Food Safety and Quality Lead - Northwich

No Agencies Please

The Opportunity: Lead day-to-day food safety and quality verification for bakery manufacturing, with accountability for internal audits, follow-up and practical coaching of Operations. Support consistent standards across bread and morning goods operations, cover Shift Food Safety & Quality Specialist absence when assigned, support corrective actions within the QA department, and drive improvement work assigned by the QAM. Identify risks early, secure affected product and follow actions through to effective completion.

Job Purpose:

• Own the assigned internal audit and GMP inspection schedule: plan audits, complete objective factory and system reviews, record evidence clearly and issue findings to the relevant owners on time.
• Track audit findings and corrective actions, challenge overdue or weak responses, verify that actions work in practice and escalate recurring or significant gaps to Technical management.
• Trend findings across shifts and departments and use the results to target follow-up checks, coaching and management updates.
• Complete or coordinate verification of HACCP controls, CCPs, allergen management, traceability, foreign body prevention, hygiene, pest controls, weight controls and documentation as assigned.
• Support customer, certification and regulatory audits through preparation, evidence retrieval, factory checks and follow-up actions within the limits of the role.
• Maintain a visible factory presence and verify raw material status, recipe and batch identity, stock rotation, line clearance, process controls, finished product quality and product specifications.
• Update and manage recipe control systems, conducting routine checks on recipes and BOM information
• Verify packaging identity, allergen declarations, date and batch coding, independent coding checks and packaging reconciliation, including end-of-run checks where required.
• Check metal detection performance, reject systems, foreign body risks and the response to failed challenge tests or contamination incidents.
• Verify weight-control equipment set-up, records and trend response, and escalate potential legal or specification failures promptly.
• Inspect hygiene, GMP, PPE, pest evidence, equipment and building fabric. Raise defects, secure exposed product and confirm that effective interim controls remain in place.
• Control non-conforming materials and product through identification, hold, investigation, traceability and documented disposition. Support complaints, incidents and root cause analysis.
• Support the QAM in allocating, tracking and reviewing corrective actions owned by the QA department, including those arising from audits, incidents, complaints and routine verification.
• Gather evidence, challenge superficial close-outs, verify implementation and effectiveness, and escalate overdue or ineffective actions to the QAM.
• Lead improvement tasks assigned by the QAM, agreeing the scope, owner actions and target dates; provide concise progress updates and document the outcome.
• Identify recurring failures and recommend practical changes to procedures, checks, training or escalation, subject to the required Technical approval.
• Coach Production and Stores colleagues at the point of work on QA checks, correct completion of records, product protection, allergen control, coding, line clearance, foreign body controls and response to deviations.
• Deliver or support practical training and refresher sessions using approved procedures; demonstrate the check, observe colleagues performing it and document competence or training evidence under the site system.
• Help Operations understand audit findings and agree workable corrective actions. Verify sustained implementation
• Identify unclear or impractical instructions and propose changes to Technical management.
• Place raw materials, packaging, work in progress and finished product on hold; prevent release until authorised disposition is documented.
• Request a line stop and escalate significant food safety, legality or product integrity concerns in accordance with site procedures.
• Escalate failed controls, unresolved audit findings, repeated non-conformances and training or competence gaps to the QAM.
• Provide cover for the Food Safety & Quality Shift Specialist role, including night shifts, during periods of absence and as required by the business.

What you will bring:

Essential:

• Practical Food Manufacturing QA Experience
• Confident Factory-Floor Judgement;
• Sound Food Safety, Hygiene, Allergen and HACCP Knowledge
• Accurate Reporting
• Ability To Challenge Constructively
• Organise An Audit Schedule
• Train Colleagues.

Desirable:

• Bakery Experience;
• Internal Auditor Training;
• Level 3 Food Safety Or HACCP
• BRCGS And Retailer Requirements
• Experience With Average Weight, Coding Verification, Traceability and Corrective Action Management.

Hours of work:
Day shift, with the requirement to provide cover for the Food Safety & Quality Shift Specialist role, including night shifts, as required by the business.

While we review each application on an individual basis, due to the high number of applicants we cannot guarantee that we will be able to reply to each candidate. Therefore, if you have not been invited for interview within three weeks, please assume your application has not been successful.