Senior Process Technologist

Job Description

Senior Process Technologist

Salary: Competitive

Shift: Monday – Friday 08.30 – 17.00

Business Area: Bakkavor Desserts

Location: Devizes

Permanent, full time

We're the biggest name you've never heard of. You've probably eaten our food - you just didn't realise it. We make innovative fresh products, with around 18,500 colleagues working across the UK, US and China. We’re the market leader in the UK fresh prepared food industry supplying meals, salads, desserts, pizza and bread to leading grocery retailers (including Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury's and Waitrose). We’re ambitious. We’re full of ideas. And we’re ready for more people who share our values and passion for quality to join us.

Bakkavor Desserts is based in Devizes, Wiltshire and specialises in making chilled desserts such as tarts, yum yums, doughnuts, pies and pastries. The site employs over 550 people and is one of three factories that are part of the Bakkavor Desserts sector in the UK.

The Role

The role of the Process function is to develop manufacturing capability to enable the business to deliver volume from product concepts. Once a product concept has been signed off, Process will work across all functions and the customer to produce product in line with food safety and technical standards, H&S, Financial and Commercial expectations.

Managing the delivery of successful product validations in accordance to Bakkavor and customer principles in a fast paced challenging environment in line with business requirements and opportunities.

Accountabilities

Managing & developing team through PDPs, personal objectives that link to business objectives using a supportive and challenging environment. Setting SMART objectives for team. Effective team management.

Scoping of projects, implementing KPIs for project & team. Supporting innovation & improvement plans in line with business objectives.

Interaction with cross-functional departments to deliver the launch of successful products using influence to achieve project timescales. Influence from the start of the process development. Influence outcome of the start of product concept, and manage expectations.

Manage the completion of trials against the plan, in line with the business critical paths, taking an innovative and problem solving approach ensuring issues are captured, resolved and communicated across multiple functions, with an awareness of the budget. Using a pragmatic approach to checking microbiological and nutritional results ahead of launch.

Manage customer panels (internal and external) in readiness for customer approval, ensuring they are in compliance with Business and customer expectations.

Proactive planning and management of the critical path showing a 3 – 6 month plan in place. Defines the trial programme against the critical path to successfully launch products against timelines, achieving customer requirements.

Understanding how changes to process have impact on cost of products and proactively communicating to the business any changes. Management of trial budget & budget objectives. Awareness of margin for projects, and escalating any potential issue to key stakeholders.

Ownership of the use of problem solving skills to outline opportunities to develop & improve product and offer solutions to resolve the issues to deliver stable & repeatable products for manufacturing. Root cause analysis.

Ensuring the process department is audit ready through interpretation of validation for food safety and customer COP. Analysing and signing off data for factory documentation.

To operate in a safe working manner and support the site/business on continuous improvement relating to health, safety and the environment

About you

• Proven track record in food manufacturing and exposure to customer trials and critical path

management

• Sound operational experience within Process; Technical; Development or Operations
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to develop relationships and influence across different departments, is collaborative in approach to delivery
• Draw on experience and adopts a wide range of approaches to problem solving; root cause analysis and innovative thinking; is challenging of self and others
• Effective Project Management skills; works with stakeholders and suppliers to deliver trials on time to plan; make appropriate interventions
• People Management skills, is able to deliver through others and develop and coach team members
• Food Safety Level 3, HACCP Level 2
• Intermediate numeracy, literacy and IT skills

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