Matt Wilkinson

Location: Cumbernauld (Hybrid - 3 days in office)
Contract: 6-Month Fixed Term Contract

An Exciting Leadership Opportunity
We are looking for an experienced Head of Packaging Development to lead our packaging function across a diverse portfolio of consumer brands. This is a fantastic opportunity for a strategic and commercially focused packaging leader to drive innovation, sustainability, cost optimisation, and continuous improvement within a fast-paced FMCG environment.

Reporting into the senior R&D leadership team, you will be responsible for shaping and delivering the packaging strategy, leading a high-performing team, and ensuring packaging solutions are fit for purpose from concept through to successful market launch.

The Role
As Head of Packaging Development, you will take full ownership of the packaging development agenda across innovation, sustainability, value engineering, and supply continuity initiatives.
You will work closely with colleagues across R&D, Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Marketing to develop and commercialise packaging solutions that meet consumer needs, support business growth, and deliver operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Team Development
•    Lead, coach, and develop a team of packaging professionals.
•    Build capability within the function to meet current and future business requirements.
•    Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, continuous improvement, and accountability.
•    Act as the packaging representative within cross-functional leadership forums.
•    Manage stakeholder expectations and provide technical leadership across multiple projects.

Packaging Strategy & Development
•    Deliver packaging projects across innovation, sustainability, cost reduction, and supply chain programmes.
•    Ensure all packaging solutions are technically robust, commercially viable, and delivered to agreed timelines.
•    Drive future packaging strategies aligned with changing consumer expectations and market trends.
•    Conduct competitor benchmarking and identify emerging packaging technologies and opportunities.
•    Ensure packaging specifications meet all relevant quality, food safety, and regulatory requirements.

Sustainability & Compliance
•    Lead sustainability initiatives and future-proof packaging strategies against evolving legislation.
•    Drive projects linked to: 
•    Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
•    Deposit Return Schemes (DRS)
•    Packaging reduction and recyclability improvements
•    Support Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and environmental impact reduction initiatives.
•    Ensure compliance with UK and European packaging regulations and food-contact legislation.

Innovation & Technical Excellence
•    Develop and implement new packaging technologies and materials.
•    Partner with manufacturing teams to ensure successful trials and product launches.
•    Manage technical relationships with packaging suppliers and external partners.
•    Support the use of digital tools, PLM systems, and emerging technologies to enhance packaging development processes.
•    Build strong relationships with industry bodies, research organisations, and academic institutions.

About You
We're looking for an experienced packaging leader with a strong technical background and a passion for innovation.

Essential Experience
•    Degree qualified in Packaging Technology, Engineering, Food Science, or a related discipline.
•    Significant packaging development experience within FMCG, ideally beverages, alcohol, food, or consumer products.
•    Proven experience leading and developing technical packaging teams.
•    Strong knowledge of packaging materials including PET, glass, aluminium, closures, labels, and secondary packaging.
•    Experience delivering successful packaging projects from concept through to commercial launch.

Technical Knowledge
•    Excellent understanding of beverage manufacturing and packaging processes.
•    Knowledge of packaging legislation, food-contact regulations, and quality standards.
•    Experience working within ISO, BRC, HACCP, and related quality management systems.
•    Understanding of sustainability frameworks including EPR, DRS, and LCA methodologies.
•    Experience with packaging specifications and product lifecycle management systems.

Personal Attributes
•    Strategic thinker with strong commercial awareness.
•    Highly collaborative with excellent stakeholder management skills.
•    Innovative, analytical and solutions-focused.
•    Confident communicator who can bridge technical and commercial discussions.
•    Passionate about developing teams and driving continuous improvement.

What's on Offer?
•    Competitive salary
•    Performance-related bonus
•    Pension contribution
•    Generous holiday entitlement
•    Flexible benefits package
•    Healthcare cash plan
•    Life assurance
•    Ongoing learning and development opportunities
•    Hybrid working arrangement
•    Opportunity to make a significant impact within a leading consumer goods business

If you're an experienced packaging leader looking for your next challenge and have the expertise to drive innovation, sustainability, and operational excellence, we'd love to hear from you.

Why True North Talent?
True North Talent specialises exclusively in recruitment across the UK food and drink manufacturing industry. We understand the sector, the challenges businesses are facing and the experience required to succeed within it.

Our specialist consultants work closely with both clients and candidates to ensure we're not simply matching a CV to a job description – we're helping people make the right career move and businesses secure the expertise they need.

Interested?
If you are an experienced Site Lead within the food and drink manufacturing sector and this sounds like the kind of opportunity you're looking for, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply directly or contact Matt on 0161 399 1575 / 07441 342190 for a confidential discussion, quoting reference MW/TNT/3474.
We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website.

We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.

