Who are we, and what do we do?
You may not have heard of us, but there’s a good chance you’ve enjoyed our products. Avara Foods is one of the UK’s leading food businesses, supplying chicken and turkey to the country’s major supermarkets and well-known restaurants.
We own and manage our entire supply chain, from farms to factory and all the way to the customer door – meaning we have careers that cover a whole range of functions. We have major processing sites across England and Wales, and an agricultural network of over 350 farms, spanning from North Yorkshire to the South Coast and Wales.
A little about our Wednesbury site:
Our advanced manufacturing site in Wednesbury, West Midlands, is our newest advanced manufacturing site, and we’ve invested around £4.7 million into state-of-the-art facilities.
Our Wednesbury site is a flagship Added Value centre for Avara, which employ over 150 talented individuals at the site, who help to supply some of the UK’s largest supermarkets and popular restaurants!
Purpose of the role:
The Technical Manager will provide strategic leadership for the site Technical function, ensuring strong performance in food safety, quality, legality and customer expectations.
As a key member of both the Site Senior Management Team and the wider Avara Technical community, the Technical Manager will set direction, ensure operational delivery through effective leadership, and act as the primary technical interface for customers, regulators, and auditors.
The role ensures the integrity and continuous improvement of the site Quality Management System (QMS), oversees food safety risk management, and champions Avara’s Food Safety & Quality Culture across all departments.
Operating Environment & Working Hours
Working hours are Monday – Friday 08:00 to 17.00 but flexibility required to cover our Twilight shift as and when required.
This role will be both factory and office based, with regular requirement to go into the factory environment, which is noisy and refrigerated in some areas.
Your key responsibilities as a Technical Manager will include:
- Provide clear strategic direction for the site Technical function, ensuring resources, capability and structure support business needs.
- Lead, coach and develop the Lead Quality Manager to build a high-performing, future-ready technical leadership pipeline.
- Lead, coach and develop the Quality Systems Manager and Hygiene Manager.
- Maintain clear visibility of the development, performance and support needs of the Quality Managers, ensuring the Lead QM has the direction, coaching and resources needed to develop them effectively..
- Ensure consistent application of HR processes, including absence, grievance and disciplinary procedures.
- Promote a strong Food Safety & Quality Culture, ensuring expectations are visible, understood and embedded across all functions.
- Actively contribute as part of the Site Senior Management Team to deliver site performance, budget, and continuous improvement objectives.
- Provide strategic oversight of the site Quality Management System, ensuring compliance with Avara QMS, legal requirements, and customer standards.
- Lead customer, certification and regulatory audits (e.g., BRCGS, Red Tractor, retailer audits), ensuring high standards of preparation and delivery.
- Ensure the Lead QM and Quality Systems Manager maintain internal audit schedules, CAPA effectiveness, and timely close-out of non-conformances.
- Chair or actively participate in HACCP and Food Safety Team meetings and ensure food safety risks are proactively identified, assessed and controlled.
- Review site performance data (audit trends, KPIs, micro, complaints, non-conformances) to identify systemic issues and drive long-term improvements.
- Ensure robust monitoring and verification systems are in place to maintain legal and customer compliance across site operations.
- Provide Operations teams with strategic technical guidance to ensure product safety, integrity, quality, and customer requirements are consistently achieved.
- Oversee the investigation of significant product, process or customer issues, ensuring root causes are properly addressed and preventative actions embedded.
- Lead the escalation, management and communication of serious food safety, integrity or quality risks.
- Own the technical functional budget, ensuring cost-effective management of laboratory testing, pest control, hygiene contracts, waste, packaging specifications, and other technical services.
- Act as the primary technical contact for retailer technical managers, Avara Commercial teams and regulatory authorities.
- Build strong, transparent relationships with customers, ensuring trust, confidence, and proactive communication, particularly during visits, audits and issue resolution.
- Ensure external service providers (pest control, laundry, hygiene, lab services) perform to contracted standards and support continuous improvement.
- Serve as the senior site liaison for enforcement bodies (Environmental Health, APHA, Trading Standards, OV/Official Controls partners).
- Ensure all product, packaging and ingredient specifications are approved, accurate and aligned with customer requirements.
- Provide senior technical governance over NPD/EPD activities, ensuring safe, controlled introduction of new products, ingredients and processes.
- Support Management of Change processes ensuring technical risks are assessed and controls agreed before implementation.
What are we looking for
Essential
- Food-related HND (or equivalent)
- Intermediate Food Safety (Level 3)
- Intermediate HACCP (Level 3)
- Internal auditing qualification
- Experience of BRCGS or ISO 9001/9000 standards
- Proven experience in a leadership role within a food manufacturing environment
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, both written and verbal
- Proactive problem-solving ability
- Current full driving licence
Desirable
- Food-related degree
- Advanced HACCP (Level 4)
- Advanced Food Safety (Level 4)
- Lead Auditor qualification
- Experience of major UK retailers
- Knowledge of environmental compliance in a food manufacturing setting
- Negotiation and influencing skill.
What’s in it for you?
As a Technical Manager you will enjoy a secure, supportive and progressive working environment, where your contribution and achievements will be recognised and rewarded.
We offer comprehensive training as well as continuous development as you build your career with us. You can also look forward to benefits that amongst other things include the following:
- 33 Days Holiday
- 6% Pension
- Life Insurance
- Various lifestyle benefits, including wellbeing resources and shopping perks and discounts
If you’re ready to work in a dynamic environment alongside talented people who take pride in delivering great results, apply today!
We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer.