We are looking to recruit an experienced, engaged and driven individual to lead our roasting team, with a particular focus on all aspects of coffee quality. In collaboration with the Head of Coffee, you will be responsible for directing the roasting and flavour profiling of our entire product menu. Pact Coffee is one of the fastest growing independent speciality coffee roasters, roasting almost 10 tonnes every week. You will head the Quality Control programme, covering everything from cupping to particle analysis, and use data to make decisions affecting the product. There will be opportunities to visit source (Central South American and Africa)

Location:

United Kingdom, England, Haslemere / London (flexible)

The Role and Job Description

The successful candidate would be required to perform the following tasks:

Production

• Use physical and sensorial data in addition to roasting knowledge to set and develop individually tailored roast profiles for all our coffees
• Direct the day-to-day running of the roastery, managing our menu of 13+ lines of rotating single-estate and blend coffees, ensuring product quality and stock coverage for the operations team
• Facilitate daily cupping sessions and use statistical analysis to make decisions on roast optimisation to ensure adherence to quality standards
• Roast for production where required (this also requires coffee hauling)
• Manage off-site production of coffee pods
• Liaise with the Head of Coffee to plan & forecast coffee menu & oversee stock management
• Conduct particle analysis, flow rate & extraction tests on all grinds on all production grinders, calibrating and replacing burrs as forecasted by tracked usage & degradation

Sourcing

• Manage pre-production green samples, overseeing physical & sensorial analysis & evaluation
• Manage green coffee inventory, from contract to production
• Assist Head of Coffee with purchasing decisions, communicating with supply chain to ensure timely and efficient shipping & delivery, as well as gathering key information about coffees across language barriers and time differences
• Network with other members of the industry across all levels to develop versatility and variety of the product and supply chain

Management & Training

• Manage & train assistant roasters in operating our Loring S70 Peregrine production roaster, covering manual roasting, recipes, and all maintenance tasks, as well as personal professional development programmes
• Actively seek ways to enhance the overall Quality Control programme, ensuring efficient, accurate, meaningful and actionable data-gathering & analysis
• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders with any new or ongoing projects
• Foster a high level of integration and communication with other departments to ensure all issues relating to quality are analysed and resolved efficiently and thoroughly
• Lead on ensuring the production facilities and procedures meet all Health and Safety requirements, and pursue improvements in these areas where necessary
• Run internal and external classes and events on coffee education
• Actively pursue further knowledge through industry publications, events & training

Requirements

The ideal candidate will be able to evidence the following:

Qualifications

• Special Coffee Association (SCA) Professional certification in Roasting highly desirable, or equivalent experience in production roasting, roast profiling and sample roasting
• SCA Professional certification in Sensory, Q-Grader certification highly desirable, or equivalent experience in sensorial analysis
• SCA Intermediate certification in Green Coffee highly desirable, or equivalent experience in green grading

Skills and Experience

• Experience in water quality testing and analysis, including knowledge of SCA cupping requirements
• Extensive experience with Cropster roasting, coffee quality & inventory management software
• Management and training experience
• Experience with Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel is essential
• Good communication skills; experience liaising with high-level internal & external stakeholders
• Stock management and product planning experience highly valuable
• Able to show initiative and be adaptable to changing daily requirements
• Extensive prior experience in production & sample roasting, sensory analysis, green coffee analysis and Cropster roasting and inventory management software

Please note: This role requires some heavy lifting.

How to apply?

Interested? Email your CV to ian.cook@pactcoffee.com