Working at Kiwa: Gemma Ufton

Gemma Ufton is working as Food and Farm Schemes manager at Kiwa UK and she has participated in Kiwa’s Leadership Development Programme (LDP).

Start of career

Gemma developed a keen interest in animal nutrition at school already, but began her professional career aged 29 as a technical graduate at the food safety team of a large meat producer, and finally became Quality Manager. During that she also gained her MSc Meat Science through part time study.

Stepping over the fence

In September 2018, Gemma started to work for Kiwa UK as Food Schemes Manager. ‘I found it very interesting to step to the other side of the fence; in my previous roles I had lots of experience of being audited, in my role at Kiwa I would see the bigger picture. It allowed me to use my technical knowledge to support other businesses.' 

'When a farm schemes manager role became vacant, we merged the two teams together. It was an exciting time for me as I have plenty of farming knowledge and for me it was great to learn about new schemes.’

Family company feel

‘Kiwa is a great environment to work in, I am given lots of autonomy to develop my team and grow my sector. It is much quicker to get new ideas or changes made than some other big companies. I think this is also because Kiwa is a global company with a family company feel at local level.'

'I am given the opportunity to do my best every day. As an employee you are experiencing exciting times as Kiwa continues to expand. I am fully engaged with Kiwa and I feel proud that they are keen to invest in me.’

Kiwa's Leadership Development Programme

'In 2019/2020 I participated in Kiwa’s Leadership Development Programme (LDP). The programme is about developing yourself, identifying your strengths and being given tools to strengthen your weaker areas. It is also focused on leadership qualities and how these can impact your teams. You have regular contact with the Kiwa board of directors and you will be given the opportunity to present your project to them. The LDP is a great opportunity to get noticed in the company and accelerate our career journeys.’

‘The reason I participated is that I am very keen to progress my career with Kiwa and the LDP has aided me on my journey to leadership. I was relatively new to Kiwa when I started the programme, it really helped my understanding of the wider company and I made an excellent network of communication.’