Food Technical and Quality Assurance Officer

Passionate about food, excited by FMCG and ready to make a real impact on quality, safety and innovation? We're looking for a proactive, detail-oriented food technical professional to join a dynamic business bringing the flavours of Italy to the UK through our Diforti range. This is an exciting, varied role combining food safety, quality assurance, regulatory compliance and product development. Working closely with the Technical Manager and Technical Director, you'll play a key role in maintaining high standards, supporting innovation and building strong relationships with Italian suppliers and customers. Fluency in both written and spoken Italian is essential and non-negotiable, as you'll work directly with Italian suppliers on technical specifications, product development and quality matters. What will you be doing? You'll help ensure our products are safe, compliant and consistently meet customer expectations. Your responsibilities will include:

• Supporting and improving the Quality Management System (QMS), food safety procedures and compliance with relevant legislation and industry standards.
• Managing supplier approval, organic certification requirements and technical documentation.
• Supporting new product development, including product specifications, label approvals, packaging and nutritional information.
• Ensuring allergen declarations and product claims, including gluten-free, vegan and organic, are accurate and compliant.
• Liaising with Italian suppliers and customers on technical requirements, specifications and product quality.
• Managing customer complaints and responding to technical enquiries and questionnaires.
• Coordinating laboratory testing, including shelf-life, microbiological, chemical and allergen testing.
• Supporting internal and external audits, traceability exercises and mass balance checks.
• Delivering food safety and hygiene training and contributing to continuous improvement across the business. What are we looking for? We're looking for someone who combines technical expertise with a genuine passion for food, strong communication skills and a hands-on approach. You'll ideally have:
• A degree in Food Science, Food Technology or a related discipline.
• Fluency in written and spoken Italian - essential.
• Experience in a food technical, quality assurance or food safety role within food manufacturing, distribution or FMCG.
• Knowledge of HACCP, food hygiene, food labelling legislation and allergen management.
• Familiarity with BRCGS or other GFSI-recognised certification programmes.
• Experience with technical specifications, supplier approval and quality documentation.
• Strong organisational skills, attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• A positive, resilient and solutions-focused approach, with the confidence to work collaboratively across the business.
• Relevant food hygiene and HACCP training is expected, with the appropriate qualification level depending on experience. What can you expect? No two days will be the same. You'll work across quality assurance, supplier management, product innovation and compliance, with the opportunity to make a tangible contribution to product quality and business performance. You'll work closely with experienced technical leadership in a fast-moving FMCG environment where a passion for great food, continuous improvement and customer satisfaction really matters. Occasional UK and overseas travel may be required, particularly for supplier visits and audits in Italy. If you love food, thrive on variety and have the technical expertise and Italian language skills to make a difference, we'd love to hear from you.

Barker Ross Group values diversity and promotes equality. No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate against any of the protected characteristics that fall under the Equality Act 2010. We encourage and welcome applications from all sections of society and are more than happy to discuss reasonable adjustments and/or additional arrangements as required to support your application.

For the purposes of the Conduct Regulations 2003, when advertising permanent vacancies we are acting as an Employment Agency, and when advertising temporary/contract vacancies we are acting as an Employment Business