Industrial Placement – Product Quality Assurance

Job description

About the role

Our Industrial Placement Programme within Quality Assurance will make you see retail in a new light. Our unique Partnership difference and approach to business will enable you to get the most out of your placement year. Our placements combine hands on experience with real projects. You will also receive relevant on the job training.

As a placement student you will support the implementation of the quality assessment programme for Waitrose & Partners own label products and ensure that product quality is delivered to specification and to the customers expectations, implementing corrective actions as part of a quality improvement programme. You will work cross functionally with the category teams and suppliers ensuring awareness of quality issues through effective reporting

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £3.50 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

Responsibilities, Skills and Experience

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Salary: Up to £24,000. Please note from 1st April 2026, the salary range for this role will be £26,500

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Contract type: This position is a Fixed Term contract for an Industrial Placement (typically 12 months).

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Proposed Start Date : July 2026 

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Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The team aim for 3 days per week in the office to connect and flexibility is required at times.

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Location - Bracknell

Key responsibilities

During your Industrial Placement in Quality Assurance you'll have varied accountabilities, including;

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Supporting the delivery of the Product Quality Benchmarking process. Ensuring correct samples identified & purchased. Coordinate benchmarking process ensuring effective delivery and clearly captured actions. Follow up with teams / suppliers to ensure actions completed to agreed timescale.

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Supporting the delivery of the Quality Improvement Review sessions. Ensuring good communication to stakeholders/suppliers and effective close out of quality issues

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Supporting the implementation and delivery of the product quality assessment programme against customer quality standards (QAS) and specifications at Waitrose & Partners head office, distribution and branches to ensure consistent delivery of quality standards.

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Deliver actionable data insights and provide analytical support to both immediate and cross-functional teams.

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

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As part of your degree, be able to take a year out in industry commencing July 2026

Please Note:

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Interviews will take place end March into April 2026.

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The placement will start July 2026

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We will only accept one application for any of the Partnership Industrial Placement schemes. If you apply for more than one scheme, we will take the first application we receive. You will then receive an email notifying you of the withdrawal of any subsequent applications.

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Please print off the job description now, as you will be unable to view it once the vacancy has closed.

The Partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:   

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.   

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.  

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