Supplier Technical Manager

Overview

The Role and Team

Reporting to the Group Technical Manager and with one direct report, you will be the prime technical contact and approver for our suppliers of food ingredients, components or finished goods and related service providers.

Your aim will be to ensure that all suppliers meet our high standards, minimizing and ideally preventing all possible food safety, quality, authenticity, and ethical issues from impacting apetito and our customers. To deliver that aim, you will work closely with colleagues in the technical, product development, procurement, and CSR teams and ensure that supplier standards and systems are demonstrably maintained to levels defined by apetito, BRCGS Food Safety, and customers.

Relevant data will be kept up to date so that information and trends in relation to the listed requirements are readily available to all internal stakeholders and auditors.

The emphasis of this role is one of tactical leadership.

This role could suit someone who is looking to diversify their experience or take a next step in their career.

Working in an experienced and friendly team, you will be supported and developed to maximize your potential.

Who we are

We provide exceptional meals to organizations catering to the young and the elderly in nurseries, schools, hospitals, and care homes and are the parent company of Wiltshire Farm Foods, the UK’s premier home-delivery service for ready-made meals.

We are proud to be a Living Wage employer and member of the Ethical Trading Initiative. We support British food and farming and operate a successful program of waste reduction and resource efficiency across our whole business.

In addition to your salary, you will receive a comprehensive training program, 25 days annual leave holiday entitlement, the ability to buy additional annual leave, retail discounts, free car parking, subsidized staff restaurant, free turkey (or voucher) at Christmas, and much more!

Responsibilities

Key Accountabilities

• Behaving in a manner that prevents risk of injury, illness, or offense to self or others.
• Development and maintenance of all processes and procedures in relation to the technical approval of suppliers.
• Management and delivery of supplier auditing and approval in relation to food safety, quality, and authenticity for foodstuffs, packaging, and relevant service providers (e.g., laundry of factory PPE).
• Maintaining a full technical risk assessment of each supply chain, having taken into account known, emerging, and potential issues.
• Ensuring that issues caused by supplier failure are fully investigated to identify the root cause, timely actions are agreed, and completion is signed-off.
• Submission and presentation of monthly reports in relation to key accountabilities and KPIs.
• Timely closure of requests made by internal or external customers.
• Reduction of Customer Complaints.
• Final approval of ingredient and traded product specifications.

Qualifications

Essential:

• Food science or related degree; an equivalent level of industry experience may also be considered.
• Experience managing food safety and quality as a technical manager or auditor.
• Upholds high standards of compliance.
• Communication and relationship-building skills.
• Full driving license and ability to travel throughout the UK and Europe and occasionally long haul.
• Confident using systems and technology.

Desirable:

• Advanced food hygiene qualification.
• Experience of a broad range of food types and supply chains.
• Lead auditor qualification.
• HACCP trained.

Personal Qualities:

• Self-motivated.
• Meticulous, accurate, analytical fact-based approach.
• Relationship builder.
• Flexible and adaptable.