Vickerstock are delighted to be recruiting on behalf of a leading European food manufacturer, who are seeking an NPD Product Integrity and Compliance Manager to oversee product assurance, guide trials, and ensure compliance from concept to launch.

This hands-on, cross-site role involves structured travel between Dungannon and Glasgow, with flexibility to be based in Northern Ireland or Scotland.

Role overview:
This senior, cross-site role ensures all new and upgraded products are safe, compliant, and launch-ready. You will lead food safety, quality, and regulatory standards across the product development lifecycle, acting as the technical authority and collaborating with NPD, Operations, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams to balance compliance with innovation and drive successful product launches. You will also serve as a key customer contact from trial through to launch.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own product and packaging governance, ensuring compliance and quality from concept to launch
• Lead risk assessments for new ingredients, products, and packaging
• Act as the technical authority on food safety, quality, and regulatory standards throughout NPD
• Approve ingredients, packaging formats, and supplier documentation, ensuring regulatory compliance and shelf-life performance
• Support and lead factory trials, preproduction trials, and first productions, maintaining product integrity at scale
• Collaborate with NPD, Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Commercial teams to enable smooth scale-up and launches
• Translate technical and regulatory requirements into clear guidance for non-technical stakeholders
• Drive continuous improvement in NPD governance, stage-gate processes, and product development efficiency
• Ensure products are manufacturable, compliant, and consistently delivered across multiple sites
• Build strong relationships with internal and external customers, delivering presentations and guidance to maintain confidence in product quality.

What you will need:

• Hands-on experience in high-risk chilled, meat, or protein manufacturing settings
• Strong knowledge of HACCP-based food safety systems, food labelling, allergens, regulatory compliance, product specifications, and change control
• Experience supporting or leading new product development or product change projects
• Confident decision-maker, able to balance risk, compliance, and commercial timelines
• Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional influencing skills
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced manufacturing and NPD environment
• Experience in red meat, primary processing, packaging development, shelf-life validation, or material compliance is a plus
• Experience working with major retail or foodservice customers is advantageous
• Formal qualifications in Food Science, Microbiology, or related discipline, or auditor/HACCP practitioner experience, are desirable
• Proactive problem-solver with strong leadership skills and ability to work collaboratively across multiple functions
• Continuous improvement mindset and passion for product quality, butchery, and strong customer relationships

What You Can Expect

• Competitive package with long-term career growth and access to training and development
• On-site subsidised staff canteen, pension scheme, employee assistance programme, and free parking
• Join a market-leading food manufacturer with a strong UK reputation
• Take ownership of technical product assurance and compliance while driving innovation
• Work in a supportive environment that values teamwork, development, and continuous improvement

Your next move
To learn more or to apply in confidence, contact Anna at Vickerstock on 028 9031 3720 or submit your CV via the link.