Location: Remote (approx. 1day per month in Glasgow)
The Opportunity: This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing B2B sales team at a time of continued investment and expansion across both UK and international markets.

Working within the confectionery, inclusions and decorations sector, you'll play a key role in strengthening existing customer partnerships whilst identifying and securing new commercial opportunities. This role offers genuine autonomy and the chance to influence growth across a diverse customer base including bakery, chocolate, ice cream and large food manufacturing businesses.

If you enjoy building long-term relationships, developing commercial strategies and delivering profitable growth, this could be an excellent next step in your career.

The Role
As Key Account Manager, you will lead the growth and development of an established B2B customer portfolio whilst identifying new opportunities to expand market presence.

In this role, you will:

• Manage and develop key customer relationships to deliver sustainable and profitable sales growth.
• Identify, target and win new business across food manufacturing, bakery, confectionery and related sectors.
• Develop and deliver a rolling 12-month strategic plan for your customer portfolio.
• Lead customer meetings, negotiations and account reviews with key decision-makers.
• Provide accurate forecasting, reporting and customer insight to support commercial decision-making.
• Represent the business at trade shows and industry events.
• Collaborate with colleagues, suppliers, partners and wider group businesses to maximise cross-selling opportunities.

You'll be expected to balance the demands of maintaining strong existing customer relationships whilst proactively driving new business growth. Success will be measured through commercial performance, customer retention and strategic account development.

About You
We're looking for someone with:
Essential

• Proven B2B sales or account management experience within the food manufacturing industry.
• Experience selling into bakery, confectionery, chocolate, ice cream or related food sectors.
• A track record of securing new business and delivering profitable sales growth.
• Strong commercial awareness and negotiation skills.
• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Full UK Driving Licence.

Desirable

• Experience working within ingredients, inclusions, decorations or value-added food products.
• Exposure to international customer accounts.
• Experience attending and generating opportunities from industry trade shows.

About the Business
Our client is a well-established and highly respected manufacturer supplying confectionery products, inclusions and decorations to customers across the UK and international food manufacturing sectors.

The business combines the agility of a specialist manufacturer with the backing and support of a large international group, creating exciting opportunities for both customers and employees. With continued investment and ambitious growth plans, this is an excellent time to join the organisation.

What's On Offer?
Salary: £50,000
Bonus: 10% Annual Bonus
Pension: Company Pension Scheme
Holiday: 25 Days + Bank Holidays
Healthcare: To be confirmed
Car/Car Allowance: Car Allowance
Other Benefits: Mobile Phone, Laptop, Home-Based Working
Working Pattern: Home based, with approximately one day per month required at the Glasgow office alongside customer visits and business travel.

We are seeking applications from talented Key Account Managers, National Account Managers, Business Development Managers, Sales Managers, Commercial Managers and Account Directors who live within Glasgow, Edinburgh, Motherwell, Paisley, Stirling, Falkirk, Dundee, Perth, Ayr, Dumfries, Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds and surrounding areas.

Why True North Talent?
True North Talent specialises exclusively in recruitment across the UK food and drink manufacturing industry. We understand the sector, the challenges businesses are facing and the experience required to succeed within it.
Our specialist consultants work closely with both clients and candidates to ensure we're not simply matching a CV to a job description, we're helping people make the right career move and businesses secure the expertise they need.

Interested?
If you're an experienced Sales, Commercial or Account Management professional within the food and drink manufacturing sector and this sounds like the kind of opportunity you're looking for, we'd love to hear from you.
Apply directly or contact Matt at True North Talent on 0161 399 1575 for a confidential conversation about the role.

We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website.

We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.
 

Location: Greater Manchester | 4 on 4 off Days

The Opportunity: This is an excellent opportunity to join a well-established food manufacturing business that continues to invest heavily in its people, equipment, and site performance. As part of a growing engineering team, you'll play a critical role in ensuring production operates efficiently, safely, and with minimal downtime.

You'll be joining a business that values engineering as a key driver of operational success, giving you the opportunity to make a genuine impact on reliability, performance, and continuous improvement initiatives across the site.

Why Now?

The business is experiencing continued growth and increasing production volumes, resulting in further investment in both machinery and engineering capabilities. They are looking to strengthen their engineering team with an experienced Multi-Skilled Engineer who can help support future growth while contributing to ongoing improvement projects.

The Role

As a Multi-Skilled Engineer, you'll be responsible for maintaining and improving the performance of a fast-paced manufacturing operation.

In this role, you will:

• Play a key role in reducing downtime and improving equipment reliability across the site.
• Lead fault finding and repairs on a range of automated production and packaging machinery.
• Have responsibility for carrying out planned preventative maintenance activities to maximise asset performance.
• Support continuous improvement projects aimed at increasing efficiency, reducing waste, and improving operational performance.
• Work closely with production teams to identify and resolve recurring engineering issues.
• Contribute to the safe and efficient operation of the site through adherence to engineering and health & safety standards.

