Hygiene Manager - Maternity Cover

PrepWorld | Northfleet, Kent
Monday to Friday | Maternity Cover | Competitive Salary

PrepWorld is looking for an experienced and driven Hygiene Manager to join our team on a maternity cover basis.

This is a key leadership position within our food manufacturing site, responsible for leading the Hygiene function and ensuring consistently high standards of hygiene, food safety and compliance across the site.

You will lead and develop a large Hygiene team, working closely with Technical, Production, Engineering and Projects to maintain high standards, support operational performance and drive continuous improvement.

The Role

As Hygiene Manager, you will lead the site-wide hygiene strategy, ensuring our hygiene systems and standards meet legal, BRCGS, customer and internal requirements.

You will be responsible for developing and maintaining strong hygiene practices across the site, ensuring teams are supported, standards are clearly understood and performance is consistently monitored.

Key Responsibilities

Hygiene Leadership & Team Management

• Lead and develop a large Hygiene team across the site.
• Set clear standards, responsibilities and priorities for the Hygiene function.
• Develop Hygiene managers, supervisors and team leaders through coaching, training and structured development.
• Promote a culture of ownership, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Manage performance consistently and support succession planning.

Hygiene Strategy & Compliance

• Develop, implement and review the site sanitation and hygiene strategy.
• Manage master cleaning schedules and deep-cleaning programmes.
• Ensure hygiene standards meet legal, BRCGS, customer, food safety and internal requirements.
• Validate and verify cleaning routines and ensure corrective actions are completed.
• Lead the hygiene response to contamination events, allergen cross-contact risks and other sanitation-related incidents.
• Maintain strong audit readiness and support customer, regulatory and third-party audits.

Budget & Cost Management

• Manage Hygiene budget performance and operational costs.
• Monitor labour, chemicals, equipment, PPE, workwear and water usage.
• Review cost drivers and identify opportunities to improve efficiency without compromising hygiene or food safety.
• Provide clear reporting on costs, risks and required actions.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive improvements to cleaning methods, processes, team structures and resource utilisation.
• Use data and KPIs to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Apply structured problem-solving and root-cause analysis to prevent repeat issues.
• Evaluate new cleaning technologies, chemicals, equipment and digital systems.
• Benchmark hygiene practices against recognised industry standards and good practice.

Cross-Functional Working

• Work closely with Technical, Production, Engineering and Projects teams.
• Provide hygiene input into site projects, operational changes and new equipment or facilities.
• Support hygienic design and hygiene requirements during site development, installation and operational handover.
• Work effectively with external contractors, chemical suppliers and specialist service providers.

About You

We are looking for a confident and visible leader with strong experience managing Hygiene within a food manufacturing environment.

You will ideally have:

• Previous Hygiene Management experience within a high-care or ready-to-eat food manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading a large Hygiene team.
• Strong knowledge of BRCGS, food safety, legal, customer and health & safety requirements.
• Experience managing Hygiene budgets and cost performance.
• Experience developing and managing Hygiene KPIs.
• Strong understanding of sanitation, cleaning standards and hygiene compliance.
• Excellent people management, coaching and team development skills.
• Strong problem-solving and root-cause analysis skills.
• Confidence working with senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Good communication and organisational skills.
• Competence in Microsoft Excel and data reporting.

Qualifications

Essential

• HACCP Level 3.
• Recognised hygienic design qualification, formal training or equivalent practical experience.

Desirable

• Degree or equivalent qualification in Food Technology, Food Science, Microbiology, Engineering or a related subject.
• Continuous improvement or structured problem-solving qualification.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary
• Maternity cover opportunity
• Monday to Friday working pattern
• On-site parking with electric vehicle charge points
• Staff events
• Staff restaurant with heavily subsidised hot and cold food
• Brand-new facilities
• Supportive working environment
• Stream - track your earnings and instantly access up to 50% of your earned pay

About PrepWorld

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Hygiene Manager to join PrepWorld and play a key role in maintaining high standards of food safety, hygiene and compliance while leading and developing a large team.

If you have the experience and leadership skills to make a real impact within a fast-paced food manufacturing environment, we would love to hear from you.