Engineering and Hygiene Manager (Nights)

Engineering and Hygiene Manager (Nights)

• Location: Northfleet, Kent, United Kingdom

PrepWorld has an exciting new opportunity - we're looking for an experienced, forward-thinking Night shift Engineering and Hygiene Manager to lead our hygiene function across night operations. This senior role offers the opportunity to shape and embed a high-performing hygiene culture that drives food safety excellence, equipment reliability, cost-effective compliance, and operational agility in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment.

Dual reporting to the Site Engineering Manager and the FS Hygiene Manager, you will be responsible for delivering Engineering and Hygiene KPI attainment aligned with BRCGS and customer standards through a risk-based, data-driven approach. You will lead a moderate Engineering team and a large Hygiene team, drive continuous improvement in equipment reliability and departmental spend, and ensure the night shift achieves consistent and audit-ready standards.

This role is a senior site management position at night, acting as the senior decision-maker across Engineering and Hygiene departments, with dotted-line accountability to the Night Operations Manager for escalations, emergency response, and product release decisions during night hours.

This is a newly defined role with scope for real impact and visibility across the wider business.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering & Operational Oversight

• Lead and coordinate all planned engineering activities during night shifts to ensure smooth, compliant operations.
• Monitor equipment performance, resolve technical issues promptly, and minimise production downtime.
• Ensure all machinery and tools meet safety and maintenance standards; oversee permit-to-work compliance.
• Deliver the site hygiene plan during night operations; ensure all areas are audit-ready (including low risk, high care, and external zones).
• Own hygiene validation processes at night (e.g., swabbing, ATP testing, allergen controls) and maintain cleaning schedules, SSOPs, and visual standards.
• Represent hygiene during customer and third-party audits, ensuring full documentation and traceability.

Health, Safety & Risk Control

• Conduct risk assessments and ensure safe working practices across hygiene and engineering teams.
• Lead investigations into incidents and near-misses; implement corrective actions promptly.
• Promote a proactive safety culture through training, routine checks, and compliance monitoring.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and support a multi-cultural, multi-skilled team to consistently deliver on hygiene and engineering targets.
• Build a culture of ownership, high performance, and continuous improvement through coaching and structured feedback.
• Develop team capability through clear objectives, regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and succession planning.
• Manage labour, chemical, and water usage to achieve cost-effective engineering & hygiene outcomes.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement in cleaning methods, hygienic design, and digital tools.
• Track engineering & hygiene KPIs (e.g., swab pass rates, cleaning scores, chemical usage) and implement targeted improvements

Who We're Looking For

• Proven leadership experience in engineering and hygiene within FMCG-ideally chilled, high-care, or short shelf-life production.
• A confident, visible leader with the ability to engage, challenge, and inspire large operational teams on night shifts.
• In-depth working knowledge of engineering & hygiene practices, BRCGS standards, and food safety legislation.
• Strong understanding of microbiological, chemical, allergen, and foreign body risks in a production setting.
• A track record of using KPIs, audits, and CI tools (e.g., RCA, 5 Whys, PDCA) to drive performance and behaviour change.
• Skilled in problem solving in fast-moving, variable production environments. (Please provide an example.)
• Competent with computer systems and Microsoft Office (e.g., Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• HACCP Level 3 (minimum), Food Safety Level 3, COSHH Assessor
• IOSH Managing Safely or equivalent H&S qualification.
• HNC (Higher National Certificate) in Engineering, or, as a minimum, high-level Electrical and Mechanical Qualifications and experience in the UK.
• Ability to deal with high-pressure situations.

Highly Desirable:

• Experience leading teams during site expansions, factory layout changes, or onboarding of major customers.
• Strong understanding of ATP, digital cleaning records, and QMS software platforms.
• Practical experience in cleaning validation, verification (including ATP), and chemical control.
• Experience with high-profile UK retail customers and knowledge of their audit protocols.
• Practical knowledge of hygienic engineering design and root cause analysis techniques.

What we provide in return:

• Internal Learning and Development programme including Management essential skills.
• Medicash (allowances to cover costs such as dental and optical bills, physiotherapy, alternative therapies, and even consultancy charges, available for employees and their families. Taxable benefit.)
• Wagestream (track your earnings and instantly access up to 50% of your money as you earn it, without waiting for payday).
• Annual bonus (non-contractual).
• Free, on-site parking with electric charge points.
• Staff events.
• Staff restaurant serving heavily subsidised hot and cold food.
• Fruit pots on Wednesdays.
• Modern offices and facilities.
• A supportive team.

Night and hours of work:

40 hours over 5 nights per week (18:00 - 03:00, including a 1-hour unpaid break). Flexibility to work days, shifts, or weekends during training and based on business needs. You may specify which nights you can work in your application (e.g., Mon-Fri only or flexible for weekend working).