utilisation and Process ControlUtilisation of wider knowledge to structure business performance through KPI and SIC structuresDelivered Internal Audit training to grow the audit team to 20 and gain true impartiality and better-quality auditingIntegration of the business units by sharing ideas and learning to operate as one companyRolled out a back to basics training package for all staff covering; Foreign Body Control, Hygiene, Health & Safety, Process Control and Allergen Awareness. Delivered in 2-hour modules with a classroom and practical element to each.Implemented a GMP auditing program which was delivered by the QA team. Structured scoring made the audits fair, consistent and targeted the right issues.Member of the project team responsible for delivering a new factory build and start up for the Meat-Free operationGained “Responsibly Sourced” status for our Chinese Soya (primary ingredient in Meat-Free Sausage)Targeted supplier auditing to gain full understanding of our end to end supply chain and traceability.

Employed by Monster Brands in York to bring some structure and stability to the technical agenda.Using BRC Agents & Brokers as a standard, I implemented a quality management system around this to ensure all product remained safe, authentic, legal and of the highest quality.

Employed by Street Eats Food in Chester turning over £22m to stabilise the technical department on site. Using my knowledge and experience to enable delivery of safe and legal products in to education, healthcare, hospitality, transport and retail outlets and promoting a technical understanding from director to shop floor.Brands: Street Eats, CranksCustomers: Virgin, TUI, EasyJet, Home Bargains, CompassKey Responsibilities / Achievements:Manage a team of 16 to ensure products are manufactured to agreed brand standards and specifications, in addition to each individual having role clarityManaged rebranding project from a technical perspective. 175 new SKU’s and associated artwork developed, trailed and launched in a 3-month windowEnsured QMS was fit for purpose to pass 10 audits including: BRC, Customer, Local Authority and Assured Ingredient (e.g. red tractor, MSC and RSPCA)Delivered Internal Audit training to grow the audit team to 15 and gain true impartiality and better-quality auditingWorked with NPD to drive process improvement meaning products were smoothly delivered from concept to launch; gate process implemented, and tracker used to check progress week on week.Improved Quality Panel to enable shop floor involvement and a scoring system that helped drive meaningful and achievable actions and hence improvementImplemented a GMP auditing program which was delivered by the QA team. Structured scoring made the audits fair, consistent and targeted the right issues.Instilled a Safety First, Quality Always culture on the shop floor by tracking and reporting issues by shift and by line to drive ownership and accountabilityImplemented a tablet-based specification for production line leaders meaning on line specs were always available and up to date.Aided other business areas to implement structured systems and processes e.g. H&S and HR

Employed by The Hut Group in Warrington; turning over £300m to manage the Technical agenda on site. Offering help support and coaching to all levels of the business and ultimately ensure delivery of safe and legal products to our customers within the guidelines of industry standards and codes of practice and to the highest level of quality.Brands: Myprotein, Myvitamins, Exante, MASSKey Responsibilities / Achievements:Manage a team of 22 to ensure products are manufactured to agreed brand standards and specifications, in addition to each individual having role clarityRevamped the QMS & HACCP systems ensure strong departmental foundations were in place in addition to satisfying BRC v7Recruited and trained a team of 30 internal auditors to give an impartial and value added internal audit teamConsolidation of standards to give clarity and value for money; giving a business saving of £10k annuallyImplementation of thorough root cause analysis to find the 100-year fix to problems. This included train out of simple tools (5Y / Fishbone) and setting up of weekly clinics to offer support to non - conformance owners in addition to tracking longer term actions for speedy closureIn partnership with operations; instilled a bottom up approach by engaging all levels of staff to ensure they were given the right tools to understand and competently carry out their roles (e.g. internal training packages, use of supplier expertise, on line workshops)Implemented a Technical Scorecard to show month to month trends and ensure issues were identified and discussed at the monthly management review.Aided non-food areas of the business with systems and processes to ensure group alignmentManagement of departments budget of c£2m

