Specifications Technologist

Zest; West Midlands; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Zest is recruiting a Specification Technologist to join a cross-functional technical team at a UK food business that works with major retailers. You will input recipes, nutrition calculations, allergen information, raw material criteria, process flows and packaging data to ensure accuracy and compliance.

You will help approve artwork and write technical copy for packs, challenging packaging sustainability and ensuring labeling law compliance.

Qualifications

• A degree in Food Science or a related subject.
• Strong understanding of food safety and ingredient use.
• Able to move between multiple websites and systems that change often.

Responsibilities

• Input recipes, nutrition calculations, allergen information, raw material criteria, process flows, and packaging data.
• Manage supplier certificates and reports, upload to retailer portals, and respond to supplier queries.
• Support audits, product labeling compliance, and sustainability evaluations.

Skills

Attention to detail

Initiative

Teamwork

Education

Degree in Food Science

Tools

Retailer specification platforms

Job description

You already know the job: the platforms, the portals, the certificates that expire at the worst possible moment. What matters is the team you do it in. This is a cross-functional technical team where your attention to detail is valued and you are trusted to use your own initiative.

Zest is recruiting a Specification Technologist to join a cross-functional technical team at a UK food business that works with major retailers. You will help complete retailer own label and branded product specifications and see how each piece of technical information fits into the finished product.

Day to day, you will input recipes, nutrition calculations, allergen information, raw material criteria, process flows, critical control points, microbiological information and packaging data. You will help approve artwork, write the technical copy for packs and labels to current labelling law and challenge the sustainability impact of packaging components. You will also keep supplier certificates and reports up to date, upload them to retailer portals, handle supplier queries on ingredient approvals, allergen evidence and recyclability and support site testing, internal and external audits and recycling assessments.

You will bring a degree in Food Science or a related subject, with an understanding of food safety and ingredient use. You will be IT literate and confident moving between different websites and systems that change often and experience with some or all of the main retailer specification and artwork platforms is a real plus. You will have a strong eye for detail and good spelling and grammar, a curious, always-learning mindset and the confidence to double check and challenge information in a considerate and respectful way. You will be happy using your own initiative as part of a small team.

Please Note: Sponsorship is not available for this position and all candidates must have full license to work in the UK and not be requiring sponsorship now or in the future.

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