The Challenge

This is a demanding manufacturing environment where engineering response times can have a direct impact on production performance. You'll be expected to diagnose faults quickly, work effectively under pressure, and balance reactive maintenance requirements with planned engineering activities.

The successful candidate will need to be proactive, technically capable, and comfortable working within a fast-paced production environment where continuous improvement is a key focus.

About You

We're looking for someone with:

Essential

• Time-served engineering apprenticeship or recognised engineering qualification.
• Multi-skilled engineering experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong electrical and mechanical fault-finding capabilities.
• Experience working with PLC-controlled equipment and automated production machinery.
• Proven ability to minimise downtime and improve equipment performance.
• A proactive approach to maintenance and continuous improvement.

Desirable

• Experience within food, beverage, FMCG, or packaging manufacturing.
• HNC/HND qualifications in an engineering discipline.
• Knowledge of CMMS systems.
• Experience supporting capital projects and machinery installations.

About the Business

This business is a leading manufacturer within the food sector, supplying high-quality products to major retailers and customers across the UK. They have built an excellent reputation for product quality, innovation, and investment, creating a working environment where engineering plays a central role in operational success.

With continued growth plans and a strong commitment to developing their people, this is an opportunity to join a business that offers both stability and long-term career progression.

What's On Offer?

Salary: £53,000 - £55,000
Bonus: Performance-related bonus scheme
Pension: Company pension contribution
Holiday: 25 days plus bank holidays
Healthcare: Health cash plan
Other Benefits: Training and development opportunities, employee assistance programme, life assurance
Working Pattern: 4 on 4 off rotating days and nights

And, importantly, what's the career opportunity?

This role offers the chance to join a growing business that actively promotes from within. Whether your ambition is to develop into a Senior Engineer, Engineering Team Leader, or Engineering Manager role in the future, you'll be joining a company that supports career development and invests in its engineering talent.

We are seeking applications from talented Multi-Skilled Engineers, Maintenance Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Shift Engineers, Reliability Engineers and Maintenance Technicians who live within Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Trafford, Wigan, Warrington, Blackburn and surrounding areas.

Why True North Talent?
True North Talent specialises exclusively in recruitment across the UK food and drink manufacturing industry. We understand the sector, the challenges businesses are facing and the experience required to succeed within it.
Our specialist consultants work closely with both clients and candidates to ensure we're not simply matching a CV to a job description – we're helping people make the right career move and businesses secure the expertise they need.

Interested?
If you're an experienced Engineering professional within the food and drink manufacturing sector and this sounds like the kind of opportunity you're looking for, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply directly or contact Matt Wilkinson at True North Talent for a confidential conversation about the role.

We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website.
We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.

Location: Lancashire
Overview: This is a rare opportunity to join a successful food manufacturing business in a key leadership position. As a factory based Technical Manager, you will lead the technical/quality function across the site, ensuring the highest standards of food safety, quality, compliance, and operational excellence.

Working closely with both technical and operational teams, you will play a pivotal role in driving a strong quality culture throughout the business while developing and inspiring your team.

About You
We are looking for an experienced technical or quality professional who is passionate about food safety and continuous improvement.
You will have:

• Strong leadership experience within quality and food safety
• A collaborative approach with the ability to influence across all departments
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills
• Proven experience working within a food manufacturing environment
• A track record of driving quality standards and compliance across a business

The Role
As Technical Manager, your responsibilities will include:

• Leading, developing, and motivating the quality team
• Driving food safety, quality, and compliance standards across the site
• Ensuring the business remains fully compliant with all relevant standards and regulations
• Building effective relationships between technical and operational functions
• Working collaboratively with cross-functional teams to deliver business objectives
• Championing and embedding a culture where quality remains a top priority
• Playing a key role in shaping and delivering the company's quality agenda

What's in it for You?
This is an excellent opportunity to join a business that genuinely values its people and provides the support needed to succeed and develop your career.
In return, you will receive:

• Competitive salary of £45,000 - £55,000
• The opportunity to lead and influence quality strategy
• A supportive and collaborative working environment
• Long-term career development opportunities

 
How to Apply
If you have the desired qualifications and experience, please send your CV quoting re MW/TNT/3285 or call 07441342190 for a confidential discussion.

True North Talent is recognised as a trusted supplier of permanent, contract and interim recruitment services to the food manufacturing and FMCG industries. Our teams of specialist recruiters operate across food manufacturing Operations Jobs, food manufacturing Engineering jobs, food manufacturing Technical jobs, food manufacturing NPD jobs, food manufacturing Supply Chain jobs and food manufacturing Commercial jobs. We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website.

We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.