Donald Russell is one of Britain’s leading premium online butchers, with a proud heritage dating back to 1974. A holder of a Royal Warrant, we’re renowned for exceptional quality, traditional butchery expertise and outstanding service, supplying premium meat and fine food to customers across the UK. With more than 50 years of heritage behind us, we’re now entering an exciting new chapter as we invest in the brand, grow our direct-to-consumer business and introduce Donald Russell to the next generation of customers.
About the role
Reporting to the Head of Technical, the Technical Assistant plays a key role in supporting the food safety, quality assurance, HACCP and regulatory compliance requirements for Donald Russell and Dukeshill, operating as two direct-to-consumer food businesses.
Key responsibilities
- Support the Head of Technical in maintaining the food safety management system, HACCP plan, SOPs, forms and EHO approval documentation for the frozen direct-to-consumer operation.
- Complete, review and file technical records, including goods-in checks, freezer temperature records, dispatch checks, cleaning records, calibration records, pest control reports, maintenance records and waste records.
- Carry out routine goods-in and product checks, including packaging condition, product identification, date codes, batch details, labelling, supplier information and product temperatures.
- Monitor frozen storage controls and elevate freezer alarms, temperature excursions, damaged packaging, short-dated stock and other non-conformances promptly.
- Assist with traceability checks, product hold procedures, withdrawal and recall exercises, complaint investigations and corrective action follow-up.
- Maintain product technical information, including specifications, ingredients, allergens, storage instructions, cooking instructions, shelf-life information and supplier approval documents.
- Liaise with suppliers and manufacturers to request specifications, certificates of analysis, product testing information, shelf-life evidence and corrective action responses.
- Support internal audits, hygiene inspections, good manufacturing practice checks, verification checks and preparation for EHO / FSA, customer or third-party visits.
- Coordinate product sampling and testing arrangements where required, ensuring results are recorded, reviewed and escalated where necessary.
- Support the management of staff training records and help coordinate refresher briefings on hygiene, allergen awareness, temperature control, traceability and relevant SOPs.
- Work closely with Operations, Customer Service, Buying, Marketing and E-commerce teams to ensure technical requirements are reflected in product set-up, customer information, labelling, fulfilment and dispatch processes.
- Help maintain the controlled document system, ensuring policies, SOPs, forms and records are current, version-controlled and accessible to the relevant teams.
- Promote a positive food safety culture by challenging poor practice, supporting continuous improvement and escalating food safety or quality concerns appropriately.
- Support Head of Technical during audits for both DR Fine Foods and Dukeshill and provide support in covering critical tasks during absences / holidays.
About you
- Have experience in a technical, quality assurance, food safety, food operations, supply chain or administration role, ideally within food and drink.
- Understand basic food safety principles and HACCP-based procedures; Level 2 Food Safety is expected, and Level 3 Food Safety would be advantageous.
- Have experience with, or an interest in, frozen or chilled food storage, direct-to-consumer fulfilment, warehousing, supplier assurance or product specifications.
- Demonstrate strong attention to detail and be comfortable checking records, labels, specifications, batch information and traceability information accurately.
- Be highly organised, with the ability to maintain documents, spreadsheets, logs and follow-up actions in a controlled and consistent way.
- Communicate clearly and confidently with warehouse, operations, customer service, buying, marketing and supplier contacts.
- Be practical, calm and proactive, with the confidence to raise concerns and follow issues through to completion.
- Be comfortable working in a fast-moving operational environment where food safety, quality, customer service and dispatch deadlines all matter.
- Have good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Excel, Word and Outlook; experience with stock, ERP, e-commerce or quality management systems would be beneficial.
- Premium food, retail, frozen food, chilled food, butchery, manufacturing, technical or direct-to-consumer brand experience is advantageous but not required.
Location: Site-based - Telford, Shropshire
Salary: £25,000 to £28,000, depending on experience
Pension: We’ll match your pension contributions up to 4%
Annual Leave: 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
#J-18808-Ljbffr
