Careers that can change the food system
The job that changes what a food business sells might be called…
The food system won't change because someone makes a speech at a conference. It changes when the person who writes a supermarket's supplier standards raises them, and when the person who sets a category's targets shifts more of it towards plant proteins.
Those people work in food businesses, and hardly anyone who wants to transform the food system applies for their jobs. So, we find those jobs, screen them for genuine influence over what gets bought, and spell out exactly what each one could change.
Category Buyer, Responsible Sourcing Manager, Sustainability Manager
All roles
26 roles
- Broader food sustainabilitySenior Agronomist and Resillience LeadM&S Careers · LondonSeniorTechnical background neededHybridPosted 15 Sept 2026Proximity to influence: 2 out of 5. Builds towards influenceProximity to influence: 2 out of 5. Builds towards influenceWhy this role mattersThis is a genuine strategic seat inside M&S's food business, owning a category supply base and shaping sourcing, varietal and resilience strategy across Produce.Read the full notes →
- Broader food sustainabilityQuality Assurance OfficerNew England Seafood · West Ewell, Epsom£30,000Entry levelTechnical background neededOn sitePosted 13 Sept 2026Proximity to influence: 3 out of 5. Works on protein sourcingProximity to influence: 3 out of 5. Works on protein sourcingWhy this role mattersThis QA role sits inside the daily flow of fish and shellfish coming into a major seafood processor's site. You'd be running intake checks that confirm approved supplier status, auditing raw material handling, and maintaining the Approved Supplier Matrix that determines which suppliers keep shipping product in.Read the full notes →
- Broader food sustainabilityRD&A Senior Technologist IIKerry · Bristol, South West England£51,154 (estimated)SeniorTechnical background neededPosted 3 Sept 2026Proximity to influence: 3 out of 5. Works on protein sourcingProximity to influence: 3 out of 5. Works on protein sourcingWhy this role mattersThis role sits inside the formulation of meat coatings and meat seasonings, the actual recipes and ingredient systems that determine what a meat product tastes like, costs, and is made from before it reaches a customer's factory floor.Read the full notes →
- Responsible sourcing & supplier standardsHead of Direct Category ProcurementKFC · Woking, Surrey£57,867 (estimated)Director+Technical background neededHybridPosted 11 Aug 2026Proximity to influence: 4 out of 5. Real input into decisionsProximity to influence: 4 out of 5. Real input into decisionsWhy this role mattersKFC's entire menu runs on chicken, and this seat sits directly over the multi-year category strategy, supplier relationships and commercial governance that determine how that chicken supply chain is built and evaluated.Read the full notes →
- Broader food sustainabilityNew Product Development Manager - EMEAWingstop Global Support Center Careers · United Kingdom (Remote)SeniorTechnical background neededRemotePosted 29 Jul 2026Proximity to influence: 3 out of 5. Works on protein sourcingProximity to influence: 3 out of 5. Works on protein sourcingWhy this role mattersThis role sits inside the supply chain of a chicken-wing chain, owning new product development, ingredient sourcing and supplier qualification for a brand built entirely around one animal product.Read the full notes →
- Broader food sustainabilityTechnical ManagerGreencore · Boston, Lincolnshire£45,106 (estimated)Mid levelTechnical background neededOn sitePosted 27 Jul 2026Proximity to influence: 2 out of 5. Builds towards influenceProximity to influence: 2 out of 5. Builds towards influenceWhy this role mattersThis role sits inside real technical governance: HACCP compliance, BRC certification, customer specification sign-off and audit programmes for a site supplying major UK retailers.Read the full notes →
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