Job Introduction
As we continue our mission to make people and nature happy through reinventing chocolate, we’re looking for a Supplier Quality Assurance Lead (Ingredients & 3rd Party) to join our Quality & Food Safety and Product Integrity (Technical) team on a permanent basis.
As Supplier Quality Assurance Lead, you will play a primary role in the management and continuous improvement of the Hotel Chocolat supply base, ensuring that our ingredients & third party produced products meet the standards set out by the business. You will also be responsible for ensuring that the Hotel Chocolat Café estate meets the required quality and food safety standards.
You will leverage strong internal and external relationships to ensure that all suppliers are monitored against a robust set of progressive KPI’s and that continuous improvement is driven into the technical supply of materials.
As well as a competitive salary and a range of company benefits, you’ll receive 50% discount on all products, and a 70% discount for you and your guests when you stay at our Rabot Estate hideaway on the paradise island of Saint Lucia.
Here at Hotel Chocolat, we've adopted hybrid working. You’ll join us on site for 3 days a week to engage and collaborate as a team, and for the other two days – you can work from wherever you like! The onsite locations for this role are based in Huntingdon (Cambs), St. Neots (Cambs) and Harpole (Northampton). There will also be travel to suppliers as required.
What you’ll be doing….
- Strong engaged peer to peer relationships within the Hotel Chocolat business – most notably with counterparts in the Procurement team as well as Product Solutions, Operations Quality & Food Safety, Supply Planning & Material control.
- Drive strong engaged relationships with key suppliers ensuring they are managed against a robust set of KPI’s that will drive progressive improvement.
- Support the Supplier Quality Assurance Manager by ensuring product safety & authenticity are maintained across the business, and report and escalate where required. (VACCP assessment).
- Ensure all supplier non-conformances are fully investigated in a timely manner, and communication is shared with all relevant departments and recorded, dealing directly with suppliers when required.
- Assess and monitor suppliers’ performance and support the business supplier performance review meetings by providing insight and KPI action plans.
- Ensure raw material safety, quality, legality & authenticity standards are maintained across the business (manufacturing & retail) through a robust data driven risk assessment against Hotel Chocolat standards.
- Carry out supplier audits against the planned schedule and ensure clear and constructive feedback is shared.
- Creating and maintaining specification databases/systems as required including the approval and system set-up of new materials.
- Supporting the supply & importation of Hotel Chocolat products into required international territories.
- Support the wider Quality & Food Safety and Product Integrity Team with product analysis and authenticity testing as required.
- Handle customer complaints related to ingredients and 3rd Party products
- UK & International travel as required for supplier visits.
In addition, the Supplier Quality Assurance Lead will support the wider Quality & Food Safety and Product Integrity department when required, playing an active part in tasks such as internal auditing, incident investigation & management and supporting the annual 3rd Party audit. The role may also be called upon to deputise for the Supplier Quality Assurance Manager when required.
Who you are…
Essential
- Proven experience of building and maintaining strong relationships.
- Demonstrable auditing experience.
- Proven experience within a supplier focused role or similar within the food industry.
- Strong knowledge of the food industry with focus on the management of supplier specifications.
- Food Safety Level 3 qualification.
- HACCP Level 3 qualification.
Desirable
- Experience in managing raw materials associated with chocolate and confectionary items.
- Experience of the technical requirements for international supply.
- VACCP experience.
- Continuous desire and awareness of any new and changing risks affecting the food industry.
Who are we?
We’re one of the UK’s favourite premium chocolate brands, with a range of products spanning luxury gifts, alcohol and our pioneering drinking chocolate system, the Velvetiser™.
A cacao pod takes years to grow – it can’t be rushed if it’s going to be just right for our products. The same can be said for Hotel Chocolat, which originally started as a mint production company before we realised it was luxury chocolate that we were really passionate about.
Now, we’re market leaders in the industry. What began as an online-only business grew to over 160 stores across the UK, and we’re still growing… Today, we’re multi-category, multi-channel, and multi-territory, and our customers, colleagues, cacao farmers and suppliers all benefit from the success we make together.
To learn more about us and read about our People Pledge – our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion – click here: hotelchocolat.com/uk/engaged-ethics/our-people.html