Quality & Technical Lead

Drinkhippop; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading beverage company based in Manchester is looking for a Quality & Technical Lead to oversee quality assurance and compliance. This part-time role demands experience in food safety systems and regulatory frameworks, along with a passion for delivering exceptional products. Candidates will benefit from flexible hours and opportunities for career growth, along with perks such as unlimited drinks and generous holiday allowance.

Benefits

33 days holiday + birthday off

Cycle to Work schemes

Unlimited Hip Pop

Qualifications

• 3-4 years’ experience in a food, beverage or FMCG environment.
• Strong understanding of quality compliance and food safety systems.
• In-depth knowledge of labelling regulations and EU market laws.

Responsibilities

• Safeguard and strengthen Hip Pop’s reputation for premium products.
• Lead the development of quality management systems.
• Ensure compliance with UK, EU, and US regulatory standards.

Skills

Quality compliance

Food safety systems

Interpersonal skills

Regulatory guidance

Technical expertise in microbiology

Tools

MS Word

Excel

QMS

ERP

LIMS

Job description

Overview

Hip Pop Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Quality & Technical Lead

Hip Pop is an exciting and multi-award-winning challenger brand of soft drinks born in Manchester destined for the World. The brand exists to challenge the big pop brands with clean ingredient list that are better for you, made from real fruit, gut friendly live cultures and fibre. Hip Pop drinks are low in calories and never made with sweeteners. It’s a proper good pop.

Based in Manchester, this part-time role (22.5 hours per week) offers the opportunity to lead quality and technical functions as the company scales.

The Opportunity

Are you ready to thrive in a growing team and to build and lead a community that’s obsessed with great tasting, better-for-you drinks and to connect people with a brand that’s fast becoming iconic?

The Company

Hip Pop is an exciting and multi-award-winning challenger brand of soft drinks with distribution across national retailers such as Sainsbury’s, M&S, Waitrose, Co-op, Morrisons, Booths and Bidfood. Hip Pop drinks include multi-award-winning soda, kombucha and CBD kombucha.

Hip Pop has experienced remarkable year-on-year growth since launching in 2019 and is based in the heart of Manchester city centre (near Piccadilly).

Role Responsibilities

As Quality & Technical Lead, you will:

• Safeguard and strengthen Hip Pop’s reputation for producing premium sodas and kombucha.
• Lead the development and implementation of robust quality management systems.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and customer standards across UK, EU, and US markets.
• Provide technical expertise across brewing, microbiology, food safety, packaging, and export regulations.
• Build a culture of quality, safety, and continuous improvement across the business.
• Directly support the Brewing Lead, Brewer, and NPD Lead.
• Play a pivotal role in supporting new market trends through a combined new product development and regulatory perspective.
• Lead to deliver safe, consistent, and exceptional products at speed while scaling.

Your Experience

• Strong understanding of quality compliance and food safety systems (BRCGS, HACCP, SALSA, ISO or similar).

• 3-4 years’ experience in a food, beverage, brewing or FMCG manufacturing environment.

• Technical expertise in microbiological, chemical, and sensory analysis.

• In-depth knowledge of labelling regulations, EU market laws for exporting, and US/EU regulatory frameworks.

• Ability to provide regulatory guidance for international expansion and new product development.

• Understanding of brewing and packaging lines with practical problem-solving capability.

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to influence, coach, and build cross-functional collaboration.

• Competent in MS Word, Excel, Google Sheets and relevant digital tools (QMS, ERP, or LIMS desirable).

• Experience of managing audits (internal and external).

What’s In It For You?

• Part time role – 22.5 hours

• Competitive starting salary with regular reviews

• 33 days holiday + your birthday off

• Opportunity to grow your career based on your interests

• Cycle to Work schemes

• Unlimited Hip Pop

• Be a pivotal part of a legendary growth story

Location & Start

Based Commutable to Manchester

Start Date ASAP

How to Apply

KEEN TO APPLY?

• Send your CV to [e-mail] with “Quality & Technical Lead” in the subject line (this is your first test ;-)

Job Details

• Seniority level: Mid-Senior level
• Employment type: Part-time
• Job function: Quality Assurance
• Industries: Food & Beverages

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