At Valeo Foods UK we bring together a family of much-loved UK food brands supported by the scale and ambition of a global investment partner. From Kettle’s bold crunch to Rowse’s natural sweetness, through to Matthew Walker and Barratt Sweets, our portfolio blends heritage, craft and category-leading innovation.
Alongside our branded portfolio, we are also one of the UK’s largest suppliers of private label products, partnering with major retailers to deliver quality and category expertise that meets the needs of millions of households every week.
As a business, we’re on a journey of transformation. We’re strengthening our operations, driving quality and investing in our people. It’s an exciting, fast-moving environment where heritage meets new thinking, and where every colleague contributes to shaping the future of food across the UK.
Join us and play your part in building the next chapter of some of Britain’s most loved brands.
Job DescriptionJunior Process Technologist
Matthew Walker - Heanor
Monday to Friday 7.30-3.30
Valeo Foods are excited to offer a new opportunity at our renowned Matthew Walker site in Heanor — home to some of the most delicious Christmas puddings and sponges in the UK. We’re looking for a Junior Process Technologist to join our New Product Development team.
In this role, reporting to the Senior Process Technologist you’ll will create accurate internal product specifications, support the transfer of products from concept to launch, and play a vital part in improving processes across the factory.
Key Accountabilities
Process Development
- Create and maintain internal specifications, including auto-coding, market comparisons and Brandbank uploads.
- Support Coordinate and run effective factory scale-up trials.
- Support the introduction of new recipes, ingredients, and materials into production.
Customer
- Support pre-production activities and product launches, collaborating ith customer to create and update Quality attribute sheets
Key Tasks
- Collate accurate information for creating and updating internal product specifications.
- Set up and maintain auto-coding systems.
- Prepare and distribute recipe benchmarking sheets.
- Develop pallet configurations for Bills of Materials (BOM) and coordinate BOM amendments.
- Generate, review, and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and associated documentation.
- Create and maintain an allergen database for all products.
- Conduct packaging transit trials and support the approval of new packaging.
- Produce photographic standards and retailer-specific quality attributes documentation.
- Organise and dispatch Brandbank samples.
- Collate market comparison information and prepare professional PowerPoint presentations.
- Support handover meetings with Production and Quality Assurance.
- Assist with shelf-life extension requests and relevant documentation.
- Troubleshoot day-to-day process and product issues within the factory.
- Support general activities such as first production audits, basic trials, tip-outs, ERHs, sensory panels, brix and flow testing for sauces, and general admin.
- Provide support to the NPD kitchen as required.
Qualifications and knowledge
- 3+ years in a food manufacturing environment with job related experience / or Degree or equivalent in Food Science or related discipline
- All round computer skills – excel, word, PP.
Qualities and Experience
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
- Diligent and attention to detail
- Managing a high intake of information from different sources
- Managing timelines and prioritizing
- Organized and able to both multi-task and prioritize effectively
- Accuracy for figures and codes and problem-solving skills
- Confident in building relationships internally and externally
- Excellent organizational skills
- A drive to succeed
What we offer you in return
- Working Monday to Friday 7.30 to 3.30
- Excellent Career Opportunities
- Matched pension scheme up to 10%
- Death in service
- Cycle to work scheme
- And plenty more!
Top Skills
What We Do
We are a leading producer and innovator of high quality, category-defining branded food products that have a proud history that dates back to 1845.
At Valeo Foods, we are passionate about food and our portfolio of over 20 iconic food brands, which includes Jacobs, Batchelors, Kettle, Rowse Honey, Balconi, Schluckwerder, are tried and trusted by consumers across Ireland, UK and Europe for their quality, wholesomeness, nutrition and fun.
We are a diverse business that combines food production, brand development and innovation, distribution and sales. We are Ireland’s largest ambient food supplier to the grocery trade, a major supplier to the food service market through Valeo Professional, and an increasingly prominent supplier to the UK market and a range of European Markets now.
We are focused on the continued development of our excellent portfolio of category defining food brands as we look to expand our footprint across Ireland, UK, Europe and beyond with our latest acquisition in North America. We are committed to delivering quality food products through continued innovation and excellence in manufacturing. This commitment ensures that our brands retain a market leading position in each of their respective categories.
We continue to recruit people with the best skills and expertise across a range of areas including manufacturing, food science, research and development, nutrition, distribution, sales, operations, marketing, human resources and finance, and aspire to be a best in class employer, focused on developing and empowering our people.
