At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead food safety initiatives and ensure top-notch quality across our retail and café estate.
- Company: Join Hotel Chocolat, a beloved premium chocolate brand with a passion for quality.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, private healthcare, generous discounts, and hybrid working options.
- Other info: Be part of a growing company with over 140 stores and exciting career opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on food safety while working with a dynamic team in a fun environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in food safety, strong knowledge of UK regulations, and relevant qualifications required.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 50000 £ per year.
As we continue our mission to make people and nature happy through reinventing chocolate, we’re looking for a Quality & Food Safety Manager – UK Retail and Café Estate to join our Quality & Food Safety and Product Integrity Team on a permanent basis. As Quality & Food Safety Manager, you will play a vital role in shaping and maintaining the highest standards of food safety and quality across our retail and café estate. Acting as subject matter expert, you will promote a positive food safety culture by educating, supporting and influencing our teams to deliver best practice every day.
From implementing robust food safety standards and ensuring regulatory compliance, to leading initiatives across HACCP, allergen management, auditing programmes, training, and customer complaints, you will continuously be at the heart of continuously driving best practice. This is a great opportunity for someone passionate about quality, continuous improvement and making lasting impact across a dynamic retail environment.
What you’ll be doing:
- The Quality & Food Safety (Q&FS) manager will be the point of contact for all relevant departments to provide clear direction and continuous improvement for retail and café food safety ensuring this is implemented to the highest standard across all stores.
- The development and implementation of food safety policies, procedures and materials for all Hotel Chocolat retail café.
- Analyse, identify and support implementation of continuous improvement practices across our internal Quality and Food Safety Standard.
- Develop and deliver relevant food safety training as needed.
- Advise and support on the Café food safety prerequisite management programme for areas such as pest control, chemical suppliers, cleaning practices and waste management providing knowledge, advice and expertise relating to food safety and hygiene risks.
- Act as the principal contact for any café related food safety queries and complaints, ensuring they are fully reported, tracked, escalated, investigated and resolved in a timely manner.
- Contribute and consult on the launches of new store openings by providing technical assistance in relation to environment food safety considerations.
- Co-ordinate with key stakeholders for new café product launches ensuring all technical requirements are fulfilled including completing and providing new amended Allergen Matrices and approving updated point of sale and menu boards.
- Plan and conduct nutritional analysis testing for café related items using our 3rd party provider. Interpret results and produce standardised customer facing information.
- Develop relationships with pertinent regulatory agencies and enforcement officers, keep current on changes in regulations and standards that are relevant for the café and retail business.
- Cultivate key relationships with Store Managers, District Managers, Retail Operation Managers, Facilities teams, HSE and Learning and Development department, maintaining effective communication to influence, drive and implement projects and campaigns across the estate.
- Reporting and analysis of café food safety data and metrics to the Quality and Food Safety Senior Leadership Team (SLT). Utilise data and metric to drive insights and highlight areas for continuous improvements.
Who you are:
- Previous experience of working in a food safety focused role across Retail and Hospitality.
- Strong knowledge and understanding of food law, legislation, and regulations for the UK.
- Degree/HND/Level 4 in Food Science, Environmental Health, Food Safety or related discipline.
- Level 3 HACCP.
- Auditor trained.
- A good understanding of commercial impact of operational decision making.
- Train the Trainer qualified.
- Strong Microsoft office skills (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
- Knowledge of food composition and nutrition.
We’re one of the UK’s favourite premium chocolate brands, with a range of products spanning luxury gifts, alcohol and our pioneering drinking chocolate system, the Velvetiser™. A cacao pod takes years to grow – it can’t be rushed if it’s going to be just right for our products. The same can be said for Hotel Chocolat, which originally started as a mint production company before we realised it was luxury chocolate that we were really passionate about. Now, we’re market leaders in the industry. What began as an online-only business grew to over 140 stores across the UK, and we’re still growing… Today, we’re multi-category, multi-channel, and multi-territory, and our customers, colleagues, cacao farmers and suppliers all benefit from the success we make together.
Quality & Food Safety Manager – UK Retail and Café Estate in Hartford employer: Hotel Chocolat
At Hotel Chocolat, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a vibrant work culture that fosters creativity and collaboration. As a Quality & Food Safety Manager, you will enjoy competitive benefits including private healthcare, generous product discounts, and opportunities for professional growth within our dynamic retail environment. With a commitment to employee well-being and a hybrid working model, we ensure that our team members thrive both personally and professionally while contributing to our mission of making people and nature happy through chocolate.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Quality & Food Safety Manager – UK Retail and Café Estate in Hartford
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the industry, attend events, and connect with potential colleagues on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their values and how they align with your own. This will help you tailor your responses and show that you're genuinely interested in being part of the team.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Conduct mock interviews with friends or family to get comfortable with common questions. This will help you articulate your experience and skills confidently when it counts.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive about joining our mission at Hotel Chocolat.
We think you need these skills to ace Quality & Food Safety Manager – UK Retail and Café Estate in Hartford
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV is tailored to the Quality & Food Safety Manager role. Highlight your relevant experience in food safety and quality management, and don’t forget to mention any specific qualifications like HACCP or food law knowledge.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to express your passion for food safety and quality, and explain how your background makes you the perfect fit for our team. Be sure to mention why you want to work with us at Hotel Chocolat!
Showcase Your Achievements:When detailing your experience, focus on your achievements rather than just responsibilities. Use numbers and examples to demonstrate how you've improved food safety standards or resolved issues in previous roles.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply through our website for the best chance of getting noticed. It’s super easy, and you’ll be able to keep track of your application status directly with us!
How to prepare for a job interview at Hotel Chocolat
✨Know Your Stuff
Make sure you brush up on food safety regulations and standards relevant to the UK. Familiarise yourself with HACCP principles and be ready to discuss how you've implemented these in previous roles. This will show that you're not just a candidate, but a knowledgeable expert.
✨Show Your Passion
Express your enthusiasm for quality and continuous improvement during the interview. Share specific examples of how you've driven best practices in food safety and quality in past positions. This will help the interviewers see your genuine interest in making a positive impact.
✨Prepare for Scenario Questions
Expect questions that ask how you would handle specific food safety challenges or complaints. Think through potential scenarios and prepare structured responses that highlight your problem-solving skills and ability to work collaboratively with teams.
✨Build Relationships
Since this role involves liaising with various departments, be prepared to discuss how you've successfully built relationships in previous roles. Highlight your communication skills and give examples of how you've influenced others to adopt best practices in food safety.
