Compliance Improvement Lead

We have an exciting opportunity for a Compliance Improvement Lead to join our Kara Food Service team in Manchester,part of the Finsbury Food Group.

This is a hands-on, site-based role with a strong focus on improvement. You’ll lead the delivery of compliance excellence across Health & Safety, Food Safety, Environmental Compliance, and Sustainability, working closely with the Site Leadership Team and partnering with Group and Regional Compliance colleagues.

Finsbury Food Group is a leading specialty bakery manufacturer. We constantly raise quality and efficiency standards and build long-term relationships within the foodservice channel. Finsbury offer a wide range of bakery products and are a leading frozen supplier into the Foodservice sector.

Your purpose is straightforward yet critical: to ensure our site operates safely, legally, and responsibly, while continually enhancing compliance maturity and supporting business performance.

This is what you’ll actually do!

As our Compliance Improvement Lead, you will:

• Lead the site-level compliance strategy, aligned to Group standards and ESG objectives
• Support and maintain robust HSE, Food Safety, and Environmental Management Systems
• Ensure appropriate duty holders are in place and capable of meeting legal and company obligations
• Act as a trusted partner to the Site Lead and Leadership Team, providing expert advice, insight, and challenge
• Lead site environmental compliance and support delivery of the site sustainability plan
• Support internal and external audit programmes, driving effective resolution of non-conformances and actions
• Maintain the site risk register, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated
• Support and oversee incident reporting and investigations, ensuring learning is embedded
• Track and report compliance performance metrics, highlighting trends, risks, and improvement opportunities
• Act as the site link into Regional and Group Compliance, escalating issues where required and sharing best practices

This role is primarily site-based, with occasional travel to support audits, meetings, or wider compliance initiatives.

Ideally this is you!

Essential

• NEBOSH General Certificate or equivalent relevant health and safety qualification.
• Strong health and safety compliance experience within manufacturing, ideally food manufacturing, bakery, FMCG or another high-paced operational environment.
• Good understanding of UK health and safety legislation, regulatory expectations and site-level compliance requirements.
• Experience supporting or maintaining a HSE Management Systems.
• Experience carrying out or reviewing risk assessments, safe systems of work, inspections and audits.
• Internal auditor experience or practical experience supporting audit and assurance activity.
• Experience supporting incident investigations and corrective action tracking.
• Good understanding of key operational risk areas such as machinery safety, contractor control, workplace transport, manual handling, fire safety, hazardous substances, working at height and maintenance activity.
• Strong facilitation, organisation and project coordination skills, with good attention to detail.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Good Microsoft Office skills, particularly Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
• Current full driving licence, if multi-site travel is required.

Desirable

• NEBOSH Diploma, NVQ Level 5/6 in Occupational Health and Safety, or working towards equivalent.
• TechIOSH, GradIOSH or working towards Chartered Membership of IOSH.
• ISO 45001 internal auditor or lead auditor training.
• IEMA Foundation Certificate or equivalent environmental awareness qualification.
• Experience in food manufacturing, bakery, chilled or ambient production environments.
• Experience with H&S KPI reporting, trend analysis and action tracking systems.
• Experience creating or revising H&S procedures, forms, guidance documents and training material.
• Practical knowledge of contractor management, CDM, PUWER, LOLER, COSHH, DSEAR, fire safety and statutory inspection arrangements.
• Experience supporting regulator, insurer or customer audit visits.
• Microsoft Visio or other process mapping experience.