Technical Coordinator in Preston

At Warburtons, family is at the heart of our business. Five generations' worth of expertise that goes into making our bakery products allows us to continue a tradition of baking inherited over the past 150 years. Warburtons is the largest bakery brand in the UK, but that doesn't allow us to rest on our laurels. We are pioneers of the industry and ambitious market leaders, always seeking to challenge ourselves and convention. It is part of our philosophy to provide honest good sense on issues of health and well-being, helping the whole family to enjoy our products as part of a healthy, balanced diet, through a range of products to suit all meal occasions, lifestyles and tastes.

Are you a meticulous problem-solver with a passion for baking and an eye for technical detail? Warburtons are seeking a highly organised and proactive Technical Coordinator to join our team and ensure the smooth, efficient production of our quality baked products. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and enjoy bridging the gap between baking artistry and technical precision, we want to hear from you!

Your strategic thinking and operational expertise will help us maintain the highest standards in ensuring the freshest products are delivered on time and in full to our customers.

The Role

As a Technical Coordinator, you will report to the Site Technical Manager, and play a crucial role in maintaining and driving product quality standards, improving our production processes, ensuring adherence to food safety standards and optimising efficiency. You will be the go-to person for technical troubleshooting and will work closely with our Compliance, Production and Engineering teams. You'll support the Technical Manager to maintain food safety, hygiene and quality standards.

• Ensure site compliance across bakery and depots through data, audits and systems, and act as site quality lead when the Technical Manager is absent.
• Quality Control: Implement and maintain robust quality control procedures, conducting regular process audits to ensure consistent product quality and adherence to specifications.
• Product Assessment: Testing products in our small laboratory, monitor quality parameters and identify any areas outside of our specification. Collate samples for external testing and sampling.
• Bakery Trials: Co-ordinate site bakery trials for existing or new ingredients, packaging and products.
• Document management: Ensure all our process specifications are accurate and up to date. Maintain accurate production process records and quality control checks, generating regular reports on quality performance and Key KPIs.
• Equipment Calibration: Manage our internal calibration schedule, liaising with both internal and external engineers to ensure the accuracy of our quality & food safety monitoring equipment.
• Training & Support: Provide technical support and training to bakery staff on production processes and quality.
• Food Safety: Be part of the HACCP & QMS Internal Audit teams, providing support to the site food safety team, ensuring all relevant food safety regulations and standards are maintained.
• Problem Solving: Analyse production processes, utilise data capture monitoring systems, be involved in root cause problem solving sessions, identify areas for improvement and implement solutions to optimise quality, efficiency and reduce waste.

Essential Ingredients

• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment with Food Safety or quality control experience.
• Excellent IT skills including experience of working with various IT systems, Excel and spreadsheets.
• Strong team working ethic.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and as part of a wider site function.
• Good relationship builder- collaborative in approach, establishing credible, trusted relationships with both internal and external contacts at all levels.
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong balanced judgement and use a pragmatic common-sense approach.
• Attention to detail and high, consistent levels of accuracy.
• Prioritising and Organisation - Ability to plan, organise and monitor a diverse workload.
• Quality data & KPIs: Collate, trend and report QMS data to drive decisions.
• Product quality reviews: Routine assessments, benchmarking and corrective actions.
• Trials & improvements: Coordinate trials, analyse results, document outcomes.
• Audits & compliance: Conduct internal audits and close corrective actions.
• Training & culture: Champion quality through coaching and clear communication.

Desirable Skills & Experience:

• Relevant qualifications in food science, or a related field.
• Experience working with NPD, ingredients and carrying out product trials.
• Experience with bakery equipment and processes.
• Experience working with digital data capture, optical vision systems and document management systems.
• Knowledge of lean manufacturing principles.
• Proven experience in a technical coordination or quality control role within a food production environment (bakery experience preferred).
• Strong understanding of food safety regulations and HACCP principles.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong organisational and time management skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Technical aptitude and ability to understand and troubleshoot machinery leading to issues with product quality.

Extra Dough

At last and by no means least you will want to know what your bread's worth. A slice of the annual profits (discretionary profit share). Family time is important to us so as well as your holiday entitlement, we'll give you the opportunity to purchase up to an extra week's annual leave. Award winning pension scheme with company contributions. Life assurance. Products you will love along with deals and discounts for you and the family through our Extra Dough website. Continued investment in your personal development. Fully stocked kitchens filled with our delicious products for you to enjoy with your daily brew! Support for your health and wellbeing, including access to free physiotherapy, 24/7 access to a confidential helpline for practical advice and a comprehensive occupational health service.

We respect and value difference. We look to create an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Companies that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, or any other aspect which makes them unique, are proven to be better companies. More importantly, creating an environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best work, is the right thing to do.