Job Title: Food Quality Assurance (QA) Manager

Salary: £40K - £45 (DOE)

Location: Near Chew Magna, Bristol BS39 4 - The site is located in a rural location with no access to public transport network. Candidates must have their own form of transport.

4 DAY WEEK!!! You would work 4 days per week across Monday to Friday. Working hours are 8am - 5.30pm. The majority of office employees work Mon to Thurs, however the exact four days will be determined by the department heads.

Job Type: Full time, Permanent

Our client is a family owned, highly respected, well-established and friendly FMCG dried food packaging business who specialises in the manufacture of single serve ingredients. They are fully committed to reducing food and packaging waste. They have a unique product offering and work in the fastest growing sector of the food industry. Due to company restructure we are looking to recruit a new member of staff for the quality department.

Responsible to: Reporting to and working closely with the Technical Manager, your role would be to assist in managing a small team of QA staff. You will oversee the growth and development of the QA team

Job Purpose: As Quality Assurance Manager you'll be responsible for promoting and supporting a continuous improvement-based Food safety and Quality culture within the business technical strategy and policy. Ensuring that, through effective procedures, monitoring and coaching, all products manufactured by the business are safe, legal and meet Third-Party Accreditation or exceed customer expectations. You are an integral member of the Site Management Team; you will oversee the growth and development of the QA team as well as the development of a strong Quality Assurance culture.

Role & Responsibilities:

* This is a critical role in helping to deliver the overall site quality agenda and strategy, requiring management of the QA department and cooperation with the operational team to achieve the sites goals and objectives.

* Take an active part in site customer and regulatory visits/audits. As a member of the site Crisis Management team ensure that you are familiar with the companies 'Crisis and Incident Management procedure.

* Undertake supplier approval/audits to ensure compliance to Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory requirements.

* Undertake raw material approvals to ensure compliance to Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory requirements

* Ensure that cleaning validation and verification processes are completed and documented, and are reviewed as required i.e. as per schedule, new equipment, new line etc.

* Key member of the HACCP team.

* Deputise for the Head of Technical Manager

* Training - Train out new procedures, work instructions etc as required.

* Other tasks within your capability or after training to help meet the roles of the department and the needs of the business.

* Managing the QA department and working with the production/warehouse teams and customers, review the factory operation daily to ensure that products meet the Food Safety, Quality and Legality standards set by the company, customers, and regulatory authorities.

* Champion the 'Right First Time, Every Time' approach to quality issues across the site, the emphasis of this is working in partnership with all departments.

* Create and maintain internal quality systems, including BRC, customer technical standards, and ensure that processes are in place to determine customer's needs and expectations, they are clearly defined, and ensure that these requirements are fulfilled.

* Managing the QA Technicians to ensure the factory on a daily basis is inspected for compliance to company standards, identify any areas of non-compliance together with a root cause analysis, and proactively manage the corrective action plan to rectify any deficiencies. Prepare KPI reports to Senior Management.

* Work with the Head of Technical to manage the companies internal audit schedule as per the FSQM system and ensure any non- conformances are identified, tracked and closed out by the relevant manager(s). Where necessary assist in drawing up a corrective action plan and monitor progress. Escalate to the Head of Technical when non-conformances have not been closed out in a timely manner or where there is a risk to Food Safety, Quality or Legality.

* Investigate customer complaints and undertake a root cause analysis to identify on-going improvements to Food Safety, Quality or Regulatory standards to avoid a reoccurrence. Prepare formal customer complaint responses and KPI reports.

* Assist with managing the pest control programme and respond rapidly to any issues which pose a risk to products, raw materials or packaging.

* Investigate internal non-conformances and where applicable decide on disposal of any affected stock. Ensure that issues are recorded and communicated to the relevant departments.

* Plan, prioritise and organise the workload of the QA staff. Ensure they are fully utilised and completing tasks accurately and on time. Coach team members and support their individual development programmes.

* Attend daily production meetings and discuss any Food Safety, Quality or Legal issues or non-conforming materials/products/processes.

To be considered you would ideally need to:

* have previous experience of working within the food or drinks industry, ideally within a BRC accredited facility.

* Have knowledge of GFSI awareness.

* Have previous Quality Assurance Management experience

* Strong understanding of quality and compliance.

* Auditing experience - GMP audits, internal Audits and BRC.

* Be able to read and understand measuring equipment.

* Have great attention to detail.

* Be able to perform administrative tasks using a computer system.

* Strong interpersonal skills enabling you to communicate and interact with other staff members with ease.

Riverside Recruitment are acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy.

I look forward to hearing from you! :)