UNDERGRADUATE PLACEMENTS
Proud to offer you an insight to our industry.
What better place for talented and motivated undergraduates to gain
valuable experience of the food industry than the fast-paced and
exciting world of Bakkavor? We recruit graduates and undergraduate
placements as part of our talent pipeline to develop our future leaders
and we’ll work with you to agree the career path that’s right for you.
Because of the size and scope of our business we can offer an amazing
range of career opportunities for candidates who want to kick start
their career in the FMCG industry with us.
Join us on a 12-month paid, industry placement, starting in July, and
discover where a career with us could lead.
We offer placements in the following functions:
ESG/SUSTAINABILITY PLACEMENT
This new placement programme will introduce you to ESG (Environment,
Social, Governance) and Sustainability in the context of a busy food
manufacturing organisation. You will learn the details of how we are
addressing the big sustainability topics such as climate change, food
waste, and environmentally sustainable sourcing of raw materials and how
we help the business to meet its commitments in these areas. In
practice, this will involve analysing data, benchmarking performance
information, distilling complex information into easy-to-understand
summaries, learning about, and contributing to corporate sustainability
communications and internal engagement on these – and many other
ESG-related topics.
TECHNICAL PLACEMENT
The Technical function supports all of our functions and works with
suppliers to ensure that manufacturing is done correctly, safely and to
our expected high standards. Your role could be within one of our
factories or an office, and will centre around the principles of food
safety, quality management and food engineering. You will have a direct
input into helping deliver safe, high-quality products to millions of
households across the nation, whilst gaining an insight into the
fast-paced life of chilled food manufacturing. A placement with Bakkavor
also sets you up with the opportunity to explore a proven pathway into a
career with Bakkavor through direct entry or our other early careers
programmes upon completion of your degree.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, LIFECYCLE & CATEGORY MANAGEMENT PLACEMENT
A placement in development will give you the opportunity to be part of a
team, bringing new products and new recipes to market. Expect to gain
skills in a range of areas such as critical path management, ingredient
sourcing, costings, couriers, product benchmarking, trends, and actual
product development by working with a chef team (the role is
office-based not kitchen-based). This entry-level placement will be
perfect for someone who is in the process of studying a food-related
degree with the aim of entering this field upon obtaining their
qualification.
If you display a passion and an aptitude for Development, you may be
given the option of returning for a graduate programme or a direct entry
role after completion of your degree.
You will be based at one of our hubs in either London, Lincolnshire,
Near Edinburgh or Newark and will be provided with a broad range of
activities and projects.
FINANCE PLACEMENT
If you share our values and passion for great food, you can expect to
receive opportunities, development, and support to enable you to learn
and grow throughout your finance placement. You will gain key skills in
basic accountancy and finance and from day one you will play a pivotal
part in the decision-making processes that help our business to grow and
thrive. This entry-level placement is perfect for undergraduates who are
interested in gaining skills and experience in a Finance role within a
fast moving consumer goods company. Those candidates who complete
successful placements will also be given the opportunity to re-join
Bakkavor on our Graduate Programme (CIMA accredited) post-qualification.
HR PLACEMENT (BO'NESS, SCOTLAND)
A carefully planned 12-month placement at our Bo’ness site in Scotland
will give you a great understanding of how HR works at Bakkavor, within
a fast-paced factory setting. You will be exposed to all aspects of
operational HR, including site priorities and challenges, people
policies and how they are applied in practise, employment law, HR KPIs
and people metrics. You will also learn how to build effective working
relationships with customers including line managers and peers from
centres of expertise, and operational colleagues. This entry-level
placement is perfect for undergraduates who are interested in gaining
skills and experience in an HR role, in a fast-moving consumer goods
company. If you show a real enthusiasm and an aptitude for HR, you will
be given the option of returning for a graduate programme or a direct
entry role after completion of your degree.
COMMERCIAL SALES & MANAGEMENT PLACEMENT
If you share our passion for great food, you can expect to receive
opportunities, development, and support to enable you to learn and grow
throughout your placement. Expect to gain skills in a range of areas
such as commercial systems and processes, performance measures, category
management principles and expect to develop a greater understanding of
the UK grocery retail market. You will work within a fast-paced
environment where teamwork is essential - you will learn about the
process of developing new food products, food manufacturing and the
supply chain of getting food onto retailer’s shelves and finally into
shopper’s baskets. This entry-level placement will be perfect for
someone who is in the process of studying a Business or Food Science
degree with the aim of entering this field upon obtaining their
qualification, however, if you have a passion for food and are studying
towards another degree then please do still apply.
MANUFACTURING PLACEMENT
Manufacturing operations is the core of the business and is responsible
for delivering high quality, innovative products to our customers on a
massive scale! A manufacturing placement is an ideal opportunity if you
are interested in all the different stages involved in efficient food
production and the distribution of quality products. It will give you a
clear understanding of our key manufacturing processes including
resource and people management, planning and production and safe
machinery operation. You will develop the skills and knowledge to become
a great Team Leader by the end of your placement, responsible for
leading your team in maintaining high standards for health & safety,
food safety and operational excellence.
