With almost 40 years of award winning retail experience and with 170 years of family farming heritage on the site, Macknade Fine Foods has developed an excellent reputation over the years.

The Head Butcher is the department Manager and through the team will implement and maintain the highest standards of quality and efficient methods of working, deliver an excellent customer experience and take full responsibility for the profit and loss of the department in partnership with the Store Manager.

We believe that meat is not a commodity for thoughtless everyday eating, but that it should be special, something to be enjoyed & truly savoured. We know to achieve this the meat has to come from well cared for animals and thoughtful farming & husbandry.

Working closely with farmers, producers and game dealers, we carefully select a range of premium fresh meat for our butchery counter.

We are the only certified butcher of pasture-fed meat in East Kent and work with several farms in the South-East that are certified by the Pasture Fed Livestock Association – an organisation who champion British farmers dedicated to only feeding their animals on a natural diet of grasses, wildflowers & herbs. From lamb, pork and beef that is full of flavour, through to the highest grade chickens and game, our focus in the butchery is on quality, skill & provenance.

Our Head Butcher will be ensuring each cut of our meat is as it should be, and to order as the customer requests. We are also happy to source hard to find meats from our suppliers – having a solid relationship with our suppliers and other farmers will ensure that we are able to source new meats.

The team cure our bacon in-house and make a variety of different sausages using traditional and unusual blends. We also work with local game dealers to select the best game from estates across the South East. This includes venison, boar, rabbits, hares, partridge and duck.

Our butchery is also heavily influenced by international flavours. Prime Tuscan sausages, packed with fresh meat and fennel seeds, are regularly available; as is South African Boerewors. And this is not forgetting the seasonal fare of haggis and black pudding that comes in from one of Scotland’s leading producers, Ramsay’s of Carluke!

Underlying this is our butchery promise: To provide the best quality meat, with the best provenance, using the very best skills, which you can read more about on our website: https://macknade.com/food-and-drink/butchers/

An experienced butchery team will be essential to uphold the values of the business and ensure that we are offering a quality of product and service that is exceptional, and as expected from Macknade customers.

A key priority for this role will be to have an innovative approach to growing the business and developing the team. Since the butchery launched in 2015 it has seen steady growth and this role will be expected to be creative, working with the current team to drive the business further forward with an eye not just on our retail customers, but our wholesale & internal customers and through events.

Main duties and responsibilities:

Customer Service

• Deliver an exemplary customer experience to all our customers whereby nothing is too much trouble. Our Macknade Trinity of customers, suppliers and team are at the heart of our business so creating meaningful relationships with everyone is essential to our brand. Problem solving may be required in partnership with a senior manager.
• Relationships with the wider team and all suppliers complete the trinity and are paramount to the ongoing success, trust and loyalty towards our brand. This role leads by example and generates respectful interactions with everyone and demonstrates great integrity at all times, a brand ambassador.

Purchasing & Inventory Control

• Ensure all the ordering is completed as required so we are in stock of everything we need, within the purchasing budgets.

• Control the pricing structure of all purchased raw meat carcasses and ensure all retail and wholesale prices are correct. Breaking down the carcasses into various cuts, ensuring the costings of each reflect our qualita / prezzo Italian adage and that the budgeted margins are obtained.

• Control the ordering of all butchery related packaging & other supplies. Monthly stock takes will ensure everything is tightly controlled and wastage is minimised.

• Ensure the correct implementation of the procedure for processing and receiving supplier deliveries to ensure payment deadlines are met and optimum accuracy of stock holding. Ensure that any outstanding orders & returns are monitored, partnering with the finance team so that respective credits are received.

Staff Supervision

• Oversee the training of all butchery staff and manage individual performance and their potential with the People Manager. Personal development is encouraged for everyone so we can continuously improve our standards and create meaningful careers.

• All health and safety regulations must be met before using any machinery or chemicals. Maintain an up to date suite of risk assessments, food hygiene & HACCP records and processes. It is this role’s responsibility to train & manage all employees to deliver on the desired standards.
• Assist the People Manager when recruiting & appointing new butchery staff, attending interviews as necessary. Forward planning staffing to benfit peaks in trade & creating business cases for hiring.
• Scheduling and time management for the team will ensure that you have the right people in the right place at the right time completed in advance to support work life balance. Authorise shifts, pre-authorise overtime, holidays & manage sickness absence in alignment with payroll budgets and HR processes.

Food Production

• Be responsible for the production of a consistently high standard of all meat prepared in the butchery for sale in the counter, for pre-packed self service fridges, wholesale or other departments as required.

• Ensure that the meat prepared from carcass to the finished product is of an excellent standard and meat displays are of the highest quality. Training and expecting the team to deliver consistent standards is key to a great customer experience.

• Regularly develop new products and review existing range to ensure that we offer customers year round seasonally great choices.


HACCP Procedures

• Maintain an efficient HACCP system as well as all other food hygiene and health and safety procedures. Ensure the team know what is expected of them and hold them accountable to this high standard.

• Ensure the highest standards of hygiene, presentation & organisation are achieved in the butchery and maintained at all times.

• Ensure all Health and Safety guidelines are followed and that all the appropriate safety protection clothing and equipment is provided, worn and used at all times. Be prepared to accommodate the Trading Standards Officer and EHO on routine spot checks carried out throughout the year. Train the team to ensure they are confident & competent in your absence.

Personal skills and abilities:

• Excellent customer service skills with ability to train the team and lead by example thereby setting the standard for others.
• Excellent butchery skills and the ability to teach others so everyone is confident and competent in all principles.
• Able to manage own and others time and create great working relationships with everyone in the business taking accountability for successes, challenges and areas to improve on.
• Demonstrate a genuine passion for food and commitment to our family business.
• Attention to detail, organised and methodical plus the ability to be flexible to the growing needs of the business.
• Operational skills such as business development, commerciality, working with P&L reports and demonstrated ability to implement & maintain high quality processes and procedures.
• Honest, discreet, approachable and trustworthy.
• Proven ability to lead, supervise and motivate teams.
• Able to ensure excellent health & safety and food hygiene practices.
• Computer literate & excellent communication skills both verbally and written.
• Have the bandwidth to undertake any other duties & responsibilities as required.