Seafood Auditor - Scotland Based
LRQA · Scotland (ideally Inverness or Highlands region)
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Why this role matters
How close this job is to real sourcing and menu decisions.
Audits are where assurance standards meet the reality on a farm or processing line. The auditor decides whether a salmon farm or seafood processor genuinely meets the aquaculture and food assurance standards it has signed up to, or whether the paperwork is doing the talking. That judgement shapes what certification a supplier can claim, and certification is often the gate that decides whether a retailer or brand will keep buying from them. This role won't set the standards themselves, but conducting audits across salmon farming and fisheries builds first-hand knowledge of where sustainability, welfare and environmental commitments hold up under scrutiny and where they don't. That knowledge is hard to get any other way, and it's highly valued by food businesses building supplier programmes. Three to five years in a role like this is a genuine route into supplier standards or ethical sourcing roles inside seafood-buying companies, where the same expertise translates into writing the specifications rather than checking against them.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
What you'd build
- Seafood and aquaculture audit exposure
- Familiarity with assurance/certification standards
- Client relationship management
- Audit reporting and compliance assessment
- Cross-sector supply chain knowledge (salmon farming, fisheries)
Where it can lead
- Senior Auditor
- Supplier Standards Manager
- Ethical Sourcing Manager
Roles like these move from checking compliance against sustainability and welfare standards to writing the supplier standards and specifications that set what gets audited in the first place.
About the role
LRQA is recruiting a Seafood Auditor to join its Seafood Assurance team, based in Scotland with regular travel throughout Scotland and occasionally internationally. The role involves conducting audits against a range of seafood, aquaculture and food safety standards across salmon farming, seafood processing, fisheries and supply chain operations, assessing client compliance against seafood, aquaculture and food assurance standards, building trusted relationships with clients, producing clear and professional audit reports, and supporting the growth of LRQA's market-leading Seafood Assurance business. The advert asks for experience within seafood, aquaculture, fisheries, food manufacturing or related industries, strong analytical and communication skills, willingness to travel throughout Scotland, and a degree or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline, ideally qualified for seafood schemes. Existing auditing experience is advantageous but not essential, and auditor qualifications are desirable but not required, as LRQA offers a structured auditor training and development programme for the right candidate. The advert notes a competitive salary and benefits, without stating figures.
We added this one ourselves, from the employer's own advert.
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.
- seafood auditing
- aquaculture standards
- fisheries compliance
- food safety standards
- audit reporting
- compliance assessment
- client relationship management
- salmon farming
- seafood processing
- supply chain assurance
- analytical skills
- communication skills
- regulatory compliance
- certification schemes
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Frame your interest around supply-chain risk and assurance integrity: auditors protect brand and business risk by verifying that certification claims about aquaculture and fisheries operations are real, which matters increasingly as retailers face scrutiny over sustainability and welfare claims. Build Sedex/SMETA-style audit literacy and familiarity with seafood assurance schemes, and be ready to speak to specific standards you've audited against once in post.
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