Senior Specifications Technologist - The Cake Crew : Job Details

Due to growth and new business, The Cake Crew are seeking a Senior Specifications Technologist to join their expanding technical team.  This is a hybrid role with and option to work up to 3 days on site and two days from home following a probationary/training period, or totally site-based if preferred.  

The purpose of the role is the completion of retailer, customer and own brand specifications including: Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Co-op, Aldi, Morrisons, ASDA, Lidl, Premier (Hamilton Grant), The Cake Crew and any others as required.  Management and administration of the retailer systems and supporting members of the specification team.

The ideal candidte will be a well organised individual able to use their own initiative to meet tight deadlines, working both as part of a team and individually. This person must be able to clearly communicate internally within the teams and departments as well as with retailers and 3rd parties via both verbal and written means. Must be fully IT literate in the Microsoft package.

Key areas of accountability are:

• The writing and completion of all finished product specifications for retailers, customers and own brand products
• Supplier specification approval and supplier onboarding
• Fully knowledgeable in primary accounts requirements including retailer/customer codes of practise/standards
• Have basic understanding of other accounts and support specification completions where required e.g. holiday cover/higher volume work load in other accounts
• Management of critical path task completion for primary accounts
• Specification completion to a gold (high) standards, right first time and to meet KPIs
• Management and administration of the retailer systems, including specification and artwork systems. Communication of any notifications from these systems internally to the correct personnel
• Generation of pack copies for own brand specifications, including sub and legal name generation
• Artwork - review and approval including design, content, cutter guides, CAD references etc. Liaison with 3rd parties and retailers/customers during artwork process and communication with both artwork and print houses
• Support the NPD team with theoretical nutritional calculations and submission form completion as part of the NPD gate process and product submissions
• Complete “cross checks” in conjunction with NPD team on factory paperwork, recipes, specifications and any other information to ensure all are matching and correct
• Complete “specification cross check” between the team ahead of spec submission to ensure all information is correct
• Responsible for Brandbank reviews, including checking and approving product photos/information before product is launched live on a retailer systems 
• Partake in pre and post launch reviews as required
• Basic understanding of Brexit requirements and ability to calculate codes relating to this
• Attend NPD meetings and any others relevant to role
• Support in additional projects relevant to role e.g. packaging matrix, recipe/Product Information Guide guide review etc
• Awareness of supplier approval and raw material specification knowledge and supporting raw material risk assessment and supplier approval process as required
• Basic knowledge of BRC and retailer audit requirements
• Awareness and understanding of any legislation/regulation relating to role
• Any other reasonable requirements of the business e.g. internal audit completion
• Support in training and developing other specification writers as required

If you have a passion for food and in particular bakery products, and want to be part of a successful and growing family owned business in the hears of Snowdonia National Park, go to www.thecakecrew.co.uk to apply or contact for more details or to submit your CV.