Technical Manager | Merthyr Tydfil

Kepak is a global food company serving international retailers and food service household names with prime cuts of meat, on-trend food concepts and ready-for-market convenience foods. 

Kepak St. Merryn in Merthyr Tydfil has combined beef and lamb processing and packing facilities. We offer beef and lamb products ranging from retail ready cuts for butchers’ counters to branded packaged meat, all as part of our service; raised on open pastures, sourced from local farmers and hand-selected by our master butchers, we produce beef and lamb products with integrity and unmatched quality assurance.

In a challenging and dynamic environment, our philosophy is always to be ‘more than’. We are more than tradition, more than quality, more than meat and more than a job.

We are on the lookout for a Technical Manager for our retail packing department to join our dynamic team!

What We Offer:

• A vibrant work environment where your contributions are valued.
• Opportunities for personal and professional growth as you work with industry leaders.
• A chance to play a key role in ensuring our products meet the highest safety and quality standards.

Your Role:

As the Retail Technical Manager, you will be at the forefront of maintaining quality assurance across our meat products for some of UK leading supermarkets. In this pivotal role, you’ll support Site Head of Technical in all aspects of technical and quality management across the entire retail function (direct retail, business to business and added value product groups) and will be responsible for implementing best practice technical systems and managing the Technical teams in those areas.

Key focus to be placed on ensuring all food safety & quality standards are consistently achieved in accordance with the relevant customer, product and process specifications with an eye for continuous improvement to develop and improve the systems and processes within the retail function in order to deliver them.

Main responsibilities:

• Implementation and maintenance of a food safety & quality management system (FSQMS) which fully supports the requirements of the retail operation and it’s supporting processes.
• Being actively engaged in all aspects of the retail business unit ensuring technical oversight, involvement and support as required.
• Providing a customer and regulatory viewpoint in relation to the compliance and integrity of all activities within the retail operation.
• Ensuring appropriate controls are in place within the operation to fully satisfy the requirements of the customer, the business and relevant stakeholders.

• Challenging the processes within the retail business unit and associated supporting functions to ensure they are effective and robust, driving compliance in all areas.

• Driving performance across all aspects of food safety & quality compliance – utilising the retail factory technical team to assess relevant products, processes and practices; understanding strengths and areas for improvement.

• Working with the retail management team to investigate any complaints, rejections, negative quality feedback and non-conformances, responding as necessary in line with site protocols. Driving root cause analysis investigation to ensure timely action and resolution to any issues raised.

• Raising awareness of key issues and focus points issuing internal non-conformance where necessary, monitoring trends and reporting as necessary to peers and departmental stakeholders in addition to site senior management.

• Actively supporting any new / existing product development projects – reviewing associated processes & documentation in line with any new products & processes being introduced.

• Previous experience within a technical / quality management role in FMCG.

• Experience with leading retailer & industry standards and food safety codes of practice.

• Strong knowledge of retail preparation and added value processes and their impact on product quality

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, able to adjust workloads based on changing priorities to meet business needs.

• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.

• Takes a collaborative and inclusive approach to work and colleagues. Able to develop and maintain a positive, proactive relationship with all relevant internal & external stakeholders.

• Able to be unbiased and objective in decision making / assessment of a situation. Confident to make a decision but also to understand when to escalate.

• A self-starter / self-motivated individual. Organised with good attention to detail. Able to work effectively under pressure with a right first time ethos.

• HACCP – Level 3 essential, Level 4 desirable

• Food Safety – Level 3 essential, Level 4 desirable

• TACCP & VACCP training essential

• Root Cause Analysis training essential

• Company Pension
• Training, development and career progression
• Employee Discount Platform – All Kepak employees are entitled to access to the WrkIt platform, which offers significant discounts and cashback with hundreds of brands.
• Refer a Friend Scheme – Earn a referral bonus up to £500 for successfully referring a friend or family member to Kepak Group.
• Bike to Work Scheme – You can buy a bike and safety equipment through a salary sacrifice scheme which reduces your taxable income – meaning you pay less tax!
• Long Service Awards – We recognise, acknowledge and award the dedication and valuable contribution of long serving employees
• GroceryAid Employee Assistance Program – help with a wide range of topics including mental health and wellbeing support, family and relationship advice, debt management, back to work support, and counselling for all Kepak colleagues and their families.
• On-site canteen

If you’re ready to take the next step in your career and make a real impact in the food manufacturing sector, we would love to hear from you!