Supplier Technical Manager

Vitacress; North Runcton; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Vitacress Herbs is seeking a Supplier Technical Manager to bridge between business and grower partners. You will oversee supplier engagement, risk management and food safety, ensuring quality and continuity across our herb supply network.

The role combines field work with strategic planning, requiring experience in agriculture or fresh produce, strong stakeholder skills and knowledge of industry standards. Hybrid pattern with travel in the UK and Europe.

Qualifications

• Experience in agriculture or fresh produce with supplier-facing roles
• Understanding of grower operations and supply chains
• Familiarity with GlobalG.A.P., BRCGS, Red Tractor, LEAF
• HACCP Level 3 certification and risk-based decision making
• Strong stakeholder and communication skills
• Qualificação relevante em agriculture/food com BASIS/FACTS aconselhável

Responsibilities

• Develop strong partnerships with growers and suppliers to enable a collaborative supply base
• Lead supplier reviews, site visits and seasonal engagement plans with risk-based prioritisation
• Support growers in achieving crop quality objectives, harvest standards and pest/disease management
• Manage supplier due diligence processes including onboarding and documentation reviews
• Coordinate supplier food safety programmes and investigations with corrective actions
• Collaborate with procurement and technical teams on supply continuity and trials

Skills

Agri-food experience

Grower operations knowledge

Stakeholder management

Industry standards knowledge

Risk-based decision making

Education

HACCP Level 3 certification

Agriculture/Food Science/Agri-Food qualification (BASIS/FACTS advantageous)

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.

Vitacress Herbs, based just outside historic Chichester, West Sussex, is a primary supplier of Herb and horticulture products in the UK. With our 23-acre site covered in specialist glass houses, we take immense pride in our work ensuring our consumers have a fresh, quality product to enhance their home cooking or enhance their garden environment. We take pleasure in ensuring the best possible standards and we will empower you to do the same. From the way we grow our products, to the relationships we maintain with customers, everyone knows exactly what is going on. We are authentic and grounded. At the centre of everything is a trust that you can feel every day at work. From the herbs that are grown on site; to the investment in facilities and the growth of the business; to growing and nurturing out talented employees, growing is truly at the heart of what we do. Join us and become a trusted partner in our business.