Paul
Partner Profile
Food Technologist
Joined September 2006
Before I joined the Partnership I was a Food Technologist for a large foodservice company. I had been working in foodservice for six years, having worked in food manufacturing beforehand, and I felt that I needed to experience working in retail. I chose Waitrose because of its well-deserved reputation for selling excellent quality products which have been ethically sourced, and I really wanted to be a part of that.
The training I’ve received has been excellent. I’ve had specific training on various food technology specific areas as well training that led to a qualification as Lead Auditor.
In addition to these more job-related training courses, I have also taken part in a Personal Development Programme which is related to the softer skills and would be transferable to other roles. I have also had Project Management training since being at Waitrose.
It’s great that the Partnership makes training available that is not just about day to day job, but that can help in our professional development.
The Partnership is different because it really recognises that there is life outside work. There are great benefits too - I’m a member of the Sailing Club and went out on a sailing trip off the South coast within weeks of joining the business. As a member of the rackets club I’m able to play squash every week with a colleague in my department and we are reimbursed for half of the court costs. There are numerous other benefits, some of which I’m yet to take advantage of.
Being a co-owner rather than just an employee means that if the business as a whole does well, we all benefit. I think this helps to make sure that we continuously challenge ourselves to achieve more. It also means that our opinion really counts - I was amazed to see junior Partners standing up to challenge the Managing Director at a Waitrose Council meeting within my first few weeks in the Partnership. The democratic approach is very different to previous companies I have worked for.
I have worked in Partnership with various Partners in Buying and Marketing on the task of launching a brand new range of Cooks’ Ingredients Oriental foods. This involved researching the products and looking for suppliers of the most authentic ingredients. This was really exciting as many of the suppliers were in the Far East, and particularly challenging as it meant looking at several products and factories until we were able to find suppliers capable of meeting our strict technical requirements. We managed to achieve this and we have a fantastic range of products which I’m pleased to say are selling really well.
My proudest moment at the Partnership is working with the Buyers in the canned fish category to source products that are as sustainable as possible. We’ve made real progress in this area and it was great to see the Waitrose sponsorship of The End of the Line film really helping to raise awareness of the pressure on the world fish stocks.
The best part of my job is the teamwork involved in successfully launching new products and the satisfaction of seeing products on the shelves in our branches and seeing great sales/positive feedback.
The most challenging aspect of my job is the travel, which can eat into my personal time. But our managers are very understanding and keen to make sure that we get the time back. Another challenge is also one of the great aspects of the job - it is so fast-paced and varied. There are often lots of projects on the go at the same time so you need to be able to think quickly.
The culture in my department is fast-paced and results-focused. It’s full of lots of experienced Partners with expertise in what they do.
The personal qualities you need to fit into my department are integrity and a focus on results. I think it always helps to have sense of humour!
