Master Blockman & Filleter
Pesky Fish · Burry Port, Wales, United Kingdom
Apply & track with Apply EdgeMaster Blockman/FilleterPackage:Base Salary: £60,000 Full time salary
Company Description
You will be joining Pesky as our Master Blockman during a period of enormous growth for our company. Our goal is to use seafood consumption to drive the restoration of fish stocks and the marine environments - doing so by creating the most incredible experiences for people to eat British seafood in their homes. Above all, we are building the team with individuals who can grow with the business while providing them with incredible experiences within their jobs.Role Description 1. Processing Leadership & Yield OptimisationPrimary Hand-Processing: Perform rapid, precise hand-filleting, skinning, pin-boning, portioning, and block-cutting across a wide range of roundfish, flatfish (turbot, brill, plaice), trout and shellfishYield & Mass-Balance Control: Monitor and record recovery yields on raw whole fish to ensure maximum profitability and minimal waste; continuously train and adjust the knife team’s technique to maintain target yields.Product Grading & Quality Control: Inspect incoming landed/imported raw material for freshness, temperature, and quality, ensuring only top-tier fish enters the processing line.2. Team LeadershipDaily Workflow Management: Coordinating your team to ensure all tasks are done on time, in full and to the required qualitySkill Development & Mentorship: Lead, train, and develop junior filleters, apprentices, and line workers in safe knife handling, yields and speed.Throughput Efficiency: Ensure orders are cut, portioned, and packed within strict time windows to hit daily cold-chain courier and transport cut-offs.3. Hygiene, Food Safety & Cold-Chain ComplianceHACCP & Hygiene Enforcement: Maintain immaculate hygiene across all cutting blocks, knives, lines, and processing rooms in compliance with local Environmental Health standards and HACCP plans.Cold-Chain Maintenance: Ensure processing ambient temperatures stay strictly controlled and that ice, slurry, and refrigeration protocols are adhered to during processing.Traceability & Record Keeping: Accurately log batch codes, processing weights, waste totals, and yield percentages into internal systems.Experience & QualificationsEssential Experience:Commercial Seafood Experience: Minimum of 3–5 years working as a senior or master filleting specialist in a commercial fish processing facility, fish market, or high-volume wholesale operation.Multi-Species Mastery: Proven ability to hand-fillete and portion a diverse range of pelagic, demersal, flatfish, and high-value prime species quickly and with exceptional recovery yields.Knife Safety & Equipment Care: Expert knowledge of commercial blade maintenance, steeling, block sanitation, and personal protective equipment (PPE / chainmail gloves).Team Leadership: Experience managing or supervising line staff, setting daily operational paces, and maintaining team morale under tight deadlines.Desirable Qualifications:Level 2 or 3 Award in Food Safety for Manufacturing (or equivalent).Practical understanding of HACCP principles within a wet-factory environment.Basic computer literacy for logging yield data and reading daily production sheets.Valid UK Driving License (useful for local port collections or site movements).CharacteristicsPunctual & Reliable: Able to thrive in early-morning starts aligned with fish landings and daily transport dispatches.Quality-Driven: Uncompromising attention to detail regarding fish presentation, trim quality, and portion accuracy.Physically Fit: Comfortable working in cold, wet factory conditions and handling heavy fish crates.