Ornua Co-operative Limited
Hygiene Technician

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Hygiene Operative
Job title: Hygiene Operative
Reports to: Hygiene Team Leader
Location: Leek, Ornua Foods UK
Salary: £35,880 per annum
Hours: Nights, 40 hours per week
Benefits: Company pension, generous holiday allowance, subsidised staff canteen, discounted cheese and butter, confidential employee assist, bike and tech scheme, onsite physio and much more
Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for over 55 years.
Are you a hygiene operative looking for the challenge of taking a mission-driven organization to its next level of success?
Ornua is actively seeking a hygiene operative to join our technical department as we continue our growth trajectory.
About the Role
As our Hygiene Operative you will play a key role in ensuring that all machines and food production areas meet strict standards of hygiene at all times which adhere to customer requirements and food safety requirements. You will work across production areas and will ensure that any incidents or environmental concerns are reported.
Why Ornua?
Ornua operates as a commercial organization from 10 business units worldwide, including 12 production facilities located in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Africa.
The commercial organization is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Ireland’s most successful food export: Kerrygold.
It also manages the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products, the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufacturing and foodservice customers globally, and the implementation of de-risking and trading strategies to manage market volatility.
Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organization, creating value for Irish dairy farming families.
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Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together.
We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities.
Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.
Why This Role Is Valuable
As our Hygiene Operative you will be responsible for:
- To work in a safe manner and interact as part of a motivated team of Hygiene Operatives.
- To complete cleaning of the factory equipment and environment to high standards following standard operating procedures and cleaning instruction cards.
- Support the Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Quarterly Hygiene activities with the team.
- To demonstrate the Ornua values and follow company procedures and policies.
- Contribute to overall Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) improvements whilst promoting a Clean as You Go (CAYG) policy.
- To work with the hygiene team leader, QA, Engineers, and shift managers when investigating problems and contributing ideas towards any improvements to the cleaning process and standards.
- There may be times when flexibility is required in the role to meet the demands of the business.
What You Bring To The Role
- Previous Hygiene experience desirable, full training will be given - attitude and behaviors are much more important to us. We will provide training in all aspects of the role as well as the safe use and handling of chemicals, health and safety, and level 2 in Food Safety.
- You should possess a can-do attitude, be willing to work and enjoy being part of a team. In return you can expect the opportunity to work with a market-leading company.
- For this role, good levels of verbal and written English skills are essential.
- Having the capability to adhere to strict standards of quality and accuracy and to systems and procedures is a must, alongside working in a methodical, systematic, and precise manner.


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Our Interview Process
Our interview process is designed to be thorough yet supportive. This process includes an onsite skills-based interview as well as an opportunity to get a feel for Ornua and the environment in which you will be working.
Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership, and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua.
Would you like to make an impact?
To learn more, please visit Ornua at www.ornua.com
Ornua values diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. We also strongly encourage women and other underrepresented groups in the manufacturing industry to apply. Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and will be instrumental in driving our company’s continued success. Join us in shaping a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future.
Ornua is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. We will make every effort to provide for any reasonable accessibility needs you may have during your employment with us. If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know — we’re here to support you.
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