Zertus UK & Ireland (Humdinger, Kinnerton Confectionery, Lir Chocolates) Raw Material Technologist Location: Kinnerton Fakenham (Norfolk) site with hybrid working options Hours: Monday - Friday 37.5 hours per week At Zertus UK & Ireland, we are passionate about creating delicious snacks and chocolates that people love. As we continue to innovate and expand, we are seeking a dedicated and detail-oriented Raw Material Technologist to join our Technical/ Supplier Assurance team and play a crucial role in maintaining the quality of our products. As a Raw Material Technologist, you will be responsible for developing, maintaining, and approving material specifications for both existing and new suppliers. This role is critical in ensuring our products meet the highest standards of quality and safety, contributing directly to the company’s due diligence requirements. You’ll work closely with suppliers and internal teams, ensuring that the ingredients we use in our snacks and chocolates are top-notch. Work across the Zertus group of Businesses to manage the raw material specification portfolio. Responsibility to develop, risk assess, maintain and approve material specifications for existing and new suppliers as part of the company’s due diligence program. Working closely with NPD and technical teams ensure that materials specified are fit for purpose operationally and meet all legislation and Customer code of practice requirements. Maintain accurate information within all relevant material databases ensuring alignment with finished product specifications and managing any change with relevant teams. Direct responsibility for working with suppliers collating information, specifications, supplier queries and assisting the technical department with detailed customer supplier information requests and non-conformances. Working closely with the intake teamsto ensure agreed quality and testing parameters are accurate and achievable and are aligned to the approved suppliers and group material specifications. Maintenance of all raw material related data and information in a consistent way ensuring compliance with current legislation, customers codes of practice and accreditation schemes. Ensure supplier and material accreditation schemes such as SEDEX, RFA/UTZ, Fairtrade, Organic, Kosher & RSPO etc. are maintained throughout the material conformance process stages and ongoing compliance. Generating and reporting of supplier material and specification KPI’s on a monthly basis. Develop a working knowledge of the snacking and chocolate industry. Scientific background: degree educated in food science, food technology, chemistry or product quality-based subject or related disciplined. Manufacturing process experience in food or related sectors. Analytical and experimental skills. Inquisitive by nature and willingness to look for novel solutions. Good communication. Able to work independently and with initiative. Able to demonstrate an understanding of HACCP principles, nutrition information and legal compliance of materials. Ability to build strong relationships with suppliers and across teams within the business. Organisational skills - excellent attention to detail, good time management, highly self-motivated with outstanding diplomacy skills. Computer literate - Able to use Excel, Word, PowerPoint & Outlook, as well as other online software systems. • Experience in NPD or the development of functional materials. Understanding of UK/EU food legislation. Demonstrable project and workload management skills. Flexible approach to dynamic working environment. Pension (4% Employer Contributions) Life Assurance Scheme at x4 basic salary. Health Care Cash Plan via Paycare (Dental, Optical, Shiropdy, Professional Therapy, Counselling cover), along with access to Paycare Perks for exclusive high street and retailer discounts. 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays. Holiday Purchase Scheme up to one extra week per year Cycle to Work Scheme Electric Car Scheme Engagement in Charity and Team Events Receive an extra day of paid leave for charity or community service. Access exclusive discounts through our staff/online shops. Employee Values Awards Referral Bonus Vouchers Training and Development Opportunities (Leadership courses, External qualifications, Professional memberships) Access to London Hub Space in Camden: Benefit from a dedicated London Hub space. Join our ongoing commitment to our ESG strategy, prioritizing the well-being of our people, communities, and the planet. Grocery Aid Charity Support Zertus UK & Ireland comprises three companies – Humdinger Foods, Kinnerton Confectionery, and Lir Chocolates. Our expertise spans the manufacturing of a diverse range of snacks and chocolates, with multiple facilities and offices strategically positioned throughout the UK and Ireland. With a commitment to innovation, we strive to craft products that captivate and delight our customers. Our talented teams have created a growing portfolio of our own famous brands including NOMO, Sun Valley Nuts, Kinnerton Kids, The Fruit Factory, Yum & Yay, Humzingers, as well as collaborations with Bailey's, Guinness and Budweiser As the UK & Irish division of Zertus GmbH, headquartered in Hamburg and boasting a workforce of over 2000 employees across Europe, we are part of a dynamic and expansive global network. When you join Zertus, you will be based at one of our Humdinger, Kinnerton, Bromborough or Lir Chocolates UK/ Ireland locations, unless your role is hybrid/home-based. Our manufacturing Locations: Heckington, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Fakenham, Bromborough, Navan (Ireland). We have a hot-desking office space in Hull (East Yorkshire) and also in Camden, London. Zertus is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Your application will be reviewed and entered into the selection process, if successful you will receive a call or email from a member of our Recruitment or HR Team. If successful following this, your application will be sent to the hiring manager for review. If selected, you will attend a two stage interview process with one online interview and one on-site interview. Please let us know if you require any special arrangements or adjustments to be made for your interview. The provision of this information is likely to include special category data and is therefore covered by data protection laws. We ask for this information so that we are fully aware of any adjustments needed and we will use the information provided to inform our decisions about making those changes.