Employed by Aimia Foods in Haydock; turning over £75m to manage the Technical agenda over 2 sites. Offering help support and coaching to all levels of the business and ultimately ensure delivery of safe and legal products to our customers within the guidelines of their codes of practice and to the highest level of quality.Retailers: Tesco, Asda, Morrison’s, Co-op, Aldi, LidlFood Service: Bidvest, Chef’s Kitchen, Key Customers: Mars Drinks, GSK, Kellogg’sKey Responsibilities / Achievements:Manage a team of 12 to ensure products are manufactured to agreed customer standards and specifications, in addition to each individual having role clarityRevamped the QMS & HACCP systems ensure strong departmental foundations were in place in addition to satisfying BRC v7and all aspects of retailer & customer codes of practiceRecruited and trained a team of 30 internal auditors to give an impartial and value added internal audit teamDrove standardisation across both sites to give clarity and ensure best practice.In partnership with operations; instilled a bottom up approach by engaging all levels of staff to ensure they were given the right tools to understand and competently carry out their roles (e.g. internal training packages, use of supplier expertise, on line workshops)Implementation of an engineer work request system to enable operators to request work to be carried out on their areas, with each task being risk assessed from a Food Safety and Health & Safety perspectiveMaximised the incident procedure by using a decision tree to give clarity on concession issue, product hold and root cause analysis being carried out.Implemented a Technical Scorecard to show month to month trends and ensure issues were identified and discussed at the monthly management review.Management of departments budget of c£1m

Employed by Park Cakes in Bolton, turning over £58m. To manage the technical agenda on site, offering help, support and coaching to all levels of the business and ultimately ensure delivery of safe and legal products to our customers within the guidelines of their codes of practice.Retailers: M&S, JS, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Co-op, Aldi, LidlKey Responsibilities / Achievements:Manage a team of 12 to ensure products are manufactured to agreed retailer standards and specificationsRevamped the QMS to capture BRC v7, in addition to capturing all aspects of retailer codes of practiceDeveloped a robust internal auditing program covering GMP, Process, Hygiene and Systems; generating scores that could be trended and tracked by departmentSet out site “house of quality” and ensured the vision was bought into by all key stakeholdersInstilled a bottom up approach by engaging all levels of staff in the right training and guidance (e.g. back to basics program and use of the supply base to give operators a level of expertise around ingredient and the science of baking)Clear role definition and development program with direct reports to ensure clarity and objective delivery, while developing a solid continuity path for the departmentImplemented an issue database to fully capture all problems and deviations on site using “Incidents” and “Concessions”, this system also ensured root cause was identified and countermeasures implemented.Improved and refined data trending to ensure issues were identified and corrected (e.g. for complaints)

Employed by Dairy Crest in Liverpool, turning over £1.4bn group wide. To manage the food safety, quality and legal compliance agenda across site, through effective team management and operating in an effective senior leadership team site wide.Key Responsibilities / Achievements:Manage a team of 10 to ensure product s are manufactured to agreed group standards and specificationsEnsure a full QMS is in place and controlled to satisfy BRC and retailers suppliedManage and sponsor Capex projects from a technical perspectiveDefine and drive site technical strategy, linking in with group goals ensuring multi-level and cross functional buy inDeveloped relationships with key suppliers to effectively and proactively manage issues on site.Development of a technical team to ensure all aspects of technical are covered; in addition to setting out personal plans for each team member to ensure they continue to develop their skill setInstilled a proactive approach to customer complaints and non-conformances, driving root cause analysis and permanent fixes to problemsManagement of site services to maximise site benefit, E.g. Pest Control, Chemical Supply and LaundryDevelopment, coaching and guidance of all team members across all levels through clear communication, clear objectives and regular dialogue.

Strategic Partner to M&S (Chocolate and Confectionery)Employed by J&K Confectionery in Wigan turning over £20m; sourcing and delivering the highest quality chocolate and confectionery in to M&S retail. My role heads up the technical function ensuring the supply base is compliant to M&S standards and the customer is satisfied by developing strategy, focus, direction and providing strong team leadership.Key Responsibilities / Achievements:Management of a supply base of 7 to meet M&S standards through gap analysis, audits, regular visits using a compliance workbook developed specifically for J&K suppliersManage consumer complaints through the supply base, ensuring M&S targets are deliveredDelivery of a new complaints database and reporting tools to focus in on key areasMovement of suppliers from Bronze status to Silver (M&S Audit grading) within 12 months by driving standards upwardsImplementation of an internal quality system throughout the company.Development of a technical team to ensure all aspects of technical are covered; in addition to setting out personal plans for each team member to ensure they continue to develop their skill setRespond to all M&S requests through KPI reports, site reports, project updates and other ad hoc requestsImplementation of 6 monthly supplier conference days held at the J&K head office.

