Technical Development Manager (Waltham Abbey, Essex)

MorePeople; Epping Forest; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK-based fresh produce company is seeking a Technical Development Manager to act as the liaison between customers and suppliers. This role involves managing technical queries, developing robust supplier plans, and ensuring product quality and compliance. Ideal candidates should have experience in a customer-facing technical role and possess strong analytical and communication skills. Join a growing business that values innovation and delivers excellence from field to fork.

Qualifications

• Experience in a customer-facing technical role, ideally in fresh or prepared produce.
• Confident in presenting and influencing stakeholders.
• Ability to balance customer needs with business goals.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical liaison between customers and suppliers.
• Manage technical queries, complaints, and audits.
• Develop supplier plans for quality and compliance.

Skills

Strong communicator

Analytical

Detail-driven

Negotiating

Relationship-building

Job description

Location : Waltham Abbey, Essex, South East, UK

Technical Development Manager - Fresh Produce Where innovation meets impeccable quality.

Do you speak fluent retailer? Can you balance crop plans, costs, complaints and customer love? If you're a natural relationship-builder with a sharp technical mind and a passion for produce, this is your chance to join a business that's growing fast, thinking big, and delivering excellence from field to fork.

What You'll Be Doing

You'll be the beating technical heart between customers and suppliers, making sure products are safe, legal, ethical and always retailer-ready. Expect to:

• Be the first point of contact for customer technical managers
• Translate customer requirements into clear actions for internal teams and suppliers
• Own technical queries, complaints, rejections and audits - driving root cause fixes that stick
• Lead spec development, artwork projects and customer-specific initiatives
• Build and deliver robust supplier development plans across crop quality, safety, legality, integrity and ethical standards
• Support NPD / EPD with clear technical direction and commercial awareness
• Use data, trends and insights to identify improvement and cost‑saving opportunities
• Help simplify specs, streamline processes and unlock end‑to‑end efficiencies

Make an Impact

• Technical decisions align with costed goods and margin expectations
• Quality and operational teams optimise product usage
• Customer strategies land smoothly, including NPD, EPD and QIPs
• Performance is reported clearly, confidently and on time

Collaborate, Influence, Deliver

You'll work closely with:

• Commercial, Procurement, Supply Chain & Quality teams
• Site Technical Manager & Head of Technical
• Suppliers and growers
• Retailer technical managers across key UK customers

You’ll also support internal audits, BRC compliance, ethical / sustainability initiatives - and the business across the UK and overseas.

What You Bring

• Strong communicator with a collaborative mindset
• Analytical, detail‑driven and solutions‑focused
• Confident presenting, influencing and negotiating
• Excellent organisational skills
• Ability to build trust and long‑lasting relationships
• Experience in a customer‑facing technical role - ideally fresh or prepared produce
• A 'win-win' mentality : balancing customer needs with business goals

Why Join ?

You’ll play a pivotal role in shaping supplier performance and customer satisfaction. It's technical. It's commercial. It's developmental. It's produce - but with impact.

For further information, please contact Luan at MorePeople on 01780 480530