Quality Assurance Manager in Preston

This is an exciting opportunity to join Refresco UK in a multi-site quality leadership role where you will play a key part in shaping and driving quality standards across our manufacturing network. This is a UK multi-site role supporting our five manufacturing sites, therefore regular travel across the UK is essential. The successful candidate must be comfortable working across multiple locations, building strong relationships with site teams, and spending time on-site to drive standards and continuous improvement.

As Quality Standards Manager, you will ensure Refresco UK's quality and food safety standards continue to meet legal, customer, GFSI and third-party requirements across all UK manufacturing sites. Working closely with the Head of Technical and Quality Management, you will support the development of company standards, drive consistency, and promote a positive quality culture throughout the business.

• Support the development and implementation of Refresco UK quality standards and the wider quality assurance agenda.
• Review site Level 1 and Level 2 internal audit programmes, ensuring audit schedules are completed, audit quality is consistent, and corrective actions are implemented effectively.
• Conduct risk-based Level 3 audits across all manufacturing sites, including reviews of HACCP systems and prerequisite programmes (PRPs).
• Provide coaching and support for site internal auditors to strengthen audit capability and consistency.
• Complete gap analyses against new standards and customer requirements, ensuring internal standards remain compliant and effectively implemented.
• Support the management and continuous improvement of the quality document control system, ensuring documentation remains current and compliant.
• Review quality incident investigations and root cause analyses (RCAs), ensuring robust corrective and preventative actions are established.
• Facilitate Quality Forum meetings, encouraging collaboration, best practice sharing, and continuous improvement across sites.
• Champion food safety culture initiatives, supporting site action plans, awareness campaigns, and employee engagement activities.
• Promote quality standards and behaviours across the business, driving a culture that goes beyond compliance.
• Support supplier quality assurance activities and Vulnerability Assessment and Critical Control Point (VACCP) programmes where required.
• Ensure all activities align with Refresco's commitments to health and safety, food safety, environmental sustainability, and operational excellence.

The ideal candidate will have significant experience within a technical, quality, or food safety role, ideally within an FMCG manufacturing environment. You will have a strong understanding of food safety systems, auditing, compliance standards, and quality management processes, together with the ability to influence and engage stakeholders across multiple sites. We want someone who will lead and role model the Refresco core values of Agile, Responsible, Excellent, Passionate and Entrepreneurial.

Refresco is the global independent beverage solutions provider for Global, National and Emerging brands, and retailers with production in Europe, North America, and Australia. Refresco offers an extensive range of product and packaging combinations from juices to carbonated soft drinks and mineral waters in carton, PET, Aseptic PET, cans, and glass. Refresco continuously searches for new and alternative ways to improve the quality of its products and packaging combinations in line with consumer and customer demand, environmental responsibilities, and market trends.

Refresco believes that equal opportunity for all is fundamental to our company's values and all our applicants can expect fairness and transparency in our recruitment process.