Specification Technologist - 12 month FTC
Compleat Food Group · UK
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Why this role matters
How close this job is to real sourcing and menu decisions.
This role sits inside the specification system that governs what goes into products made from continental meats, egg products and plant-based lines at a major UK manufacturer. Specifications are where raw material requirements are written down and maintained as products move from concept to delist. A technologist who understands this process can flag where animal-derived ingredients could be reduced or substituted, and where plant-based lines could be strengthened or extended. It won't hand you sign-off over sourcing criteria, but it puts you inside the machinery that decides what a product actually contains, across both an animal-product portfolio and a plant-based one. That is a genuinely useful vantage point for understanding how reformulation decisions get made in practice, and what they mean for the mix of ingredients a manufacturer relies on. The longer-term value is the fluency it builds: customer specification systems, critical path management and cross-functional work with Procurement and Technical are exactly the literacy that opens doors into more senior technical or category roles with real sourcing influence.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
Where it can lead
- Senior Specification Technologist
- NPD Technologist
- Technical Manager
These roles typically hold more direct input into raw material sourcing decisions and supplier specifications, including for animal-derived and plant-based ingredients, as products move through development.
About the role
The Compleat Food Group is hiring a Specification Technologist to join its NPD team, working cross-site on upcoming projects, either on a permanent or 12-month fixed-term contract basis. The role is home-based with occasional ad-hoc travel to sites across the group, working Monday to Thursday 08:30-17:00 and Fridays 08:30-16:00. Key responsibilities include the effective completion and maintenance of customer specifications and portal systems in line with customer category plans and company agenda, covering raw materials, packaging and legality. The postholder works alongside Procurement, Technical and Packaging teams to ensure accurate raw material and packaging supplier information is acquired and maintained. They manage the specification administration process from concept through to delist, adhere to the latest labelling guidelines and customer codes of practice, and complete documentation in support of the product development team and wider business. The role also supports artwork process amendments to produce legal packaging in line with company, retailer and industry standards, and updates specifications in line with ongoing company projects, including site product transfers. Required knowledge, experience and skills include customer specification system experience (food related), HACCP / Food Safety Training, critical path management, food manufacturing experience, planning, organisation and project management, communication at different levels of seniority across teams, presentation skills, identifying solutions, good IT skills including Microsoft Excel and Word, problem solving, self-motivation, a flexible attitude and well-developed interpersonal skills as a team player. The Compleat Food Group was formed in 2021 and owns brands including Wall's Pastry, Pork Farms, Wrights, The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co., unearthed, Vadasz, Squeaky Bean, Palace Culture, and Harvey & Brockless, alongside an own-label portfolio spanning pastry, sweet bakery, party food, olives and antipasti, added-value egg products, continental meats, dips and sauces and plant-based food, supplying UK major retailers and foodservice. The company employs over 6,000 colleagues across 17 sites with annual turnover of £1.3bn. Benefits include salary sacrifice schemes, 33 days' annual leave, retail discounts, free product handouts, wellbeing support, a personalised learning platform, mentoring scheme, and two paid volunteering days per year.</role_summary> <parameter name="builds_skills">["Customer specification system management", "Cross-functional coordination with Procurement and Technical", "Food labelling and legality compliance", "Critical path management for product launches", "Food manufacturing process knowledge"]
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Key terms to include in your CV and cover letter
What this employer is asking for, in their words. Applications are often screened by software looking for exact phrases, so if these describe your experience, use their wording.
- customer specification systems
- HACCP
- food safety training
- critical path management
- food manufacturing experience
- raw materials knowledge
- packaging compliance
- labelling guidelines
- project management
- cross-functional communication
- presentation skills
- problem solving
- Microsoft Excel
- stakeholder coordination
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Frame your interest around ensuring product specifications are accurate, legally compliant and efficiently managed through the critical path, emphasising attention to detail, cross-functional coordination and risk management (legality, labelling compliance). Building HACCP/food safety literacy and customer specification system experience are the concrete credentials to point to for this track, alongside familiarity with critical path management processes.
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