Food Safety & Quality Auditor in Hereford

About the Role

Avara Foods is one of the UK’s leading food businesses, supplying chicken and turkey to the country’s major supermarkets and well-known restaurants. We own and manage our entire supply chain, from farms to factory to the customer door, and offer careers across a wide range of functions. Our processing sites are spread across England and Wales and we work with an agricultural network of more than 350 farms. As an inclusive, forward-thinking business, we take pride in the standards and compliance practices across Avara Foods. We are looking for a highly competent and motivated Food Safety & Quality Auditor to join our Compliance team. The role involves travelling to nationwide sites and working Monday to Friday, 08:00 – 17:00.

You will conduct structured internal audits, ensuring ongoing compliance with BRCGS, retailer standards and statutory legislation, and act as a group-wide resource providing independent assurance, coaching and technical expertise to site teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and conduct internal audits across all manufacturing sites to verify compliance with company policies, BRCGS, retailer standards and legal requirements.
• Support sites in preparing for third-party and customer audits, including gap assessments and readiness reviews.
• Identify non-conformances, record them within the electronic audit platform (e.g., SafetyCulture / iAuditor), and work with site management to drive continuous improvement through effective follow-up and close-out of corrective and preventive actions.
• Support the development and deployment of standardised internal audit templates and guidance materials.
• Support sites in delivering the Food Safety and Quality Culture programme and maintaining compliance with BRCGS, retailer and legislative codes of practice.
• Verify that corrective actions from audit findings are effectively implemented and sustained.
• Represent the group during retailer or third-party audits and site visits, providing expert input and assurance to demonstrate compliance.
• Where required, participate in BRCGS or customer audits to ensure compliance.

Essential Qualifications

• Extensive experience in food manufacturing or retail technical auditing.
• Lead Auditor qualification (ISO 9001 / BRCGS or equivalent).
• Demonstrable experience conducting independent audits to BRCGS and/or retailer standards (e.g., Tesco, M&S).
• Strong working knowledge of food safety systems, BRCGS and relevant food legislation.
• Proven ability to coach, influence and build capability within site teams.
• Experience using electronic auditing platforms (e.g., SafetyCulture, iAuditor) and interpreting audit performance data.
• Excellent communication, organisation and report-writing skills.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data and identify root causes and trends.
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel regularly to sites nationwide.

Desirable Qualifications

• Intermediate or Advanced HACCP (Level 3 or above).
• Intermediate or Advanced Food Safety (Level 3 or above).
• Understanding of risk-based auditing, problem-solving tools (5 Whys, Fishbone, etc.) and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Retailer auditing experience or auditor approval (Tesco, M&S).

The Benefits of Working for Avara Foods

• Competitive salary
• 31 days holiday allowance
• 6% pension
• Life assurance/insurance
• Various lifestyle benefits, such as cashback perks, exclusive shopping discounts from well-known retailers, and discounted cinema tickets
• Wellbeing resources, including free online health advice & support, and wellbeing assessments

We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer.