Senior Food Safety Manager

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about us

the ideal candidate :

• At least 8 years' experience working in a food safety and auditing role.
• Internal & external audit experience and a deep understanding of requirements for GFSI accreditations.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, microbiology and food regulations.
• Expertise across a range of different food categories.
• Experience working with international suppliers (Asian suppliers preferred).
• Willing to lone-travel to Asia multiple times throughout the year.
• Excellent attention to detail whilst never losing sight of the bigger picture.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills & able to work with a number of different suppliers.
• Qualified to degree level in food science or a similar subject.
• Have a passion for food & Asian inspired food in particular.

about us:

itsu is the healthy eating, Asian inspired quick service retail & grocery brand with over 70 stores in the UK and a leading grocery business across Europe and beyond. Renowned for its best-in-class food made fresh in every shop every day, itsu has huge global ambitions with a commitment to continue to open many more stores and intensify the growth of its already thriving grocery arm. With its best-is-class healthy food, latest technology, innovation, and talented workforce, itsu is the future of fast food.

D&I statement:

itsu [grocery] is committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation. We encourage applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply for all of our opportunities.

When applying for a role with us, please remove your: full name, name of University/School, address, email address and any photos of you on your CV and covering letter. non-anonymised CVs may not be reviewed.

Scope of the role:

Overarching:

• Responsible for the safety of itsu [grocery] products and suppliers.
• Responsible for driving awareness and improvements in food safety culture within itsu [grocery] and the supply base.
• Accountability for supplier management and product testing procedures and records.
• Provide expert advice and support on food safety incidents.

Key responsibilities:

1. Responsible for conducting food safety audits against the itsu [grocery] food safety standard and working with suppliers to meet the requirements of the standard.
2. Support the Technical Controller to maintain and improve the food safety & quality management system and ensure AA Grade certification against the BRC A&B standard is maintained.
3. Responsible for creating the food safety and authenticity surveillance programme and identifying food safety risks. Provides support to the category technical teams on managing out of specification results, utilise root cause analysis and puts corrective and preventative actions in place.
4. Has oversight of product complaints and provides expert advice to the category teams during investigations to ensure the true root cause is identified and appropriate corrective and preventative actions are put in place.
5. Supports the Head of Technical in serious incident management (where required), conducts reactive supplier visits, creates technical improvement plans to mitigate risks and prevent reoccurrence.
6. Owner of strategic technical workstreams to create a step change in product safety, quality and legality.

what we offer:

• Competitive salary
• Competitive bonus scheme
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays (two bank holidays are interchangeable for other religious holidays)
• Health insurance
• Company pension scheme
• Hybrid working (2 days wfh)
• Opportunity to work from home abroad
• 50% employee discount in itsu shops
• Free itsu lunch
• Discounts at major retailers
• A sizeable training budget to support your ongoing development