About the Opportunity This hands-on Head of Technical role is the interface between Driscoll’s and our retailers (customers) ensuring that product supplied by Driscoll’s is in line with our vision and complies with all customer requirements. The role holder will enjoy building strong customer relationships as alongside management of the team and being a point of escalation for all retailers, it will also be responsible for managing a retailer account to support the workload of a small team. Responsibilities Coordinate with the team to accompany retail customer personnel on grower / packhouse visits when required Act as a point of escalation for customers helping to resolve any issues as efficiently as possible, achieving optimum outcomes for our business, our suppliers and our customers Be proactive about developing strong, positive relationships with our customers’ senior teams Ensure the team have strong relationships with their commercial counterparts internally so the best outcomes are delivered for our customers and suppliers Oversee the preparation of reports for management, supplier and customer meetings by the team, making your own contribution to the final pack where needed Support marketing and commercial teams with crisis management plans (including media and customer communications) relating to food safety, social and environmental topics and execute plans if required Be proactive in working with relevant teams to reduce quality complaints and drive consistency of quality, particularly within our branded business Develop lasting relationships with internal and external stakeholders and leverage the relationships to influence business critical issues and/or implementations Be the liaison for the department for own label innovation and project work, liaising with growers and stakeholders to gather and transfer all necessary information Manage department budget Review and manage KPIs to ensure continuous improvement by understanding and addressing route cause of any issues contributing to poor performance against them Use data and knowledge to continually review and improve ways of working Oversee innovation, research and development in the team including working with our R&D teams on varietal development and customer acceptance In addition to the functional responsibilities of the role, as a Driscoll’s people manager, you are responsible for the employee lifecycle, including: Workforce Planning: Aligning the people plan to the business plan Hiring: Find, evaluate, and hire new team members Onboarding: Integrating new employees into the organization Managing: Organize and coordinate activities of a team in order to achieve defined strategic objectives Development: Partnering with your employees to create a plan to grow in their existing or potential future roles Employee Safety: Ensure both physical and psychological safety in the workplace Off-boarding: Ending an employment relationship Candidate Profile Education, Knowledge and Experience required for the role: Professional experience: Evidence of extensive experience working in a comparable role, preferably within the soft fruit industry. Experience of managing a team. Ability to delegate effectively and to follow-up as appropriate. Ability to work as part of a team with colleagues across professional, operational and cultural boundaries. Ability to identify needs and issues and recommend suitable and pragmatic courses of action and solutions, adopting a risk aware approach. Areas of experience: Excellent relationship building skills and experience Excellent organisational skills Excellent communication skills with ability to adapt to the recipients needs Ability to multitask and manage time effectively to meet deadlines Food Safety and Product Integrity Certifications and Technical skills: Good IT skills including experience of Word and Excel. Experience Managing People (years): 5 years