BM Foods is part of the Indigo Food Group (IFG), a group of food manufacturing companies offering an extensive range of cooked meats, British and regionally sourced chicken and savoury pastry products including pies, pasties, sausage rolls, slices, quiches, and frittatas for customers in the retail and food service sectors.
The successful candidate will lead the Technical team at our Avonmouth site which specialises in cooked meats. Responsible for ensuring best practice and that the highest levels of quality, hygiene and compliance are met within the operational and the Technical team.
Key accountabilities
People
* To lead and develop a high performing Technical team, focusing on training and development through annual reviews and consistently striving to improve team performance on a day to day basis.
* Engage the whole team across the site to buy into the technical agenda in order to help achieve the set goals.
* Head up the site training plan with regards to food safety, CCPs, quality briefs, allergens, microbiology awareness and Good Manufacturing Practices.
* To continuously improve the Quality Culture Plan by encouraging the wider team to embrace the standards set.
* Provide a strong presence in the factory and on site by spending time there daily.
* During this time to have a particular focus on hygiene standards and GMP.
* To periodically spend time on each shift, including night shift and weekend deep clean shifts in order to maintain contact with every part of the operation and the teams involved.
Quality Systems
* Manage the site HACCP and its use to facilitate food safety of our products.
* Ensure site compliance to the latest BRC version standard and the also site approval to this standard, be fully up to date with the manual and any updates.
* Maintain and review internal procedures and documentation as set by BRC requirements and specific customer requirements.
* Ensure full traceability is achievable and routinely test / review.
* Supplier specifications for all raw materials to be maintained and up to date.
* Library to be kept for the relevant information and documentation.
* Site quality risk assessments and validations to be completed for raw and finished product for allergens, microbiology for process, product and the environment.
* Finished product specifications to be kept up to date.
* Customer specification systems to be completed and maintained in a very timely manner eg Icehub.
* Responsible for ensuring that the PLU data on the Bizerba labellers is accurate, kept up to date and FIR compliant.
* To ensure that all areas have adequate pest control mechanisms in place limiting any threat to food safety, and to work closely with the pest control provider.
* Manage and maintain the quality system for all procedures ensuring document control.
* Internal auditing schedules to be followed and audit corrective actions followed up
Quality Assurance
* Liaise with suppliers on quality and technical issues, including warranted non-conformances.
* Responsible for overseeing customer complaints, whilst ensuring comprehensive responses are actioned quickly to key customers such as Iceland, Aldi and Tesco.
* Review complaints on a regular basis and work to continuously reduce CPM.
* Requirement for up to date, in depth knowledge, of individual customer standards to ensure these are met consistently.
* Make meaningful use of the microbiological results for suppliers, highlighting best and worst suppliers and where potential further action is needed.
* Ensure that the set temperature parameters across the factory are maintained at all times (Shift Maintenance Engineer to be responsible for overseeing repairs and maintenance).
* Oversee the MCG system, ensuring that it is maintained and adhered to in respect of its function for managing shelf-life and rotation of our cooked meat supply.
* Responsible for managing the daily Concession report from MCG and making the appropriate decisions for products that have been placed on hold.
* Responsible for ensuring that any off-site third parties (e.g. coldstore, HPP and tempering facilities) meet and maintain our Technical standards.
* To ensure that hygiene practices within areas are adequate to ensure safety standards.
* To support production to actively maintain technical standards, advising on how to tackle issues that may compromise technical integrity.
* Taste panel and product quality reviews to be completed and data used to make improvements.
* Panels to include routine review of packaging performance and quality eg peel, seal and visual appearance.
* Process paperwork to completed to standard at all times, non-conformances to be raised where appropriate.
* Ensure routine checks completed by the QAs such as the slicer clean and the marinade film transfer.
* To actively improve Technical KPI’s through the implementation of robust action plans which deliver results.
* Responsible for auditing suppliers as requested by the business.
External Parties, Authorities, Customers and Suppliers, Regulation & Compliance
* Responsible for dealing with the local EHO and maintaining a good working relationship.
* Liaise and respond to the FSA and Trading Standards as necessary.
* To liaise with local authorities on all technical legislation to ensure company compliance as a food manufacturing site.
* To keep abreast of changes in relevant food safety legislation, and to make sure the business remains compliant.
* Ensure that we comply with Trading Standards Average Weight requirements.
* Ensure the company meets its full waste obligations under the Environment Agency requirements. (Along with the Health & Safety Manager). • Support site Health and Safety and lead by example on this.
* Manage relations Technically with our customers being professional, quick responding and meeting their requirements.
* This could be the major retailers and also members of the public.
* Head up site technical visits and audits ensuring the team are fully aware of all requirements.
Communication and presence on site
* Immediately escalate all key information to the senior management team (General Manager and Director) to ensure issues are acted on immediately to protect food safety and business integrity.
* Provide quality, relevant technical information to the site to ensure the team are aware of key information. Using key channels to achieve this such as Factory noticeboard, Daily QA reports, Monthly Quality pack with full KPI’s, Senior Management and daily morning meetings.
Budgetary Control
* Cost conscious on departmental budget for repairs, calibration, overtime and labour.
* Look for ways of reducing cost without compromising Technical standards. Prepare, justify and manage department labour and material costs ensuring the department runs efficiently and effectively.
* Oversee microbiological testing schedule within agreed budget and covering agreed range of areas to analyse.
Key skills, knowledge, qualifications, experience
* Food safety Level 4
* HACCP Level 4
* Minimum 5 years’ experience in a relevant Food Technical role
* Excellent up to date knowledge of job-related health and safety requirements.
Key behaviours
* Professional and proactive work ethic
* Excellent problem solving and analysis
* High attention to detail
* Driving performance by working collaboratively and engaging with technical and the factory teams.
* Ability to build excellent relationships with both internal and external customers.
* Natural enthusiasm and ability to lead by example.
* Developing the team to deliver high performance and standards.
* To put health and safety first.
* Maintain professional behaviours whilst working under pressure.
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