At a Glance
- Tasks: Ensure food safety and quality across McDonald's suppliers and restaurants.
- Company: Join McDonald's, a leading employer in the UK with over 1500 restaurants.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, career growth, and a dynamic work environment.
- Other info: Collaborative team culture with opportunities for international travel.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on food safety and quality in a fast-paced setting.
- Qualifications: Degree in Food Science or equivalent experience; HACCP certification required.
The predicted salary is between 50000 - 55000 £ per year.
About Us
Mc Donalds has run its business in the UK since 1974 and currently operates over 1500 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, serving almost four million customers each day.
Mc Donalds is one of the UKs largest private sector employers, employing over 170,000 people.
Department Overview
We are looking for a Quality Assurance, Food Safety & Nutrition (QFSN) Specialist who will be responsible for driving the safety, quality, and legality of food products throughout the Mc Donald’s system - from our suppliers to our restaurants.
Reporting into the QAFSN manager, you will be the quality assurance lead for key supplier categories.
In addition to quality assurance, you will have responsibility for food safety within restaurants for your categories and ensure compliance with nutrition legislation and internal guardrails.
You’ll manage key supplier categories and lead high-impact projects that enhance product integrity and brand trust.
This role is ideal for a technically skilled professional looking to deepen their expertise in food safety and quality within a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
- You will work within the Quality Assurance, Nutrition and Food Safety team, which sits within the Supply Chain team at Mc Donald’s.
- This role will report into the Quality Assurance and Food Safety Manager.
- Working in close collaboration with Global SC counterparts and teams to ensure alignment and consistency
Duties
- Act as the lead QFS contact for assigned supplier categories, owning product and restaurant supplier performance and continuous improvement.
- Manage supplier performance activities through KPI reviews, action plans and factory visits. Deliver against defined KPIs, escalation risk as required.
- Champion food safety and quality culture across suppliers, restaurants and internal teams, embedding accountability, learning and continuous improvement.
- Use data, insights and trend analysis to proactively identify risks, prioritise actions and unlock opportunities for improvement.
- Monitor complaints, emerging risk, identify trends and support incident management and crisis activity, providing technical input and investigation support.
- Manage restaurant engagement plans for categories to drive compliance and lead improvements in allergen and microbiological programs.
- Maintain and continuously improve the Restaurant food safety management system, including HACCP, the Food Safety Manual, cleaning procedures and allergen risk assessment
- Ensure compliance with nutrition and labelling legislation, alignment with global and local guardrails, and drive continuous improvement in nutrition standards.
- Support local and global cross-category product and restaurant improvement initiatives offering technical expertise in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
- Collaborate with global leadership to ensure consistency in standards and alignment with market-specific objectives and effective implementation of global programs.
- Support the food menu team with product launches, ingredient approvals and product set‑up. Apply QFS and Nutrition governance within the Stage & Gate process.
- Contribute to supply chain initiatives, including cost optimisation, sustainability and digitalisation projects.
- Participate in the on‑call weekend rota to ensure continuity of operations during weekends and holidays.
Qualifications
- Degree (or equivalent) in Food Science or equivalent experience
- Technical understanding of food products, their manufacture and distribution.
- Hold a minimum of level 3 HACCP and lead auditor training.
- A good commercial acumen and numeracy skills.
- Strong verbal, written and presentation communication skills.
- Proficient computer use (including Microsoft Power Point, Office and Excel).
- Excellent data analysis and presentation skills. Capable of analysing commercial metrics & insights to provide data led decisions.
- Experience with the use of quality and product specification systems.
- Excellent time management and prioritisation skills.
- A positive demeanor with strong focus on culture of continuous improvement.
- A curious mindset, confident, independent and a logical problem solver.
- Must have a valid driers license, ability to maintain a valid and current passport and could domestically and internationally travel, depending on business needs.
We do not tolerate inequality, injustice or discrimination of any kind.
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Product Quality and Safety Technologist employer: McDonald's United Kingdom
At McDonald's United Kingdom, we pride ourselves on being an excellent employer, especially in our Andover location. With flexible hours, a supportive work culture, and a comprehensive benefits package that includes fortnightly pay, discounts, and free meals during shifts, we are dedicated to fostering employee growth and creating a welcoming environment for both staff and customers.
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We think this is how you could land Product Quality and Safety Technologist
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We think you need these skills to ace Product Quality and Safety Technologist
Some tips for your application 🫡
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