Certification Assistant (Supermarket)

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity for a full-time Certification Assistant to join our Business Development Team, on a permanent basis. The Business Development (BD) department works alongside the Communications and Campaigns departments at The Vegan Society and is responsible for the Sales and Trademark registration as well as raising the public profile of vegan products through the Vegan Trademark. The Certification Assistant will support the Supermarkets Team situated within the Certification Team, working with some of the leading retailers and manufacturers across the UK and around the world and actively promoting The Vegan Society’s trademark. This will be a, primarily, remote working role, which requires the willingness and ability to travel to meet the needs of the team and the wider organisation when appropriate. There may be occasional travel for meetings with the wider team several times a year.

What we offer:

A starting salary of £25,545
28 days’ leave + 8 public bank holidays (25 days annual leave and 3 closure days)
Ethical pension scheme (5-7% employer contribution)
Flexible working hours
Employee Assistance Programme and health cash-back scheme
Access to virtual GP service 24/7
A fun and supportive team
A solution-focused atmosphere and hard-working environment
Cycle to work scheme
Animal companion compassionate leave
Death in service benefit

Key responsibilities of the role:

As Certification Assistant, you will:

Deal with trademark applications and enquiries from the UK and around the world, particularly Europe.
Communicate with potential clients, discussing their needs, undertaking onsite or virtual meetings and providing telesales support.
Ensure excellent communications (internally/externally) and customer care skills are demonstrated, to retain, maintain and increase client accounts.
Actively encourage clients to go ahead with Vegan Society Trademark registration.
Develop a good understanding of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets across the range of products we register with the Vegan Trademark.
Manage ingredient checking for products efficiently, and proactively add to the knowledge base within the team.
Provide absence cover for Business Development colleagues.
Be responsible for general office duties, including dealing with own correspondence and filing own papers.
To be considered as our Certification Assistant you must have:
English, Maths and Science GCSEs A-C grade or equivalent.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, especially telephone manner and customer-service skills.
Computer literacy with strong MS Office skills, particularly Excel, email and databases.
The ability to demonstrate that you can enter data accurately, analyse and manipulate data and effectively search for required information.
The ability to establish strong working relationships with colleagues and trademark clients.
The ability to manage multiple priorities and work to deadlines.
The ability to demonstrate you can hit targets and deliver desired objectives and outcomes.
Basic knowledge of whether ingredients in food, cosmetics, toiletries, clothing and household products are derived from animal sources.
A good understanding of business operations: production processes and administration.
An understanding of The Vegan Society’s values, standards and processes in order to make consistent and appropriate judgements.
For a full list of duties, responsibilities, and personal criteria, please refer to the full job description and person specification.

To be considered as our Certification Assistant you must have:

English, Maths and Science GCSEs A-C grade or equivalent.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, especially telephone manner and customer-service skills.
Computer literacy with strong MS Office skills, particularly Excel, email and databases.
The ability to demonstrate that you can enter data accurately, analyse and manipulate data and effectively search for required information.
The ability to establish strong working relationships with colleagues and trademark clients.
The ability to manage multiple priorities and work to deadlines.
The ability to demonstrate you can hit targets and deliver desired objectives and outcomes.
Basic knowledge of whether ingredients in food, cosmetics, toiletries, clothing and household products are derived from animal sources.
A good understanding of business operations: production processes and administration.
An understanding of The Vegan Society’s values, standards and processes in order to make consistent and appropriate judgements.

The Vegan Society as an organisation values equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to be an organisation that tackles any structural discrimination or prejudice. We are actively trying to increase diversity in our organisation and encourage applications from all sections of the community.

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies.

Salary and Hours

This is a full-time (37.5 hours ) role with a salary of £25,545 per annum.

The Vegan Society are actively recruiting for this position and may contact shortlisted candidates prior to the published closing date, so early applications are encouraged.

It is a condition of your employment that, as far as is possible and practicable, you adhere to a vegan diet and lifestyle.

How to Apply

If you wish to apply for this position, please fill out the job application form.

The application deadline is Monday 25 March 2024.

Interview to be held on 3 – 4 April 2024

If you have any questions regarding this role, please email [email protected]*.

*Please note, this email address is intended for questions regarding any of our live roles. All applications must be made through the application form and any CVs sent to this email address will not be considered for any of our vacancies.

Certification Assistant (Supermarket) job description

You are here