Food Safety & Quality Manager

About Kerry

Kerry Group’s UK & Ireland dairy related business includes Dairy Ingredients, Dairy Nutritional Ingredients, Dairy Consumer Foods, and Agribusiness. With a revenue in excess of €1bn per year, it is one of the world’s leading dairy businesses. With our strong dairy heritage and deep-rooted connection to our 3,000 milk suppliers, right through to our portfolio of innovative and high-quality brands, the dairy business has a unique and compelling proposition for both consumers and our customers.

Our dairy business has a diversified portfolio of dairy, nutritional ingredients and market leading dairy brands and its vertically integrated dairy processing ensures the highest quality, sustainably produced 1.2bn litres of milk for our dairy, nutritional ingredients, and consumer foods business – a key consideration among some of our largest customers across the globe.

We have an unrivalled dairy consumer brands portfolio coupled with a track record in innovation underpinned by technology and science. We manufacture and market our own leading butter, dairy, and plant spreads brands: Dairygold, Low Low, Pure and Golden Cow. We are the largest supplier of Private Label dairy spreads, supplying all major retailers in Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. Our cheese brands compete in children’s cheese snacks (Attack-a-Snak), natural cheese (block, slices and grated), and in processed cheese segments and our leading cheese brands include Strings & Things, Coleraine, and Charleville Cheese. Through our multi-geographical presence (UK, Ireland, and Western Europe) we have a deep consumer insight which is a key component of the business.

About the role

Here at Kerry, we're recruiting for a Food Safety & Quality Manager to support our Kerry Consumer Foods business on a full time, permanent basis. You will provide site support for Food Safety & Quality in alignment with the Kerry Corporate Policies, with the position reporting to the Quality Director and also has a matrix reporting relationship to the Plant Manager. You will be able to demonstrate strong leadership skills as the plant quality assurance personnel will report to this position. You will also be comfortable with working offsite as this role requires 5-10% travel.

Key responsibilities

• Ensure effective Food Safety compliance and work with plant management team to implement programs to mitigate risk. Support Food Safety and HACCP program and team at site level, ensuring that Good Manufacturing Practices, preventive controls and prerequisite programs are in place and effective. Support the plant Food Safety & Quality System to produce safe quality food, maintaining GFSI certification utilizing Kerry Manufacturing Standards. Demonstrates Safety First, Quality Always approach.
• Support Food Safety and quality systems including QC & QA. Develop, review and align procedures with corporate KFMS, through Intelex, with a drive towards global best practice. Internally audit practices and procedures for improvement to prevent non-conformances. Quality system shall include Food Safety, Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Quality Control in ERP systems, material control, sanitation, and Food Safety Plans, as required by FSMA, Intelex and KFMS.
• Enforce Kerry manufacturing standards in the areas of ingredient and product standards, process specifications, formula compliance, sanitation/GMP/pest control, and regulatory audit compliance. Ensure that the products released are compliant and safe foods. Support the site for regulatory inspections (FDA/CFIA), identify preserved (ie. organic, Kosher, etc) and customer audits.
• Track and trend agreed upon KPI’s. Support the plant Quality Improvement Plans. Partner cross-functionally in quality and process improvement by applying RCAAP principles. Develop Kerry Production Stream through training activities to drive improvements to align with Kerry global. Role model proactive engagement on production floor.
• Be proactive and responsive in supporting customer complaints, communicating effectively on technical issues and ensuring the root cause analysis and verification of corrective actions.
• Develop and maintain qualified personnel within the Quality department, through training, development, communication, and accountability. This may involve recruitment, organizational development, personnel assessment, training, direction and motivation. Support the department within budgets and utilize resources effectively to meet needs of the business on a timely basis.
• Continuously improve knowledge of products and technology to investigate variation and resolve technical problems with the team. Apply a scientific approach with statistical analysis to data and problem solving. Act as the primary technical liaison to support site with customers, vendors and regulatory agencies.
  

Qualifications and skills

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Food Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiology, or similar Science/Engineering
• A good level of Quality experience at mid - senior level and/or training
• Experience in a plant environment strongly preferred
• Experience managing quality and Food Safety systems
• Knowledge and understanding of Food Safety regulations, FSMA, and industry and market trends
• Knowledge and experience with relevant GFSI standards such as SQF

What's in it for me?

Opportunity for career development, matched pension scheme to up to 10% and access to an employee assistance program and employee benefit platform.

In Kerry we benefit from the knowledge of our colleagues who bring a diverse range of cultures, backgrounds, lifestyles and experiences.

One team fostering an inclusive culture that, above all, inspires food and nourishes life.

One culture where everyone brings their unique perspectives and experiences to help make us better, together.

We are committed to nurturing an environment of positivity and inclusiveness, where everyone can be at their best, both personally and professionally.

Our recruitment, selection and assessment process are based on the skills and competencies of the specific roles and based entirely on merit. We are committed to and value Diversity and Inclusion in all recruitment processes within Kerry and do not discriminate based on gender, race, class, economic status, ethnic background, sexual orientation, age, political beliefs, veteran status, marital status or any other protected characteristic.

Get in touch today- we look forward to meeting you!