Quality Assistant 12 month FTC in Coleraine

Ballyrashane Lakeland Dairies Co-operative Society Limited (The Group) is the second largest dairy processor on the island of Ireland. The business is complex and ambitious with a milk supply pool of 2 billion litres of milk, drawn from over 3,200 family farms across 16 counties. With the most modern dairy manufacturing facilities in 8 locations on a cross-border basis, the Group supplies to a broad customer base including some of the world’s foremost ‘blue chip’ companies across the dairy food ingredients, foodservice and consumer food channels on a domestic Ireland, UK, European and global basis. Internationally we export some 240 different products to over 100 countries worldwide.

The Group’s Agribusiness Division (Lakeland Agri) operates a state-of-the-art Animal Feed Manufacturing Facility and is a leading and innovative provider of the highest quality feeds and agricultural inputs to dairy, beef, and sheep farmers across the north and south of Ireland.

Applications are invited for the position that will be based at our Ballyrashane site.

The Role

Our Quality Assistant will play a key role in supporting and monitoring compliance with quality and food safety standards at our Lakeland Ballyrashane site. Working as part of the Quality team, this key role helps ensure we meet the highest customer and regulatory requirements by supporting activities that protect food safety, integrity, legality, and overall product quality. Key responsibilities will include (not limited to):

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of our quality systems and processes.
• Ensure the effective implementation and continuous monitoring of customer standards into the site's quality management system.
• Ensure the upkeep of the food safety and quality manual including relevant customer codes of practice to include M&S integrity and food safety.
• Maintain assigned customer quality contracts.
• Co-ordinate customer complaints; conduct investigations, responses and close outs.
• Support resolutions to issues raised through internal and external audits ensuring they are closed out in a timely manner and to a standard that will prevent reoccurrence.
• Maintain customer online systems to ensure they are kept up to date.
• Assist in the compliance with BRC requirements.
• Co-ordinate with the Assistant and Technical Managers and other department representatives in facilitating customer visits and technical requests.
• Carry out spot checks on records daily to ensure all records are ‘live’ and accurate.
• Ensure that all processing and production areas are maintained at the highest level of hygiene as required.
• Ensure traceability is maintained from intake to final product and participate in traceability exercises as and when required. This will include mass balance checks.

The Person

The role requires candidates to have a HND or HNC in either Chemistry, Biology or Food science and ideally have similar experience in a food manufacturing environment. It is desirable that the candidate is educated to Degree Level and holds Level 3 HACCP and Food Hygiene certificate.

The successful candidate will be proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel, with proven experience of problem solving, investigating and resolution. The candidate will be a tenacious, organised and analytical individual with the ability to prioritise workload and responsibilities, and to have excellent communication skills with a positive and enthusiastic approach.

It is essential that the candidate have excellent accuracy in work and a high attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines, and desirable that they can demonstrate experience of root cause analysis.

The role requires the successful person to have a high level of flexibility within a fast-paced environment and to be a systematic and logical person with a preference for procedural based systems. It is desirable but not essential for the person to have experience of Quality Management Systems and Auditing Quality Standards.

Application Process: To apply or for further information, please send a copy of your CV by email to Glen Young. Closing date is Monday 18th May at mid-day.

Lakeland Dairies Ltd is committed to having an inclusive workplace where every employee feels they belong. If you require accommodations to be made during the recruitment process or have questions relating to accessibility, please contact us.