PepsiCo UK Industrial Placement- Food Safety

Job Description

You’ve learned a lot as a student already. Want to put it into practice at PepsiCo?

Our placement programmes are structured to give you the chance to make an impact on some of the world’s biggest brands. From day one, you’ll be working on projects that matter. You’ll shake things up, shape trends, and get guidance and development to help you discover your potential.

We’re home to some of the world’s favourite brands, such as Walkers, Pepsi Max, Quaker, Tropicana, Doritos, Pipers, Naked, Copella, Lipton, Monster Munch and 7UP to name just a few! Our business covers the full product lifecycle from creating new flavours in our labs to dreaming up ad campaigns and delivering packs to stores. There’s plenty in between too.

We build brands we are really proud of and we have a mission to create more smiles with every sip and bite. Here at PepsiCo we think like entrepreneurs. We voice opinions fearlessly. We celebrate diversity and differences. We care about growing sustainably. And we get a lot of free Doritos.

We are looking for enthusiastic undergraduates to join our Research & Development team based in Leicester a 12 month placement programme.

“I was welcomed by the friendly yet hard working and professional environment that is central to PepsiCo’s culture. My work at PepsiCo has filled me with a great sense of pride and they have definitely helped me prepare for my final year at University as well as whatever my future career may hold.”

• Sophie Clark

Innovation takes centre stage at PepsiCo. That means our Global R&D team is at the heart of the action and are kept busy creating exciting new products for consumers across the continent, from Leicester to Moscow. In a fast-moving consumer environment, our R&D capability is crucial to provide a fresh twist to our favourite brands as well as creating new healthy choices that we need to succeed in the market. Focusing our research and development on meeting the latest consumer needs - whether nutrition, refreshment or indulgence –will drive our growth both now and in the future. Do you share our passion for innovation? If so we could take your talents to a whole new level!

Ensuring creation of joyful moments through our delicious, nourishing & safe products and unique brand experiences is a cornerstone of PepsiCo’s Mission to ‘Create more smiles with every sip and every bite’. The complexity of our innovation pipelines is increasing as consumers seek novel ingredients, clean labels, new experiences and assurances over food integrity. Therefore, we have a duty to build a pipeline of future Food Safety talent that will enable the launch of new, innovative & safe consumer products…helping ensure we deliver against our Mission.

We have an exciting role within this team where you will get the opportunity to build a solid appreciation and food safety skill base in the industry. You’ll positively impact the development and implementation of new food safety initiatives which will drive speed and efficiency.

What you will be doing:

• To undertake food safety assessment /approval for raw materials and low complexity projects.
• Generate insights from food safety data from line and product qualifications with the aim to drive improvement within the food safety and other teams.
• Work closely with other R&D functions to ensure better connectivity.
• Lead Europe Food Safety initiatives that ensure we comply with our Global standards
• Manage the review of qualification data and provide pre-approval to the food safety risk lead.
• Provide regular communication and outcomes on initiatives you’re leading to Europe and Global teams.
• Liaise and network with individuals from junior to senior management level.

Qualifications/Requirements

What are we looking for:

• An undergraduate student following path to a degree level qualification in Food Science and/or Technology, Microbiology or other related science subjects.
• High degree of initiative and drive to deliver results with the ability to be pro-active and multi-task.
• Interest in how technology can enable food safety
• Passion for food safety and very inquisitive mind
• Self-starter and comfortable working alone
• Strong analytical skills to deal with complex situations
• Keen to gain experience of working in the Food Industry
• Disruption. Intellectual curiosity and a willingness to challenge accepted ways of doing things
• Passion. For our company, for your development and for sustainability.
• Ambition. Eagerness to learn and grow your career and aspire to be our future leaders.
• Creativity. Bring your new thinking and fresh ideas to our brands.
• You! At PepsiCo we bring ourselves to work and embrace diversity and inclusion. We believe our differences is what makes us special.

What else do you need to know?

The placement starts in July 2021, and will last for 12 months, with a salary of £21,000

Other benefits:

• Vibrant culture
• Development and mentoring
• 25 days annual leave plus 8 days bank holidays
• Discounted PepsiCo products
• Competitive pension scheme
• And a whole lot more…

“The opportunities that PepsiCo have offered me as part of my role have been tremendous. I have been involved in multiple projects and activities on top of my day-to-day role which keeps my placement super exciting. I have met some outstanding and friendly people who I know I will keep in touch with after my placement year. The culture here is so collaborative and supportive that I’m never afraid to ask questions or ask to learn new things.”

• Niyanee Porte

Application Closing Date – 23rd October 2020

Our application window is scheduled to close on the above date, however, in the event of a large response we will close applications early. We would therefore encourage you to apply as soon as possible.