Technologist

Co-op Insurance; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK-based insurance company seeks an Ambient Technologist to enhance product quality across various categories. You will collaborate with suppliers and internal teams to ensure compliance with quality, safety, and ethical standards. The successful candidate will hold a food technology degree or have relevant experience, along with strong communication skills. This position offers a hybrid work model based in Manchester, competitive salary, and generous benefits including an annual bonus and training opportunities.

Benefits

Annual bonus based on performance

28 days holiday rising to 32

Pension with up to 10% employer contributions

Access to subsidised onsite gym

Coaching and training for career development

Early access to earned pay through Stream

Qualifications

• Understanding of the operational side of food retail.
• Food technology degree or equivalent technical experience with a retailer or manufacturer.
• Excellent people and networking skills.

Responsibilities

• Support the Technical Manager and drive quality specification of Co‑op products.
• Work with suppliers to ensure quality is defined and measurable.
• Manage supplier performance for compliance to quality, safety, and legal policies.

Skills

Excellent people and networking skills

Strong communication and influencing skills

Co‑operative and collaborative approach

Education

Food technology degree or equivalent technical experience

Job description

Ambient Technologist
Up to £45,000 plus great benefits, including a company car (Work Level 6A)
Manchester city centre, in this role you’ll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and coming into the office 2 days a week, with UK travel to supplier sites and occasional overseas travel

What you’ll do

• Support the Technical Manager and own and drive the quality specification of Co‑op products across biscuits, snacking, sweet grocery and home baking categories.
• Work with suppliers and category colleagues to make sure quality is defined and measurable for our customers.
• Manage supplier performance by driving compliance to quality, safety, legal and ethical policies and processes, sharing the results of these with internal and external partners.
• Pro‑actively address under‑performance within GSCOP guidelines.
• Conduct ongoing assessments of the supply base to make sure we use suppliers whose competencies, capability, capacity and alignment with our policy requirements meet or exceed customer expectations.
• Work collaboratively with the Category team to support the launch of new products, from product approval to specification and QAS signoff.
• Share expertise and identify solutions that drive innovation in category and improvements in product quality, safety and legality.
• Identify and deliver shelf‑life improvements, efficiencies and value chain opportunities in the supplier base to support the category commercial strategy.
• Build and maintain relationships with all external partners, liaising with external agencies as required.

What you'll bring

• A food technology degree, or equivalent technical experience with a retailer or manufacturer.
• An understanding of the operational side of food retail.
• Excellent people and networking skills.
• Strong communication and influencing skills.
• A co‑operative and collaborative approach.

Why Co‑op?

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance).
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays.
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions.
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ).
• Coaching and training to support your career development.
• Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it.

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve.
We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.
We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion

Please note that we may close applications for this role early.

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes up to 50 minutes. If you're a current Co‑op colleague, this does not need to be completed.