Principal Regulatory Advisor - Non-Food

We are SGS – the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 100,000 employees operate a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world. Our brand promise – when you need to be sure – underscores our commitment to trust, integrity and reliability.

SGS’s C&P (Connectivity and Products) services help businesses ensure product safety, quality, and compliance through testing, inspection, certification, and auditing—covering everything from manufacturing to distribution across various consumer goods sectors.

ROLE OVERVIEW

We’re looking for a Principal Advisor – Non-Food to provide technical leadership and regulatory expertise across non-food consumer product categories. This role will act as the key technical authority for our Advisory team, ensuring services remain accurate, compliant, commercially relevant, and aligned with current UK, IE and EU legislation, codes of practice and industry guidance.

You’ll lead on regulatory interpretation, horizon scanning, compliance risk management, technical quality assurance and continuous improvement, while supporting the team with up-to-date processes, documentation and best practice guidance.

Regulatory Compliance, Specification and Pack Copy Verification

- Prepare, check, question and approve pack copy/product specifications in accordance with the client’s requirements taking information from supplier specifications.
- Ensure that pack copy adheres to all current and pending EU and UK legislation, codes of practice, client’s requirement and industry guidelines.
- Ensure all program runs have the latest SOP, crib sheet, and check list, and that all systems are utilising the latest mandatory regulatory requirements.

Team Leadership, Support & Working Instructions

- Support all advisors and lead them in terms of complex regulatory queries and best practice.
- Responsible for the advisory team training, cross-training, and onboarding junior advisors, enhancing the overall competence and efficiency of the team.
- Ensure the Advisory team are working with the most up to date EU, UK, and IE legislation, codes of practice and industry guidelines.
- Help create, develop, and maintain clear working instructions, crib sheets, and checklists where needed to ensure the team is doing their review based on the latest requirements and to support consistent processes and knowledge transfer.

Authority Liaison & Horizon Scanning

- Liaise directly with regulatory authorities and enforcement agencies for guidance.
- Lead the weekly horizon scanning.
- Keep well informed and up to date on all relevant legislation, codes of practice, industry guidelines, news, events, and trends within the non-food consumer products industry.

Technical Sign-Off Checklist Development

- Develop a comprehensive technical sign-off checklist as a standardised tool to confirm that all regulatory work meets current required standards/legislation and is free from errors.
- Conduct thorough reviews and approvals of all regulatory work, mitigating risks associated with incorrect or incomplete submissions.

Stakeholder Engagement, Collaboration, and Commercial Client Management

- Establish and maintain effective communication with clients, suppliers, design agencies, print houses and other internal or external stakeholders.
- Act as the primary point of contact for liaising directly with clients on complex technical queries, providing expert advice and guidance relating to legislation and codes of practice.
- Take ownership of handling any claims or complaints raised from advisory errors.
- Act as the commercial lead in providing constructive feedback and resolutions to the client.
- Take charge of and act as the lead on client retainer requests.
- Share expert insights and recommendations to assess project feasibility and optimise system effectiveness.
- Attend both internal and external meetings as required, collaborating with business development/ account manager, clients, suppliers, enforcement agencies, and other relevant entities

The successful applicant will already be working in a Regulatory affairs or product quality role, and be familiar with UK and EU consumer protection legislation.

Responsibilities

Job Title: Principal Advisor - Non-Food; Job Type: Permanent; Location: Home based; Hours: 37.5 hours per week; Salary: Competitive plus benefits; Industry: Connectivity & Products

Requirements

Ability to Interpret and apply retailer corporate policy and UK / EU legislation.; Proven experience working with UK and EU consumer protection legislation.; Experience in training and mentoring technical teams.; Experience working directly with large retailers or multinational brands.