Technical Manager – Supplier & Product

Job Introduction

Selfridges has always been much more than a shop. We’re a social space where everyone is welcome and feels a sense of belonging, a creative playground where culture and commerce collide, and an experimental hub where you can discover the most innovative and sustainable ideas in retail. We’re here to help make the world brighter. And you can be an important part of this. We’ll talk more about the role below, but before we get to that, let’s share with you the good stuff…  

Rewards and benefits 

Life at Selfridges is dynamic, exciting, and always evolving. As well as working with some of the most cutting-edge, iconic and boundary-pushing brands, designers and creatives, we also offer our team members opportunities to help make a positive difference through our network of communities, both within and outside Selfridges. Here are just a few of our rewards and benefits that help make our team experience that bit more extraordinary. 

• Flexible working options to benefit you, your family and your wellbeing that can include part-time, flexi-time, job sharing or hybrid working

• Generous annual leave that increases with length of service 

• Up to five paid volunteering days – from beach cleans to co-ordinating food and clothing donations 

• Family leave that suits your set up including Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Surrogacy and Shared Parental leave policies 

• Defined pension contribution scheme  

• Generous bonus and/or commission scheme  

• Enviable team member discount including sale previews and double discount days 

• Exclusive local discounts on a range of restaurants, bars, beauticians and entertainment 

• Subsidised gym memberships  

• Annual travel pass and cycle-to-work schemes  

• A sustainable car salary sacrifice scheme 

• Several internal communities to get involved in from our Diversity Board and Green Warriors who are leading the charge on D,E&I and sustainability, to the Wellbeings who are always thinking of new ways to champion healthy minds, bodies and routines for our team members 

• Workplace Options, our confidential team member assistance programme for when life gets tricky or you need a little guidance 

• Access to a wide range of training programmes to help your career development 

Read on to find out how you can play your part in Reinventing Retail… 

Role Responsibility

As the Technical Manager - Supplier and Product, you will have overall responsibility for driving the highest safety and quality standards for our supplier assurance and product specification programme, and at our supply chain distribution centre. Technical product & supplier development of our Selfridges’ own label range is also the responsibility of this Technical Manager.

As Technical Manager – Supplier and Product, you will:

• Have a solid food technical background, across a vast range of product categories, and ideally across a multi-site operation - in either manufacturing and supply chain/restaurants-foodservice and/or the retail environment.
• Have excellent knowledge in all areas of food legislation.  You will be confident and experienced in your approach to ensuring compliance.
• Be competent at finding opportunities to implement continuous improvements across food safety, quality and hygiene systems; leading and championing new projects and the associated supplier and product approvals.
• Manage and review the supplier audit programme for Selfridges’ own label and own bought suppliers, ensuring that existing suppliers are monitored, by qualified auditors, to approved audit protocols.
• Take a due diligence approach to effectively manage all technical aspects of the NPD Stage and Gate process for our Selfridges’ own label range.
• Have significant experience leading a multi-disciplinary HACCP team.
• Provide visibility to relevant stakeholders on overall supplier and product compliance and ongoing improvement in identification and management of risk; deputising for the Head of Product Compliance at Exec Board of Directors meetings (e.g. by creating monthly and/or quarterly reports to share).
• Work collaboratively with the Technical Manager – Food Safety, supporting in their absence to guide their team to manage in-store food safety requirements e.g. liaising with EHOs and concession partners.
• Lead the product recall/withdrawal process across our Foodhalls, Restaurants and Distribution Centre.

The Ideal Candidate

• A highly experienced leader of people and processes; able to Identify and ensure your team receive appropriate training to support their development. You will be able to effectively monitor and manage performance, providing coaching when required.
• Able to demonstrate excellent communication/interpersonal skills, at various levels across our business, providing evidence your ability to influence and drive world class food safety standards.
• A competent Lead Auditor with extensive supplier {manufacturing and food service} auditing experience.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently. In our fast-paced environment, you will be commercially astute, adaptable to change, with outstanding organisational skills. You will be able to make decisions and prioritise tasks & projects for yourself and your team.
• Experienced at writing technical reports for a non-technical audience, able to convey key information succinctly. Micro-soft office skills (Outlook, word, Excel. PowerPoint), and use of web-based internal systems is essential.
• Committed supporting our Project Earth - sustainability strategy to reinvent retail and change the way we shop and do business.

Qualified to the following level:

• Degree/HND in Food Science/Food Technology, Environmental Health or related discipline
• Level 4 HACCP
• Trained Trainer (large groups)
• An example of our values, a trusted and respected colleague – focussed on inclusion (embrace every self), creating the extraordinary and leading with purpose. 

This guide represents a summary of the role, however all team members are expected to be flexible in the work they undertake, which may change from time to time, according to the needs of the business

About the Company

Everyone is welcome 

Selfridges is a place where we want everyone to feel a sense of belonging. We embrace every self and are committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive working culture. We are leading with purpose to not only increase the visibility and recognition of under-represented talent within our organisation, but the wider industry too. Here at Selfridges, everyone is welcome – irrespective of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age or disability, we stand by equal opportunities for all.   

Our awards cabinet  

We’re not ones to brag, but since you asked...Selfridges has won the award for The World’s Best Department Store an unprecedented four times at the IGDS awards, with an additional award for the Best Sustainability Campaign. We were also recognised as a ‘Best 25 Big Company to Work For 2020’ as awarded by The Sunday Times. 

Selfridges