Full job descriptionThe company
Our client is an established, international food manufacturing group with a proud heritage and a strong reputation for quality, innovation and customer service.

The business operates through shared values centred on trust, passion, courage and openness. Safety and food quality are fundamental to its culture, supported by a clear commitment to customer centricity and continuous improvement.

As the organisation continues to develop, it is investing in the systems, processes and technical capability needed to support sustainable growth. This creates an exciting opportunity to join a collaborative senior leadership team and make a visible impact across the wider group.

The role
This is a senior opportunity for an accomplished food industry professional to lead a multi-site specification function, shape regulatory best practice and support continued business growth. You will combine strategic leadership with technical expertise, ensuring specifications and product labelling meet the highest standards of safety, legality, quality and authenticity.

As Group Specification & Regulatory Manager, you will lead the UK retail and international specification teams, ensuring the accurate creation and ongoing maintenance of finished product specifications, labels and supporting documentation.

You will establish a high-performing, appropriately structured team with the skills, training and systems required to meet customer, legislative and internal standards. Managing departmental priorities and performance, you will ensure key projects, specifications and artwork activities are completed accurately and on time.

Key responsibilities will include:*Leading, developing and motivating specification colleagues working across multiple sites
*Managing team structure, recruitment, training, performance and resource planning
*Overseeing departmental workloads, priorities and performance measures
*Ensuring product specifications and labels remain accurate, compliant and aligned with current formulations
*Establishing efficient systems for gathering technical information from manufacturing sites and supporting functions
*Supporting commercial growth through the timely delivery of sample specifications, label verification and new product integration
*Building strong technical relationships with major retailers and key customer accounts
*Participating in customer technical reviews and driving continuous improvement
*Ensuring customer portals, alerts, notifications and enquiries are managed effectively
*Monitoring legislative and customer changes, communicating their impact and implementing focused compliance plans
*Developing robust change-control processes that provide clear visibility to internal and external stakeholders
*Improving specification-building processes to increase efficiency, accuracy and compliance
*Supporting certification documentation for requirements such as Halal, Kosher and Organic
*Maintaining accurate technical, development and regulatory records

This is a highly influential position with responsibility for setting the specification agenda and embedding consistent standards across the group.
The candidate
We are looking for an experienced specification and regulatory leader with a strong food manufacturing background and the credibility to operate with senior internal stakeholders, manufacturing sites, major retailers and key customers.

You are likely to offer:*A degree-level qualification in food labelling or a relevant equivalent discipline
*Extensive experience within a food industry technical or quality function with specific experience in specification creation, writing and maintenance
*A recognised external food labelling qualification covering UK and EU legislation
*Proven experience of leading, developing and motivating multi-site teams
*Detailed knowledge of major UK retailer requirements and specification portals
*Experience working directly with retail customers and managing technical accounts
*A thorough understanding of food labelling, regulatory compliance and change control
*Strong written and verbal communication skills
*The confidence to influence stakeholders, facilitate change and challenge constructively
*Excellent organisation and attention to detail
*A proactive, resilient and solution-focused approach
*Fluent written and spoken English is essential. German or Italian language capability would be a distinct advantage.

This role would suit a commercially aware technical leader who can balance strategic direction with operational delivery. If you are passionate about developing people, improving systems and delivering exceptional standards of regulatory compliance, we would be delighted to hear from you.