Lead Quality Manager in Central

The QA Team Leader is responsible for leading and managing the Quality Assurance team to ensure product quality, food safety, hygiene, and traceability standards are consistently met. The role involves motivating and developing team members, overseeing QA activities across production, and supporting management by communicating quality issues, corrective actions, and team performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Understand, maintain, and clearly communicate product quality and specification requirements to all relevant staff.
• Ensure all product intake checks are completed accurately and on schedule, escalating any issues to production and field teams promptly.
• Plan, allocate, and complete daily online QA checks for each production run in line with the production schedule.
• Monitor production and QA activities to ensure procedures are followed and finished products meet customer specifications prior to dispatch.
• Ensure shelf-life sampling is completed and recorded according to procedures and customer requirements, reporting any failures to management.
• Ensure all site production checks (including knife, chill, and scale checks) are completed to schedule and any issues are reported.
• Contribute to the development, review, and improvement of QA procedures to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and product quality.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, motivate, and support the QA team in their daily activities.
• Conduct regular 1-to-1 meetings and appraisal reviews in line with Technical Manager requirements.
• Monitor team performance, providing constructive feedback on quality standards, hygiene, PPE compliance, and health & safety practices.
• Communicate staffing needs or issues to the Technical Manager.
• Support recruitment, training, induction, and development of new and existing team members, including training on updated procedures.
• Escalate repeated performance issues or breaches of company procedures and participate in performance reviews when required.

Communication & Collaboration

• Communicate effectively with harvesting, production leaders, supervisors, and managers to identify, agree, and implement corrective actions for quality issues.
• Act as a key link between QA, production, and management, sharing updates, concerns, and performance feedback.
• Ensure clear communication of company procedures, safety practices, and deadlines to the team.

Additional Duties

• Undertake additional tasks as required to meet business needs, which may include working outside the packhouse or assisting with cleaning or maintenance of equipment, plant, or buildings.
• Be flexible in working patterns, including weekends, night shifts, and overtime during peak production periods.

Candidate Specification

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven leadership or supervisory experience, ideally within a food production or FMCG environment.
• Strong understanding of food quality, hygiene, health, and safety requirements.
• Excellent communication and motivational skills.
• Experience training, supervising, and assessing employee performance.
• High attention to detail, particularly relating to product quality and compliance.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Basic IT skills.
• Reliable, punctual, and professional with a respectful approach to colleagues.
• English at a communicative level.
• Own transport or access to reliable transport.

Personal Attributes

• Results-oriented and proactive.
• Adaptable and flexible to meet changing production demands.
• Confident in communicating with both shop-floor teams and senior management.

Working Hours & Benefits

• ~40 hours per week, with flexibility required to meet operational needs.
• ~ Weekend work and night shifts may be required during peak periods.
• ~ Overtime available at certain times throughout the year.
• ~ Holiday entitlement: 28 days per annum (pro rata).

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