WHAT DOES A HYGIENE MANAGER DO?

Updated: Oct 16, 2025 - The Hygiene Manager oversees all hygiene operations within the manufacturing facility, ensuring cleaning procedures, equipment, and materials align with Cleaning Instruction Cards and meet the highest standards. This role maintains hygiene documentation systems, manages audit-related corrective actions, and implements early interventions in high-risk areas. The manager also delivers training to staff on production, food safety, and technical requirements while driving improvements in housekeeping and cost efficiency.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Hygiene Manager

1. Hygiene Manager Duties

  • Strategy Coordination: Coordinates the cleaning and sanitation strategy for Thames and Plaistow
  • Team Management: Manages both cleaning contractors and cleaning employees at the facility
  • Standards Improvement: Drive continuous improvement within the site, continually pushing hygiene standards
  • Process Challenge: Challenge the status quo and pursue continuous improvement activities
  • Area Cleaning: Coordinates and executes the cleaning of all equipment and work areas
  • Premise Inspection: Inspects premises for unsanitary practices and conditions
  • Report Compilation: Compiles reports regarding regular inspections, hygiene violations, and steps taken to resolve deficiencies
  • Departmental Coordination: Coordinate with other departmental managers to deliver clean-as-you-go standards and area ownership across the sites
  • Program Oversight: Reviews and oversees the Plant Sanitation Program
  • Chemical Selection: Working with Cleaning and Sanitation Chemical supplier(s) to determine the best cleaning and sanitizing agents and methods for maintaining Company and Regulatory cleaning and sanitizing standards
  • Meeting Representation: Represent the Hygiene department in key internal and external meetings (including customer visits and audits)
  • HACCP Participation: Participate in the site HACCP program
  • Training Management: Ensure all the Hygiene training requirements are managed effectively
  • Procedure Writing: Write or update procedures
  • Vendor Management: Manage external providers of products, services and equipment
  • Budget Control: Manage site Hygiene budgets and ensure any overspends are fully investigated and authorised
  • Leak Repair: Coordinates the identification and repair of the causes of leaks and spills
  • Root Investigation: Conducts investigations and root cause analysis on any customer complaints and quality issues about potential hygiene issues
  • Standards Consultation: Confers with management, Quality Assurance, Safety and Operational personnel on hygiene challenges and recommends changes in equipment, plant layout, lighting, ventilation, or work practices to improve hygienic standards

2. Hygiene Manager Details

  • Audit Execution: Conduct internal hygiene audits
  • Record Maintenance: Keep all cleaning/hygiene and training records up to date
  • Audit Support: Support audit requirements (including presentation of records)
  • Process Development: Develop training/processes and new ways of working in line with business requirements
  • Technical Support: Support the technical team/function in day-to-day duties/tasks, e.g., swabbing
  • Duty Flexibility: Undertake such other duties from time to time that reasonably fall within the scope and grade of the post, to include flexibility in hours and overtime
  • PO Management: Raising POs for the hygiene and technical team
  • Stock Control: Manage stock levels in line with business budgets
  • Team Leadership: Leading a multi-disciplined team of 30 hygiene operatives, working across five separate functions such as High Level (High Risk), Process Machinery, Facilities, External and Shift Cleaning
  • Practice Review: Review, improve and sustain the current hygiene practices across the site
  • Coaching Support: Serve as a coach to the department, apply a supportive and inclusive management style and provide guidance and feedback to individuals on their behaviour
  • Plan Delivery: Ensure hygiene activities are delivered to plan, budget, and standards
  • Standards Communication: Define and communicate the required hygiene standards to all areas of the business and drive the improvement of these standards
  • Strategy Development: Develop and implement short- and long-term strategies for hygiene to facilitate progress and reduce cost
  • Pest Control: Sustain the high standard for pest control operations across all sites

3. Hygiene Manager Responsibilities

  • Task Completion: Ensuring all planned hygiene tasks are completed to a high standard
  • Schedule Coordination: Liaising with Production and Engineering to plan when Periodical cleaning tasks can take place
  • Team Supervision: Supervise, delegate to, coach, train and motivate the team
  • Schedule Review: Review the effectiveness and appropriateness of existing cleaning schedules
  • Process Improvement: Work with the Technical team and the chemicals partner to continuously improve processes
  • Validation Support: Getting involved in cleaning validation
  • Audit Representation: Representing the department when auditors or customers are on site
  • Budget Management: Management and control of the department budget
  • KPI Monitoring: Monitoring departmental KPI’s and challenging for improvement to ensure targets are achieved and improved
  • Regulation Compliance: Ensuring hygiene standards are met and that the business is compliant with the relevant requirements within Food Hygiene Regulations 852/2004 and 853/2004 and BRC requirements
  • System Updating: Updating and maintaining the Hygiene Management System and records, including training records, process records and cleaning instruction cards (CICs)
  • Stock Management: Managing stock control (chemicals, PPE, sundries)

4. Hygiene Manager Job Summary

  • Hygiene Responsibility: Take responsibility for all aspects of Hygiene in a new manufacturing facility
  • Operations Coordination: Coordinate all hygiene operations, making sure that all work is carried out to the highest possible levels
  • CIC Updating: Ensuring that Cleaning Instruction Cards are up to date for each area including cleaning procedure, chemicals, frequency, PPE and cleaning cycle times
  • System Maintenance: Maintain all Hygiene paperwork and paperless systems
  • Chemical Availability: Ensure the correct cleaning chemicals, materials, and equipment are available by CIC cards
  • Corrective Coordination: Coordinate all hygiene-related Corrective actions in response to all audits and visits
  • Risk Management: Identify key areas of risk and implement early remedial actions
  • Housekeeping Improvement: Maintain and improve housekeeping in all areas and reduce waste costs
  • Team Training: Deliver training to both new and established team members as per production, food safety and technical protocols

5. Hygiene Manager Accountabilities

  • Audit Hosting: Lead and host BRC audits, taking responsibility across all hygiene aspects, with support from other functions
  • Training Organization: Organise training, creation of work instructions for existing and new kit brought on-site
  • Process Improvement: Identify process cleaning requirements/improvements
  • Team Management: Manage the hygiene team
  • Strategy Implementation: Creating and implementing the hygiene strategy and schedules
  • Chemical Stocking: Ensuring the correct chemicals are in stock and best practice is kept
  • Audit Participation: Completing hygiene audits and being involved in customer audits
  • Team Development: Overseeing the team such as training, coaching, motivating, and engaging
  • KPI Management: Managing the department KPI’s