Manufacturer of Gluten & Wheat Free Products (Branded and Own Label)Employed by Dr Schär UK in Warrington turning over £26m in the UK, manufacturing and distributing a range of gluten and wheat free products. Following a restructure to align with group my role assumed technical responsibility for the UK and reported directly to the MD, in addition to much more group interaction and focus.Key Responsibilities / Achievements:Management of supply base through audits, specifications, code of practice, HACCP, Allergen Management and trend analysis.Manage consumer complaints through the supply baseAid the supply base in maintaining and / or achieving BRC accreditation Implementation of an electronic positive release system for all UK produced productManagement of the laboratory systems and responsibility for results and positive releaseTechnical point of contact for all customer, supplier and regularity body enquiries.Driving group standardisation - working with European colleagues to drive common and efficient practices across the group technical functionImplemented an ISO based sensory training program and conduct this on an annual basisMonitoring of legislation and current trends to determine any risk or effect on our brands

Dr Schär UK (Formerly Nutrition Point Ltd)Manufacturer of Gluten & Wheat Free Products (Branded and Own Label)Employed by Nutrition Point in Warrington and part of the Dr Schär group, turning over £24m in the UK, manufacturing and distributing a range of gluten and wheat free products. Reporting to the Managing Director, with two direct reports, this was a newly created role to support the technical function in this rapidly growing business. The role involves working closely with a supply base of ten, in addition to working alongside our European counterparts, ensuring the products they produce under our brands meet the standards required to satisfy our customers. The role also involved setting up a laboratory to test our product range in house, for the presence of gluten. The company has also recently entered the own label market, supplying retailers with various own label gluten free product.Key Responsibilities / Achievements:Management of supply base through audits, specifications, code of practice, HACCP and trend analysis.Responsible for all branded artwork in addition to retailer artwork sign offs.Maintenance of internal systems: product recall, non-conformance, traceability etc.Respond to and investigate customer / consumer complaints.Implementation of and management of weekly sensory panels and end of life analysis.Management of the laboratory systems and responsibility for results and positive release.Part of the management team responsible for taking new products from concept to shelf.Technical point of contact for all customer, supplier and regularity body enquiries.Implementation of ISO9001:2008 company wide.Maintenance of all Own Label systems and point of contact for retailer technologistsDevelopment of group standards across all areas of technical

Manufacturer of chilled pizzas to the retail market.Employed by Stateside Foods, a chilled pizza manufacturer in Bolton, supplying the major multiples with own branded product and employing around 150 staff, the key focus of my role was to improve current systems, practices and the quality profile which were required as the business moved from being the fifth largest supplier in the sector to become the second.My role included demanding the use of the highest quality raw materials and ensuring all stages of the manufacturing operation contribute to successfully deliver finished products, which consistently met and exceeded customer expectations.I also had to manage and motivate a team of ten quality technicians.Key Responsibilities / Achievements:Development of a production / technical partnership, providing support and advice to key members of the production teamInitiated the move away from QC to QA Improved factory standards through quality technician audits and follow up, giving each departmental manager more ownership of their areaImproved factory flow to increase efficiency and improve product safetyStrengthened and improved technical systems making them clearer and easier to useImplemented photographic standards leading to a more consistent, high quality productMaintained all own label technical relationships, improving working relationshipsEnsured a smooth transition between a developed product, through launch and in to full production

Family owned manufacturer of sweet and savoury pies and pasties, fresh and unbaked frozen.Employed by Ashworth Foods, a family run business producing unbaked frozen pastries, based in Preston, employing around 75 staff over 2 sites, the key focus of this role was to introduce and formalize systems to ensure Food safety and Quality were adequately controlled and monitored. The company obtained new business with larger retailers and a more professional and structured approach was required, ensuring the success of technical and commercial customer audits. Key Responsibilities / Achievements:Implementation and formalisation of systems to satisfy BRC requirementsGave operator training to enable them to gain an understanding of BRC and its requirementsBecame the customer point of contact for all technical issuesEmployed 2 QC personnel to drive quality and standards forward, setting out the roles and responsibilities for this

UNIQsauces (Now McCormick)Manufacturer of sauces and dressings for a wide customer base included major Retail, Catering and Food Service customers.Employed by Uniq Foods in Rochdale, a manufacturer of sauces and dressings for a wide customer base included major Retail, Catering and Food Service customers.Responsibilities included product quality, management and motivation of a team of QA Technicians and the resolving of any technical issues at my manufacturing unitKey Responsibilities / Achievements:Managed a site transfer from a technical perspectiveDrove down the number and value of non conforming material held on siteManaged a team of 6 technicians over three shifts

Fisher Quality Foods (now McCormick) Bradford SiteEmployed by Fisher Quality Foods in Bradford, a manufacturer of sauces and dressings for a wide customer base included major Retail, Catering and Food Service customers.Responsibilities included product quality monitoring through chemical and physical testing; carrying out GMP audits, trend analysis, running daily sensory panels and quality system maintenance.

Textile manufacturer - Ensuring quality worsted yarn through the spinning process