Raw Materials Coordinator
The Compleat Food Group · Clitheroe, Lancashire
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Why this role matters
How close this job is to real sourcing and menu decisions.
This site handles continental meats and added-value egg products alongside its other lines, and the raw materials coordinator is the person who checks what arrives against specification, puts out-of-spec material on hold, and raises non-conformances with suppliers when something falls short. That's a genuine lever: a coordinator who takes standards and traceability seriously can flag issues on meat and egg intake that a less engaged postholder would wave through, and can push non-conformances through to resolution rather than letting them slide. It won't set the standard itself - that sits further up, in supplier approval and specification-writing - but this is a seat where you learn exactly how a factory enforces the standards it has signed up to, which is the groundwork for moving into supplier approval, technical management or category-facing roles where those standards actually get written, covering what gets bought, from whom, and to what spec.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
What you'd build
- BRCGS audit and compliance experience
- Supplier non-conformance management
- Supplier risk assessment exposure
- Raw material specification and intake QA
- Cross-functional food manufacturing operations knowledge
Where it can lead
- Technical Manager
- Supplier Quality Manager
- Supplier Approval Specialist
These roles typically hold the pen on supplier approval criteria and specification standards, deciding what a supplier must meet - including for meat and egg raw materials - before they can supply at all.
About the role
The Raw Materials Coordinator role sits at The Compleat Food Group's Clitheroe site, part of a wider group producing pastry, bakery, party food, olives and antipasti, added-value egg products, continental meats, dips, sauces and plant-based food for major UK retailers and foodservice. The postholder ensures all food and packaging materials delivered to site meet required specifications and are approved by site and customers, completing intake checks (pH, temperature, sensory, salinity, vehicle and delivery condition, salt trending) and maintaining compliance across raw material storage areas. Core duties include supporting retention of the site's BRCGS 'AA+' grade, monitoring and releasing materials based on food safety and quality parameters, ensuring production paperwork and traceability are correct, and supporting customer technical visits. The role trains and develops the warehouse team and QA operatives, generates KPIs, and acts as "product quality champion" covering specifications, standards and aesthetics. Specific technical tasks include placing raw materials on hold in the M3 system pending inspection or positive release, issuing and resolving non-conformances with suppliers and transport companies, supporting and leading supplier risk assessments and reviews, driving Good Manufacturing Practices, managing GMP, fabrication, glass and plastic audits, and supporting the approved supplier list and supplier approval process. The coordinator also controls printed packaging changes, coordinates technical audit-readiness, supports external, third-party, customer and BRCGS audits, and carries out internal audits. Essential knowledge and skills listed are Level 3 Food Safety & Hygiene, Level 3 HACCP, understanding of PPE use, strong attention to detail, accurate documentation, effective cross-departmental communication, good written and verbal English with basic numeracy, organised and methodical working, ability to apply current food legislation, the BRC Global Standard and customer codes of practice, good analytical abilities, and the ability to coach others on procedures when non-conformance is identified. The role works set hours of Tuesday to Friday 11am-7:30pm and Saturday 6:30am-3pm, on site at Clitheroe, paying £33,738 per annum. Benefits include salary sacrifice schemes, enhanced retail discounts, product handouts, EV charging, wellbeing support (Grocery Aid, physical wellbeing hub, nutrition advice), a learning management system, mentoring scheme, paid volunteering days, and employee networks including Women @ Compleat.
This is an extract. Read the full advert on the employer's site.
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.
- BRCGS
- HACCP Level 3
- Food Safety & Hygiene Level 3
- non-conformance management
- supplier risk assessment
- supplier approval
- traceability
- Good Manufacturing Practice
- intake quality checks
- specification compliance
- M3 system
- internal auditing
- cross-departmental communication
- documentation accuracy
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Frame your interest around food safety, traceability and supply chain risk - the BRCGS AA+ grade, non-conformance management and supplier risk assessments are the business-legible hooks here. Building fluency in BRCGS, HACCP and supplier risk assessment processes in this role sets you up to move into supplier approval or technical management, where specification decisions are made.
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