GRADUATE PROGRAMMES
Proud to build your future with the best.
Want to join one of our graduate programmes? We’re looking for
applicants with enthusiasm, talent, motivation, drive, and resilience
who are keen to start a career in the food industry. With us, the pace
is fast, energy levels are high and your potential career success is
unlimited.
We’ll support you to become future leaders. We’ll give you real
responsibility from day one, supporting you every step of the way.
Choose from eight core functional programmes - Whichever path you
choose, our innovative programmes, underpinned by a comprehensive
training plan, will give you vast exposure to all aspects of our
business as you rotate through different roles, departments and
locations, dealing with different products and customers.
Graduate Programmes start in September and involve a minimum of three
12-month placements across different locations so flexibility is a must.
The exceptions to this are our Finance programme, which is three
placements over three and a half years, and our Bo'ness HR programme,
which is two placements over two years.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, LIFECYCLE & CATEGORY MANAGEMENT
Are you a passionate foodie? Excited at the opportunity to work with the
major grocery retailers? Our graduate roles in development will give you
the opportunity to be part of a team, working with chefs, process and
operational teams and other developers bringing new products and new
recipes to market. Due diligence, paperwork, nutrition, and packaging
are all parts of the product lifecycle, as well as category plans. We
work hard to identify the best products for our customers, so if you are
on this programme, you will work with different customers and product
categories as a part of a customer-focused team, and you will turn your
passion for food, ingredients, and ideas into products for the nation!
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 and product trials and launches. On leaving the programme
you should be aspiring to a Product Manager role.
HUMAN RESOURCES
As a Human Resources graduate you will gain a great understanding of how
HR works at Bakkavor, both within our factory settings and in our
central support function through carefully planned placements and your
preferred pathway in year three. You will be exposed to all HR aspects
of the business, including People Services, Systems, Resourcing,
Employee Relations, Learning and Development, Performance and Talent
Management, HR Analytics, Employment Law and Reward Management. Your
target role when you come off the programme will depend very much on the
pathway that you would like to pursue, however you should be aspiring
towards a Senior HR Business Partner role within 5-7 years of starting.
HUMAN RESOURCES (BO'NESS, SCOTLAND)
Our bespoke two-year Scottish HR Programme will give you experience
within our Bo’ness factory location and within the central HR functions
to provide you with the breadth of knowledge, behaviours, and skills
necessary to enter future senior HR roles. Carefully planned training
and experience will give you a greater understanding of how HR works at
Bakkavor.
You will be exposed to all HR aspects of the business, including People
Services, Systems, Resourcing, Employee Relations, HR Analytics,
Employment Law and Reward Management. Your target role when you reach
the end of your two-year programme will be an HR Business Partner
position at our Bo’ness site.
MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT
Manufacturing Operations is the core of the business and is responsible
for delivering high quality, innovative products to our customers on a
massive scale! On this programme, you will have management
responsibilities from an early stage. You will develop the skills and
knowledge to become a great team leader, responsible for a production
line or area, preparing, assembling, and packing product in one of our
factories. You will be leading your team to maintain high standards for
health & safety, food safety and operational excellence. Your target
role by the end of the programme is a Senior Section Manager position,
responsible for the daily operation of a large section of one of our
factories, and with strong focus, hard work and development, you should
be aspiring to be in a Factory/Operations Manager role within 5-7 years
of starting.
FOOD TECHNICAL
The Technical function supports all of our other functions and works
with suppliers to ensure that manufacturing is done correctly, safely
and to our expected high standards. You will be applying the principles
of food safety, quality management and food engineering across some of
our factories to help deliver safe, high-quality products to millions of
households across the nation. Your role as a Graduate on this programme
will see you take up a number of dynamic roles within the business,
designed to give you the knowledge, skills and behaviours to become a
future leader within the Technical function. Your target role for when
you come off the programme is Quality Assurance Manager. Within 5-7
years of starting, you should be aspiring to a Technical Manager role.
FINANCE
Our Finance programme is based around the CIMA qualification and is
therefore a three and a half year programme, broken down into three
placements, focusing on Management Accounting, Finance Accounting and
Advanced Management Accounting. You will also cover financial
management, risk management and process evaluation and redesign.
Carefully selected placements will ensure that you have the necessary
exposure to the right areas of the business to support your ongoing
development and to make sure that you get a full understanding of how
the organisation operates. After the programme you will continue to
broaden your experience to prepare you for a senior role.
ENGINEERING
On our new 3-year Engineering Graduate programme you will develop the
skills and knowledge to become either an Engineering Maintenance
Manager, Engineering Project Manager or Site Services Manager. You will
work as part of a team or alone, depending on the task. On a daily basis
you will interact with other technicians and engineers, as well as with
operational and site teams, and colleagues from Technical, Development,
Finance & Planning. You will get involved in technical performance
reviews and continuous improvement activities. You will learn how to
employ engineering practices that ensure food safety in line with food
safety legislation, keeping machinery and equipment running to meet
production needs and outputs. You will ensure that our practices comply
with food safety, health, and safety, environmental, sustainability, and
engineering regulations and standards, as well as taking account of
business operation considerations such as cost and service level
agreements.
