Customer Technologist

**Role Purpose**

This role is responsible for the technical management of key and developing retail customer ensuring all elements of their technical quality requirements are met. The role is also responsible for at least one major product category, which includes NPD and varietal selection, food safety and grower/producer management.

**Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities**:
**Customer relationship**
- Responsible for ensuring all customers’ requirements are shared with the technical, commercial and operations teams and suppliers as appropriate.
- Initiate creative solutions to customers requests through knowledge and research.
- Manage trials as appropriate to create best in class point of difference for the business.
- Manage product specifications through customer portals and in-house systems.
- Continually seeks ways to protect the product brand and the profit margin of the product.
- Provide data-driven information to customers as appropriate to the management of the account.
- Pro-active engagement with the customer, responsive to queries. Support with presentations and data for customer.

**Supplier management**
- Responsible for the supplier relationship for owned products.
- Accompany customer Technical Managers on visits to supplier sites.
- Work with sites to prepare for customer and third-party audits.

**Ethical**
- Demonstrates understanding of ethical standards / ETI base code and their role in supporting the wider departments.

**Teamwork**
- Responsible for communication and consultation with other internal and external departments, ensuring company processes are followed at all times.

**General support**
- Management of other relevant projects as they arise.
- Provide general support to the Customer Technical Manager and Senior Technical Manager

**Key skills and knowledge required**:

- Experience of working in fresh produce industry.
- Knowledge of HACCP and food safety is preferred.
- Knowledge of ethical trading.
- Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office programmes (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc).
- Excellent all-round communication skills.
- Team player.
- Attention to detail
- Proactive engagement and relationship building
- Passion to deliver with proven track record of providing excellent Technical and Quality service to both the customer and the business.
- Commercial acumen.
- Ability to manage detailed complex information and analyse effectively.