Ella’s Background

Ella’s Kitchen was set up by Paul Lindley to promote healthy eating amongst babies and young children. We’re a highly entrepreneurial and values driven company which has achieved impressive growth to over £80m turnover, with a team of 80 employees based at Ella’s Barn near Henley. Our baby and toddler food pouches can be found in key retailers across the UK as well across Scandinavia and BeNeLux, in a handful of other European and Middle Eastern markets and the Far East. We are a brand recognised for its high quality ingredients and ethical credentials which are visible throughout our supply chain and in our social and charity work. Ella’s is part of the Hain Celestial group and we are very proud to be an accredited B’Corps and included in the Sunday Times Best Companies top 100 list 5 years in a row!

Already having achieved rapid growth to date, Ella’s is about to embark on an exciting new phase of development, to bring out more ranges of products and reach a wider international audience. With an ambitious growth target, we are looking for a talented person to join the team.

You will be joining a team of people who meet personal and business challenges with hard work and a smile. They not only see things as they are and ask why - but see things that never were and ask why not.

At Ella’s Kitchen, we are guided by our values; they set the tone of our culture and we look out for newbies who will be a natural fit to our values and complement and contribute to our business.

Responsible for:

Ensuring Ella’s are holding the right amount of stock in the supply chain, through accurate production forecasting and stock management by working collaboratively with our co-manufacturers.

Purpose of role:

Supporting the Clockwork (Operations) team deliver their strategy, by working with our out-sourced manufacturing partners and our internal Ella’s teams, to ensure we have the right stock in the right place at the right time, reducing cost whilst maximising availability, efficiency, and profitability.

Role activities / responsibilities:

• Manage production requirements, and confirm forecast and production orders to Ella’s manufacturers, to ensure we are holding the right amount of stock. This includes aligning Ella’s production requirements with manufacturing capacity, availability of raw materials, and retailer demand fluctuations.

• Develop strong working relationships with our manufacturers, taking on the role of influencer to ensure that we get the best outcome for Ella’s whilst still living our values with our suppliers. You will be the key operational contact for one of our biggest manufacturer and also for some of our other strategic partners.

• Support the development of new products by co-ordinating trials and availability of raw materials and packaging and contributing into project meetings.

• Drive improvements to the planning process and the day-to-day management of the manufacturer

• Track and report on supplier KPIs and find ways to drive improvement collaboratively

• Day to day problem solving

• Working collaboratively across the internal Ella’s teams to ensure clarity, accuracy and consistency of information flow

• Live the Ella's values and engage our suppliers in the brand

You will need:

• Ability to work well under pressure and demonstrate that you can adapt to the fast pace and variety of FMCG supply chain

• Some production planning experience within in a Food or FMCG background would be preferable.

• Excellent interpersonal, communication and collaboration skills

• Ability and willingness to communicate effectively at all levels and provide support in a range of activities and tasks

• Real strength in using MS Excel, with top-notch numeracy skills and attention to detail

• Ability to build strong relationships, getting things done and resolving issues across the business and with suppliers

• Passion and determination to succeed

• Proactive and driven attitude with a natural aptitude for problem solving (and able to think differently when finding solutions)

• Excellent organisational and time management skills

• Ability to think logically, especially when it’s really busy

• Demonstrable ability to live and breathe our values: We Want to Win, We’re Business Minded, We’re Childlike, We Think Differently, We’re Good to Each Other

It would be really amazing if you had:

• Ability to speak a European language, preferably Spanish, French or Dutch

• Experience in an FMCG environment

And What You’ll Get In Return:

Bucket loads of training and development, supporting your career pathway

Competitive salary

• Discretionary bonus scheme

• A Box of Treats, including private medical, dental, pension, life assurance, 25 days holiday and the ability to buy more, high street discounts, amazing wellbeing events, Give It A Go days… to name but a few!

• A really awesome place to come to work… our beautiful Barns in the Oxfordshire countryside