Health and science
Hygiene specialist
Provide specialist hygiene services in areas such as closed plants, sterile environments, food production and laboratories.
Summary
This occupation is found in environments that require specific attention to hygiene requirements. This includes a range of both public and private sector environments including food and drink manufacturing environments, pharmaceutical, chemical and agricultural industries.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide specialist hygiene services in areas such as closed plants, sterile environments, food production and laboratories. Hygiene Specialists are subject matter experts who have accountability for setting, maintaining and implementing hygiene management systems. They provide leadership and support for hygiene activities, including managing health and safety hazards and having an appreciation of environmental risks. They will have a good understanding of microbiology, will analyse and interpret microbiological results and identify appropriate controls. The Hygiene Specialist will determine the audit requirements of the hygiene management system and provide advice and support to other colleagues to ensure it is maintained.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with heads of functions internally, enforcement bodies, external contractors and suppliers, auditors and customers at all levels within the organisation.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for co-ordinating the development and implementation of the hygiene management system through inter-departmental working. Hygiene Specialists work with a high degree of autonomy across departments to ensure hygiene standards are achieved to meet organisational, industry and legislative requirements and will contribute to the hygienic design of buildings and equipment. They will have a good understanding of the science of hygiene processes and chemicals and will work with external providers to identify and select the best chemicals and hygiene equipment for use within the business. They will have a good understanding of the requirements of COSHH and will deal with local environmental permits to ensure all legislative requirements are closely followed. They will determine the pre-planned hygiene schedule of the business and will regularly evaluate the audit schedule to ensure it meets industry and legislative requirements. They will set or contribute to hygiene standards across the business and will train, coach and assess others to ensure safe systems of work. In some companies, they may lead a team of dedicated specialists, however in a number of other organisations, they will work within a management structure. Whilst they may not have line management responsibilities they will have technical management responsibilities and will be able to influence operational management decisions. Alternatively they may be required to manage large teams of up to 80 people. The level of supervision they receive will be down to the size of the company and the individual structures of those companies. They will understand costs and have budgetary management responsibilities for hygiene resources and ancillary services
Typical job titles include
- Hygiene compliance manager | Hygiene manager | Hygiene process leader | Hygiene supervisor | Hygiene team leader
Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)
K1:
Relevant national and international industry legislation and codes of practice, including Health and Safety at Work Act, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), employment, product, chemical and environmental legislation
K2:
Hygiene methodology considering materials of construction (premises and equipment), types of contamination, environment and water chemistry
K3:
Chemical hygiene practices: the science of chemicals and the impact of the selection of chemicals
K4:
Alternative hygiene practices e.g. the use of ozone, steam, carbon dioxide
K5:
Hygienic design principles of premises and equipment
K6:
Hazard control associated with the hygiene process, e.g. allergens, microbiological, chemical, physical and speciation
K7:
Design of effective hygiene management systems, including method statements, risk assessments, safe systems of work
K8:
How to plan and organise resources, e.g. people, timescales, equipment, materials, costs
K9:
Pest control – knowledge of types of pests, controls, prevention and pest control documentation
K10:
Contract management – management of costs, overview of contracts, specifications, service level agreements
K11:
People management – selecting, leading, managing, coaching, developing
K12:
Types and application of environmental sampling e.g. adenosine triphosphate (ATP), swabs, air sampling
K13:
Validation, verification and monitoring techniques of hygiene processes
K14:
How to deal appropriately with incidents and accidents including disaster recovery and critical incidents.
K15:
Effluent treatment, drainage and discharge – volume, concentration, chemical composition
K16:
The principles of project management
K17:
The principles and tools of continuous improvement, including LEAN, 8 Wastes, Kaizen, 5S, Six Sigma, route cause analysis
K18:
The principles of auditing practice
K19:
Management information systems, the systems utilised by the organisation – how to analyse data and identify trends
K20:
How to sustainably manage and reduce waste
K21:
Budget management tools and techniques
Technical Educational Products
- ST0873: Hygiene specialist (Level 4) Approved for delivery
- Reference:
- OCC0873
- Status:
Approved occupation
- Average (median) salary:
- £34,838 per year
- SOC 2020 code:
- 1259 Managers and proprietors in other services n.e.c.
- SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
- 1259/01 Cleaning and hygiene services managers and proprietors
S1:
Comply with relevant industry legislation, permits, codes of practice and safe working practices
S2:
Select and apply the most appropriate and effective hygiene methodology
S3:
Contribute to the design of new, and the modification of, existing premises and equipment
S4:
Contribute to the identification and implementation of controls to minimise the risk of hazards
S5:
Create and maintain a hygiene management system including hygiene related documentation, method statements, risk assessments, safe systems of work
S6:
Plan, organise, prioritise time and resources effectively to maintain organisational hygiene standards
S7:
Manage an integrated pest management system
S8:
Review and manage contracts, costs, specifications, service level agreements and appropriate supplier controls; assess supplier, contractor and vendor performance
S9:
Lead, manage and develop individuals and cross-functional teams
S10:
Select and carry out the most appropriate sampling methodology
S11:
Implement validation, verification and monitoring activities to evaluate the effectiveness of organisational hygiene standards
S12:
Deal appropriately with incidents and accidents and suggest recommendations to prevent reoccurence
S13:
Use project management tools to deliver projects to time, cost, specification and quality
S14:
Contribute and lead hygiene continuous improvement activities.
S15:
Establish and implement the audit schedule in relation to hygiene activities to ensure compliance with legal, industry and customer standards; conduct internal and external audits across functions
S16:
Analyse and evaluate information and data to make informed decisions and present solutions; create and formulate spreadsheets and graphs, electronic filing systems, presentations, reports; utilising electronic communications
S17:
Manage the waste streams and identify methods of waste reduction
S18:
Agree and manage hygiene budgets; monitor forecasts versus actual costs
Technical Educational Products
- ST0873: Hygiene specialist (Level 4) Approved for delivery
- Reference:
- OCC0873
- Status:
- Approved occupation
- Average (median) salary:
- £34,838 per year
- SOC 2020 code:
- 1259 Managers and proprietors in other services n.e.c.
- SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
- 1259/01 Cleaning and hygiene services managers and proprietors
B1:
Positive attitude: accepts responsibility, is proactive and plans work, tenacious in approach, committed to equality and diversity, and demonstrates a safety mind-set
B2:
Drive for results: Proactively seeks and acts on feedback. Continuous drive for change and encourages others to deliver results across functional areas capturing and standardising best practice
B3:
Team-working: Awareness of own and others’ working styles and collaborates with others to achieve results.
B4:
Inspirational: Leads by example, acts with integrity, builds trust and demonstrates respect for others
B5:
Communicates effectively: Adapts style to suit audience and situation, influences and persuades key stakeholders
B6:
Managing Change: Resilient and adaptable when dealing with challenge and change, maintaining focus and self-control, flexible to changing work environment and demands
B7:
Innovation: Challenges the status quo to foster new ways of thinking and working and resolve problems; seeks out opportunities to drive forward change and improvements for the business
B8:
Company/industry perspective: knowledge of company and industry, acts as an ambassador both internally and externally
Technical Educational Products
- ST0873: Hygiene specialist (Level 4) Approved for delivery
- Reference:
- OCC0873
- Status:
- Approved occupation
- Average (median) salary:
- £34,838 per year
- SOC 2020 code:
- 1259 Managers and proprietors in other services n.e.c.
- SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
- 1259/01 Cleaning and hygiene services managers and proprietors
