Supplier Technical Manager

Vitacress; Chichester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Vitacress Herbs is seeking a Supplier Technical Manager to bridge our business and grower partners, driving quality, risk management and sustainable growth across the supplier network. The role blends field work with collaboration across procurement, technical and operational teams.

You will lead supplier reviews, ensure crop quality objectives, support trials and manage due diligence, with travel to growers in the UK and Europe as needed.

Qualifications

• Experience in agriculture, fresh produce, or supplier-facing technical environments.
• Understanding of grower operations and crop production systems.
• Knowledge of GlobalG.A.P., BRCGS, Red Tractor, LEAF and ethical frameworks.
• HACCP Level 3 and risk-based decision making in food production or primary agriculture.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with ability to influence outcomes.
• Qualification in Agriculture or related field, BASIS/FACTS advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Strengthen confidence in supply base through robust assurance and supplier engagement.
• Provide timely insight into crop performance, supplier risks and issues.
• Improve supplier performance through action planning and follow-up.
• Support ethical sourcing and environmental commitments throughout the supply chain.
• Drive consistency in quality, food safety and specification compliance from source to customer.
• Share best practice across the grower network to enhance efficiency.

Skills

Agriculture

Fresh produce

Horticulture

Food manufacturing

Supplier-facing tech

Education

Agriculture or Food Science degree

Job description

Job opportunity: Supplier Technical Manager

Role: full time, permanent
Working Pattern: Hybrid with flexibility for travel to our growers in the UK, Europe and beyond
Location: Vitcaress Herbs, Lagness Road, Runcton, Chichester PO20 1LJ with travel to our farms and suppliers
Salary: Competitive, with eligibility for incentive scheme, company pension and private medical insurance

Do you enjoy building trusted partnerships that create resilient and sustainable supply chains? Are you passionate about helping growers succeed while driving quality, innovation and continuous improvement? Would you like to influence the future of herb production across a global supplier network?

At Vitacress Herbs, we're looking for a Supplier Technical Manager to become the key link between our business and our grower partners. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of our supply chain, combining technical expertise, relationship management and strategic thinking to support quality, resilience and sustainable growth. Working closely with Procurement, Technical and Operational teams, you'll spend time both in the field and across our supply network, supporting growers, identifying opportunities, managing risk and helping to shape the future of our supply base.

In this role you'll...

• Develop strong working partnerships with growers and suppliers, supporting a transparent and collaborative approach across the supply base.
• Lead supplier-facing reviews, site visits and seasonal engagement plans, ensuring key risks, priorities and opportunities are identified and addressed.
• Support growers in delivering crop quality objectives, including harvest standards, pest and disease management, foreign body reduction and risk mitigation activities.
• Manage supplier due diligence processes, including onboarding, documentation reviews, warranty packs and compliance monitoring.
• Coordinate supplier food safety and technical programmes, supporting investigations, corrective actions and preventative measures where issues arise.
• Work alongside procurement and technical colleagues to support supply continuity, variety development, agricultural trials and future sourcing initiatives.

You can do this if you have...

• Experience within agriculture, fresh produce, horticulture, food manufacturing or a supplier-facing technical environment.
• A practical understanding of grower operations, crop production systems and agricultural supply chains.
• Knowledge of recognised industry standards such as GlobalG.A.P., BRCGS, Red Tractor, LEAF and ethical compliance frameworks.
• HACCP Level 3 certification and experience applying risk-based decision making within food production or primary agriculture.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence outcomes and build credibility at all levels.
• A qualification in Agriculture, Food Science, Agri-Food or a related discipline, with BASIS, FACTS or additional crop-production qualifications considered advantageous.

You'll do this for us...

• Strengthen confidence in our supply base through robust assurance, compliance oversight and proactive supplier engagement.
• Provide timely insight into crop performance, supplier risks and emerging issues, helping the business make informed decisions.
• Improve supplier performance through effective action planning, monitoring and follow-up activities.
• Support the delivery of ethical sourcing, human rights due diligence and environmental commitments throughout the supply chain.
• Drive consistency in quality, food safety and specification compliance from source through to customer delivery.
• Identify opportunities to enhance efficiency, introduce new approaches and share best practice across our grower network.