Technical Manager - Food

Description:

About Creed

Creed is a family business, established in 1972, which is ambitious with it's growth within the industry. We deliver a great range of multi-temperature food products, including our butchery and fresh ranges to caterers across the country from our offices in Cheltenham, Ilkeston & High Wycombe. It's a great place to be and we are proud of our role in supporting our local community. We are dedicated to creating a great place to work, with great people and in 2020 were listed by Sunday Times as one of the top 100 companies to work for, having achieved a “two star” status with best companies. Our people are committed to our values, choose their attitude and focus on the needs of the customer. They work hard and are committed to providing a great service but want to have some fun and development along the way. Our employees often get involved in charity events, attend the company conversations, put forward their ideas for improvement and contribute in the team briefings. Our core business values are being: Commercial, Proud, Friendly and Nurturing.

About the role

In this role you will be accountable for the integrity of product & technical data, product quality and safety complaints, recalls, supplier accreditations and technical projects & queries. You will utilise your expertise in upcoming industry relevant legislation and technical changes to develop and evolve best-in-class solutions for our customer base and develop a customer-oriented, solutions focused team culture.

Some responsibilities of the role include:

* Listen to employee, customer, and stakeholder feedback and utilise insight to inform continuous improvement ideas and projects.

* Ensure your team (of three) are sufficiently equipped to deliver data integrity and proactively manage quality.

* Provide support, guidance, and expertise to internal stakeholders in context of supplier selection, supplier expertise, product quality attributes and control parameters.

* Oversee the management of Saffron nutritional & allergen reporting software and deliver training and support both internally & externally.

* Accountable for the efficient, timely and appropriate resolution of food quality and safety complaints.

* Effective supplier management to include initial selection & approval; conduct site visits (if required); set & monitor clear technical expectations; provide guidance & support, issue performance updates and instigate joint business/improvement plans.

* Accountable for the accuracy of specifications for all products across multiple platforms and maintenance of the approved supplier database.

* Maintain awareness of packaging regulations (EPR), compliance, and submit in accordance with regulatory requirements and keep up to date with upcoming legislative and industry changes to proactively build best-in-class solutions for our customer base.

* Scope, design and deliver audits and business-related projects. Including continuous improvement, food safety.

* Ensure data integrity, security, compliance with regulatory requirements

* Demonstrate commitment to and support our Environmental, Social and Governance goals in how daily tasks and responsibilities are carried out.

The ideal candidate

This role would suit an excel wizard with excellent food product knowledge and a solid grasp of EU and UK food legislation. The successful candidate will be a people person that is confident presenting, has experience managing technical or compliance specialists, knowledge of quality management and project management and HACCP, IOSHH, VACCP & TACCP qualifications.

Some of the knowledge and experience required includes:

* Customer Service Focus, Excellent communication, interpersonal, relationship building, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.

* Experience working as a technical manager, within the food industry.

* Passionate about food safety and interested in nutrition and allergen information.

* Enthusiastic, proactive, self-motivated individual with a passion for continuous professional development.

* Adaptable to change, creative and interested in learning and developing both the team and commercial outputs for the business area.

* Excellent presentation skills and confident presenting to large audiences of both internal and external customers.

* Excellent food product knowledge and experience of the food industry gained within a wholesale or manufacturing environment.

* Experience working with ERP systems.

* Experience managing people in all aspects of the employee lifecycle, coaching, mentoring, and team-building skills.

* Experience preparing and managing action plans and budgets effectively including cost management.

What you get in return

The best thing about working for a Top 100 Best Companies to work for in the UK" is the culture, being part of a team that work together and look after each other, but we also offer a comprehensive pay and benefits package, some features of this are listed below:

* Work as part of a friendly team and feel valued for your unique contribution.

* Flexibility and freedom to achieve business outcomes in the ways that best suit you and your team.

* Plenty of annual leave - 33 days!

* The option to work bank holidays and take a longer (cheaper) trip away at another time of year

* Training, development and recognition.

* Discounted staff purchases - choose from c. 6,500 products

* Discount portal

* Access to an online discount portal, providing discounts for gyms, the cinema, supermarkets, high street retailers, cashback for changing your electricity supplier and much more helping you to save money on purchases that you would ordinarily make.

* Employee assistance programme that offers confidential support and advice which includes free access to legal advice, wellness programmes and much more.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age, as outlined in our equal opportunities policy