Discover Bakkavor
We’re the biggest name you’ve never heard of! You’ve probably eaten our food, you just didn’t realise it. Because as global leaders in the fresh prepared food industry, we create innovative products, including meals, soups, dips, salads, desserts, pizzas and bread for customers including Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose in the UK. We’re ambitious. We’re full of ideas, and we’re ready for more people who share our passion for quality food to join us.
Bakkavor is the leading provider of fresh prepared food in the UK, with a growing international presence in the US and China. We are number one in the UK in the four product categories of meals, salads, desserts, and pizza & bread, providing high-quality, fresh, healthy, and convenient food. We have over 19,000 employees, our headquarters are in London, and we have 23 factories in the UK, 5 in the US and 9 in China.
Our Product Development Programme
- The Product Development function works hard to identify the best products for our customers. If you are on this programme, you will work with different customers and product categories as part of a customer focused team, and you will turn your passion for food, ingredients, and ideas into products for the nation!
- You will work side by side with our experienced and talented chefs, who’ll give you the freedom to flourish whilst challenging your ideas.
- You will get at least three site visits in your first year, plus formal training in: Sensory Analysis, Culinary Skills, Leadership and Management, Category Management and Commercial Skills, Consumer and Market Trends.
- You will gain an understanding of the manufacturing processes, as well as the capabilities of the business, to ensure that products are commercially viable and will support the longevity of our customer partnerships. You could be focusing on idea generation, recipe development, product trials and/or launches.
- On leaving the programme you should be aspiring to a Product Manager role.
What you’ll need
We are looking for graduates who can come up with exciting and commercially viable ideas, and who are fully up to date with knowledge around food trends and consumer tastes. Having an inquisitive nature and an inbuilt desire to challenge the norms is the key to success. Here at Bakkavor innovation is what we are all about; it’s what keeps us ahead of the competition. You’ll also need:
- Achieved, or are expected to achieve, at least a 2:2 honours degree in a discipline that relates to Food (from food science to agriculture, it’s a broad list)
- Three months’ work experience
- An existing ‘right to work’ in the UK
- A clearly articulated motivation to progress your career in the food industry
- Flexibility to complete three rotational placements, a minimum of two moves, maximum of three (placements can be in any of our locations)
- Graduates who align to the Bakkavor Values and represent a good value fit to our organisation
What we offer
Our programme is designed to broaden your perspective and offer you a variety of learning opportunities. On the graduate programme, you’ll receive:
- Reward Package
- Starting Salary – £27,000 + £1,000 one-off signing on bonus, moving to £28,500 in Year 2 and £30,000 in Year 3 (London placements will receive an additional allowance for living costs)
- Pension Scheme
- Relocation Financial Assistance (for each graduate placement)
- Additional Holiday purchase scheme (25 days holiday as standard)
- Access to employee benefits – such as MyDrive Car Lease scheme
- A broad Support & Development Network
- A dedicated Champion for your functional programme
- A Mentor to support and guide your development
- You’ll join as a Cohort, with up to 20 other graduates, not to mention a wide community of graduates who joined in the years before you
- A Line Manager who will complete regular performance reviews and support you to develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours set out in your programme.
- A Suite of Training & Development Opportunities
- Dedicated graduate leadership training events
- Programme Workshops and exposure to other functions
- Rotational Placements to broaden your experience
- Management Skills training
- Opportunities to further your development after the programme with Apprenticeship Qualifications
Apply today
Our graduate programme is for people who can think bigger and grow faster. We created it to develop the future-leaders and shapers of our business. To learn more and apply online visit: https://fierileadership.com/bakkavor-early-careers/
After applying, you can expect to complete some initial questions around some relevant scenarios at Bakkavor, followed by an online psychometric test and a non-live video reflection. If successful, we will invite you to an assessment centre in January or February 2023. These interviews are for a September 2023 start on the programme. If you have any queries about this programme, or the recruitment process, please contact us at [email protected]
