Jacco - Food Auditor

The Story

My journey to becoming a Food Auditor was set from the moment I took on the role of Food Safety Consultant in 2016. I was the person who’d support clients to prepare for an Auditor’s visit. Soon after that, I got the opportunity to take on a new challenge, spending 50% of the week training others to be internal Auditors.

I was teaching loads of people how to be the best internal Auditor they could be, so why wouldn’t I used those tools to do the role myself? Naturally, it was the next step on my career path. I started as a trainee, shadowing the Lead Auditor to learn about the process. But thankfully, my previous knowledge and experience meant it wasn’t long before I progressed.

A Food Auditor is generally seen in a negative light, as someone who’s come with the sole purpose of looking for non-conformities. But that’s just not the case – not at DNV anyway. It’s about doing the best for the customer; giving them practical ways to improve their food safety processes and achieve certification.

And we learn just as much from our clients as they do from us. Every visit we do supports us to improve, not just as an Auditor, but also as an organisation. It’s one of the things I really like about working here. There’s a huge learning culture at DNV. I think that’s a big part of why it’s one of the top three certified bodies.

There’s a real sense of looking after each other too. We’re encouraged to lean on our fellow auditors, meeting regularly to share knowledge and opinions on the industry and standards. So, bring your pragmatism, passion, and eagerness to learn to DNV, and you’ll enjoy being part of a great team.

Find out more about the opportunities available here.