Technical Manager - Quality, HSE & Manufacturing at Ribble Packaging, Oldham

Job Title: Technical Manager

Location: Oldham

Salary: Up to £70K

Job Type: Permanent, Full time

About the role:

To provide technical leadership across the site, ensuring effective management of quality, health, safety, and environmental standards while maintaining compliance with customer, statutory and certification requirements. The role supports operational performance by developing practical systems, resolving technical and compliance issues, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring standards are consistently applied across manufacturing and conversion activities.

This is a site-based, hands-on leadership role and is not suited to routine home working or management from behind a desk. The post holder is expected to maintain a visible presence across manufacturing, engineering, and warehouse areas, actively engaging with people, processes, and equipment to understand issues first-hand, support standards and drive practical improvements.

Reporting to: Operations Director

Principle Accountabilities:

• Lead, manage and continuously improve the site's technical, quality, environmental and health and safety management systems, ensuring they remain effective, compliant, and aligned to business objectives.
• Maintain compliance with relevant customer, statutory and certification requirements, including BRCGS Packaging Materials, FSC chain of custody requirements and applicable health, safety, and environmental legislation.
• Provide technical leadership, supporting departments to ensure finished products meet agreed customer specifications, regulatory requirements, and internal quality standards, including print, die-cutting, gluing, dimensional accuracy, board grade, strength, and presentation requirements.
• Manage customer complaints, internal non-conformances, deviations and incidents through effective investigation, root cause analysis, corrective and preventive action, and verification of close-out.
• Plan, lead and support internal, customer, third-party and regulatory audits, ensuring the site remains audit-ready and that all actions are completed within agreed timescales.
• Lead site risk assessment activity relating to machinery safety, transport management, occupational health and safety, contractor management, product quality and legality, hygiene, environmental controls.
• Develop, review, and maintain site policies and procedures, work instructions, and other technical documentation to ensure they are current, practical, and consistently applied.
• Actively lead relevant site teams and review forums, including Hazard & Risk Management, quality review meetings, HSE reviews etc.
• Support new product introduction, trials, and change control activity, ensuring that quality, safety, and environmental risks are assessed before implementation.
• Manage technical and compliance requirements relating to specialist equipment, machinery purchase and modifications, infrastructure projects - ensuring activities are delivered safely and in accordance with applicable standards.
• Provide practical technical guidance and coaching to managers, supervisors and employees to build competence, improve standards, and support consistent compliance across the site.
• Monitor, analyse and report on key technical, quality, environmental and HSE performance indicators, identifying trends, risks, costs, and improvement opportunities for senior management.
• Lead a team of three field service engineers responsible for installation, servicing, and repair of customer site based Panotec machines (including site surveys pre machine installation).
• Undertake any other duties, projects or responsibilities that are appropriate to the level, scope, and purpose of the Technical Manager role.

About you:

Leadership Attributes:

• Integrity and Accountability - Acts with professionalism, fairness, and consistency, taking difficult decisions when required and holding self and others accountable.
• Analytical Problem Solving - Uses data, evidence, and root cause analysis to identify issues, assess risk and implement effective improvements.
• Visible Leadership - Leads by example, demonstrates high standards and takes ownership of quality, safety, environmental and technical performance.
• Customer and Compliance Focus - Understands internal and external customer expectations and ensures standards, legal duties and certification requirements are consistently met.
• Clear Direction - Sets clear priorities, makes sound decisions, and ensures teams understand what needs to be achieved.
• Coaching and Development - Builds capability through practical coaching, feedback and support, helping individuals and teams improve performance.
• Collaboration and Influence - Works effectively across departments, influencing others positively and maintaining constructive working relationships.
• Continuous Improvement - Challenges existing ways of working, identifies opportunities to reduce risk and waste, and drives sustainable improvements.

Additional Requirements and Skills:

• Proven technical, quality, HSE and compliance experience within a manufacturing, engineering, or packaging environment.
• Relevant health and safety qualification, such as NEBOSH or IOSH, with practical experience of risk assessment, incident investigation, and safe systems of work.
• Experience of quality, environmental and compliance management systems, including audits, non-conformance management, corrective action, and continuous improvement.
• Competent in producing clear procedures, reports, audit findings, risk assessments and management information using standard business systems and Microsoft Office applications.

Additional Information:

Please click on the APPLY button to send your CV and Cover Letter for this role.

Candidates with experience of; Technical Manager, Quality Manager, HSE Manager, SHEQ Manager, Technical Lead, Compliance Manager, Packaging Technical Manager may also be considered for this role.