Head of Quality UK in London

Description

Job title

Head of Quality UK (permanent, full-time)

Location

North West London, NW2 7HF

Salary

Competitive

Hours

Monday – Friday 9:00am – 6:00pm + 1 hour lunch break

Hybrid

3 days in office, 2 days working from home

Start date

• Immediate
• Our business…

At Vitabiotics, you'll find a diverse bunch of talented folk who come from a wide range of backgrounds and possess an extensive array of experience.

What brings us all together is a culture that thrives on innovation, mutual respect, team work and a sense of commitment.

Vitabiotics is truly a great place to work!

Vitabiotics has pioneered advances in nutritional healthcare products for 55 years and the range includes many of Britain’s leading supplement brands such as Perfectil, Pregnacare, Wellman, Wellwoman and Menopace.

As the UK’s No.1 vitamin company, exporting to over 100 countries, Vitabiotics is widely acknowledged as leaders in innovation and in 2018 became the first vitamin company to twice receive the Queen’s Award for Innovation, awarded for its ground breaking clinical research.

As part of our commitment to innovation and development, we are looking for an experienced Head of Quality UK to lead our quality function.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role, responsible for ensuring our products meet the highest standards of quality, safety, regulatory compliance and consistency from raw materials through to finished product.

Working closely with technical, regulatory, product development, manufacturing and supply chain teams, you will play a key role in maintaining robust quality systems, managing risk and driving continuous improvement across our product portfolio.

The ideal candidate will bring strong technical expertise, a thorough understanding of quality and regulatory requirements within the health and wellbeing sector, and a genuine passion for delivering safe, high-quality products to consumers.

Responsibilities will include…

• Quality Leadership & Strategy
• Develop and implement the UK Quality strategy aligned with the global quality vision and business objectives.
• Act as the senior quality leader for UK operations, providing direction, coaching and support.
• Contribute actively to the Global Quality Leadership Team, helping shape global quality standards, policies and initiatives.
• Champion a culture of quality, compliance, accountability and continuous improvement throughout the organisation.
• Quality Management System, Policies & SOP Governance
• Partner with the Quality Leadership Team to develop, review, implement and embed global quality policies, standards and procedures across the organisation.

Ensure the QMS remains effective, scalable and fit for purpose during periods of organisational growth and transformation.

• Establish a robust document control framework to ensure all quality documentation is effectively managed, maintained and periodically reviewed.
• Drive standardisation, simplification and harmonisation of processes while ensuring local operational needs are addressed.
• Monitor adherence to policies and procedures through audits, inspections and performance reviews, implementing corrective actions where necessary.
• Regulatory Compliance & Governance
• Ensure compliance with all applicable regulations relating to food supplements and cosmetic products.
• Maintain awareness of changing regulatory requirements and ensure business readiness and compliance.
• Lead interactions with regulatory authorities, certification bodies and external auditors.
• Change Management & Transformation
• Play a pivotal role in organisational transformation programmes impacting quality, manufacturing and supply chain operations.
• Evaluate existing processes and redesign workflows to improve efficiency, compliance and control.
• Lead quality-related change management activities, ensuring effective implementation and stakeholder engagement.
• Lead the transition from legacy working practices to documented, standardised and controlled processes.
• Training & Quality Culture
• Develop and implement quality training programmes to improve organisational capability and compliance.
• Ensure all employees understand and follow quality procedures and regulatory requirements.
• Build a culture where quality is integrated into daily operations and decision-making.
• Coach leaders and teams in quality principles, risk management and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Ensure employees are appropriately trained, competent and compliant with applicable quality procedures.
• Measure and monitor the effectiveness of SOP implementation and training through audits, observations and compliance metrics.
• Supplier & External Partner Oversight
• Support the supplier qualification and approval process by providing quality and compliance expertise.
• Conduct supplier and contract manufacturer audits where required, assessing compliance with company standards, GMP requirements and regulatory expectations.
• Collaborate with Procurement, Supply Chain and Operations teams to support supplier performance improvement initiatives.
• Provide quality input into the selection and evaluation of third-party manufacturers and service providers.
• Support investigations related to supplier quality issues, complaints, deviations or non-conformances.
• Audit & Inspection Management
• Establish UK internal audit programme.
• Ensure audit readiness across UK operations.
• Manage responses to regulatory/ customer audit findings and ensure timely closure of corrective actions.
• Stakeholder Management
• Work closely with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Product Development, Commercial and Operations teams.
• Provide quality leadership and guidance to senior management.
• Influence and engage stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.
• Represent Quality in key business projects, governance forums and leadership meetings.

Requirements

Essential

• Degree in a scientific discipline such as Quality, Chemistry, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Food Science or related subject.
• Significant senior quality leadership experience within pharmaceutical regulated manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of Quality Management Systems and quality governance frameworks and their implementation.
• Extensive experience leading audits, inspections and regulatory interactions.
• Strong knowledge of risk management, CAPA and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience managing and developing high-performing teams.

Desirable

• Experience within both food supplement and cosmetic manufacturing environments.
• Experience leading QMS implementation projects.
• Experience leading quality transformation and change programmes.

Skills

• Leadership
• Strategic thinking
• Team development and coaching
• Influencing and stakeholder management
• Change leadership
• Technical
• Quality systems expertise
• Regulatory compliance
• Audit management
• Root cause analysis and CAPA
• Risk management
• Personal
• Results-oriented
• Resilient and adaptable
• Strong communication skills
• Collaborative approach
• High integrity and accountability

Benefits

• 24 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Birthday day off.
• 2 Charity days a year.
• Bupa dental cover.
• Private medical insurance.
• 50% staff discount on all Vitabiotics products.
• Staff skills training.
• Health and wellbeing programme.
• Pension contributions.
• Sick pay support.
• Free onsite parking.
• Enhanced maternity or paternity leave.
• Company events.
• Fresh fruit and snacks.
• Free EV charging station.