Quality Assurance Officer in Ashford

Diamond Search Recruitment is working on behalf of our client, a growing manufacturing business, to recruit a Quality Assurance Officer to join their team. This is a hands-on quality role working across the manufacturing site, supporting day-to-day quality activities and acting as a key point of contact for quality matters on the shop floor. The successful candidate will help ensure that raw materials, production processes, documentation, hygiene standards and finished products meet the required quality, safety, legality and customer standards.

The Role

As Quality Assurance Officer, you will work closely with Production, Warehouse, Technical and Operations teams to maintain high standards of quality and compliance across the site. You will be responsible for supporting goods-in approvals, raw material release, product inspections, GMP and hygiene checks, batch record reviews and finished goods release. This role would suit someone with previous experience in a Quality Assurance, Quality Control or Technical role, preferably within a pharmaceutical, food, or nutraceutical environment. We are seeking a versatile team player to join this exciting business!

Key Responsibilities

• Shop Floor Quality Support
  • Act as the first point of contact for quality-related queries and issues on the production floor.
  • Provide guidance and support to Production, Warehouse and Operations teams.
  • Identify and escalate quality concerns, non-conformances and potential risks where required.
  • Support the development of a positive quality culture across the site.
• Goods-In Approval & Raw Material Release
  • Manage the goods-in approval process for ingredients and relevant materials.
  • Conduct sampling of incoming ingredients in line with site procedures and sampling plans.
  • Carry out relevant release testing against approved specifications.
  • Review certificates of analysis and supplier documentation.
  • Release approved materials for warehouse picking and production use.
  • Quarantine or escalate materials that do not meet the required standards.
• AQL Inspections & Product Quality Checks
  • Conduct AQL inspections on manufactured products.
  • Inspect products against approved specifications, customer requirements and internal quality standards.
  • Complete accurate AQL inspection reports.
  • Communicate inspection results and quality concerns to relevant departments.
  • Support investigations into defects, trends and quality issues.
• GMP, Hygiene & Production Inspections
  • Conduct random GMP inspections across production areas.
  • Carry out hygiene checks, including hand swabbing and other relevant verification activities.
  • Conduct random production checks to verify documentation, in-process checks and prerequisite controls.
  • Identify and report non-compliances relating to GMP, hygiene, documentation or process controls.
  • Support corrective actions and follow-up checks.
• Staff Retraining & Quality Incident Support
  • Conduct staff retraining following quality incidents, non-conformances or issues identified during GMP and hygiene audits.
  • Ensure retraining is accurately documented.
  • Provide coaching and guidance where quality standards or procedures are not being followed correctly.
  • Support the wider business in maintaining a strong quality culture.
• Batch Record Review & Finished Goods Release
  • Review batch production records from a quality perspective.
  • Verify that production checks, in-process checks, sign-offs and documentation have been completed correctly.
  • Support the positive release process for finished goods.
  • Escalate incomplete, inaccurate or non-compliant batch records for correction or investigation.
  • Ensure finished products are only released once all quality requirements have been met.

About You

The successful candidate will ideally have:

• Previous experience in a Quality Assurance, Quality Control or Technical role within a manufacturing, food, supplement, pharmaceutical or FMCG environment.
• A good understanding of GMP, hygiene standards, quality inspections and production documentation.
• Experience conducting AQL inspections or product quality checks is desirable.
• Experience reviewing batch records and identifying documentation or compliance issues.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to support and challenge production teams professionally.
• The ability to escalate issues appropriately and follow procedures.
• The ability to work independently and prioritise workload in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Basic IT skills, including Microsoft Office.

Personal Attributes

You will be:

• Proactive and hands-on.
• Detail-oriented and accurate.
• Confident working on the shop floor.
• Professional and approachable.
• Reliable and organised.
• Calm under pressure.
• Committed to maintaining high standards of quality, safety and compliance.

What You Will Be Responsible For

Your performance will be measured through:

• Accurate and timely goods-in approvals.
• Completion of scheduled AQL inspections and accurate reporting.
• Completion of GMP and hygiene checks in line with site requirements.
• Accurate batch record reviews supporting finished goods release.
• Effective follow-up of quality incidents and non-conformances.
• Accurate verification of documentation and production checks.
• Maintaining quality standards across production and warehouse areas.

If you are an experienced Quality Assurance professional looking for a hands-on role within a manufacturing environment, we would be keen to hear from you.