Technical Packaging & Merchandise Manager

Costa Coffee; St Albans; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Share Investment Plan (SIP)

Annual discretionary bonus

Smart pension with employer match (10%

Costa Financial Support Fund

50% discount in Costa stores

Private medical cover

Job summary

Costa Coffee is seeking a Technical Packaging & Merchandise Manager to deliver EPD & NPD projects, ensuring packaging, merchandise and gifting are functional, food safe and compliant with global regulatory requirements. You will drive supplier performance through continuous improvement of processes, standards and testing across regions.

Based in St Albans, the role offers a flexible hybrid setup with opportunities to influence brand packaging, sustainability programs and cross-functional

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of global packaging regulations and sustainability requirements.
• Experience in FMCG packaging development from concept to launch.
• Ability to implement technical standards and quality systems (e.g., BRC, ISO, HACCP) globally.
• Excellent communication and collaboration across functions.
• Self-starter with agile approach and ability to manage complexity.

Responsibilities

• Lead packaging, merchandise and gifting projects (NPD & EPD) ensuring compliance and sustainability.
• Develop and embed global packaging processes, standards and testing protocols.
• Own regulatory approvals across regions and manage supplier specifications.
• Audit, risk-manage suppliers and ensure delivery per specs.
• Collaborate with Sustainability, Marketing, Procurement and Supply Chain to drive growth.

Job description

At Costa Coffee, we are what we craft. We’re reimagining coffee experiences in over 50 countries and counting, as a key part of the Coca-Cola System. Whether you get your coffee in a store, from a machine, at home, or on the go – we’ve got you covered.

The Technical Packaging & Merchandise Manager is responsible for delivering EPD & NPD projects ensuring Costa packaging, merchandise and gifting is functional, food safe and compliant with global regulatory requirements. Managing suppliers performance through continuous improvement of processes, procedures and technical standards will be a critical part of the role to ensuring global consistency of packaging, merchandise and gifting, brand standards and sustainability requirements.

You will leverage your understanding of packaging materials, and technologies to ensure Costa packaging has consistent quality, operational performance, and excites our consumers, customers and drive growth for Costa.

Our teams make a difference. Whether that’s working on new tech for the perfect pour, helping our teams grow, creating award-winning campaigns, crunching the numbers, or developing the latest exciting menu item; together, we stir up success.

We may be a global brand, but we haven’t forgotten our roots. That’s where the Costa Foundation and our fantastic community agenda come in. Whatever your role, you can help us change lives in coffee growing communities and help your local community too.

We also want to help you grow in your career through amazing experiences, our apprenticeship scheme, and development programmes. At Costa, you can go beyond the day-to-day.

And as a Technical Packaging & Merchandise Manager there’s never been a better time to join.

So, why Costa?

We didn’t become a global coffee brand by sitting back. When you work here, you join a community that values passion, progression and integrity, with some pretty brilliant perks to sweeten the deal:

• Own a piece of Costa’s success by becoming a share owner in Coca-Cola with our Share Investment Plan (SIP)
• An annual discretionary bonus scheme, based on business results and individual contribution.
• A smart pension that saves you money on tax and national insurance, and matches your contributions up to 10%
• The Costa Financial Support Fund, supporting team members who find themselves in unexpected financial pressure
• 50% discount in all Costa-owned stores, and 25% off in other participating stores
• Private medical cover thanks to our Private Healthcare scheme
• And that’s not all. Explore even more of our perks here: https://bit.ly/costaperks

We’re passionate about being a great place to work, where you can bring your unique self into our mix. We firmly support diversity, equity and inclusion, and continue to work with our teams to shape the future of our culture and values: Disciplined to Deliver, Passion for Progress, Win with Warmth, Courage to Challenge and Trusted Team Players.

What you’ll do:

Being a Technical Packaging and Merchandise Manager is about so much more than bringing our coffee to the world. It’s your chance to stir up real success - which means you’ll be:

• Lead the delivery of packaging, merchandise and gifting projects (NPD & EPD), ensuring products are compliant, food safe, sustainable and aligned to brand standards.
• Develop and embed global packaging processes, technical standards and testing protocols to ensure consistency, quality and operational performance.
• Own specification management and regulatory compliance across all regions, maintaining approvals and staying ahead of emerging packaging legislation.
• Manage supplier assurance, including auditing, risk management and ensuring consistent delivery against agreed specifications throughout the product lifecycle.
• Partner cross-functionally (e.g. Sustainability, Marketing, Procurement, Supply Chain) to design innovative, fit-for-purpose packaging that enhances customer experience and drives growth.

Who you are:

• Strong knowledge of global packaging regulations, food safety standards and sustainability requirements, with experience across materials such as plastics and paper-based packaging.
• Proven experience in end-to-end packaging development within FMCG, from concept through to launch, including project delivery and process improvement.
• Ability to develop and embed technical standards, processes and quality systems (e.g. BRC, ISO, HACCP) within a global organisation.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work cross-functionally and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Self-starter with a structured, agile approach—able to manage complexity, adapt to changing priorities and drive results in a fast-paced environment.

Where you’ll work:

Right now, our Support Centre teams work flexibly, blending home working with in-person time whenever it matters most – whether that’s a team moment, a creative session, or simply coming together to share ideas.

We’re excited to be moving into a new home for our brand in St Albans in January 2027 – an inspiring space from which our Support Centre teams will work three days a week to connect and collaborate in-person to bring our bold ambition to life.

For any reasonable adjustments and general queries, please get in touch with the recruitment team.