Quality Manager

Job Description

We are currently recruiting for a full time, permanent, Quality Manager to join the team on site in Bicester, reporting to the Technical Manager, Fresh Manufacturing.

As the Quality Manager it is your responsibility to oversee the technical management of our Fresh Kitchen and M&J Seafood businesses at our Bicester site. This involves ensuring their compliance with food safety, quality, hygiene and legal requirements through the implementation, monitoring, and audits of the Quality Management Systems (QMS). You will ensure due diligence systems (QMS) are continuously improved and enforced through audits, providing technical support and advice to the site, whilst delivering a consistent approach to systems implementation. You will also be responsible for Supplier Quality management to ensure food safety, quality and legal compliance for supplier and raw material approval, product setup and the effective quality management of materials delivered from suppliers.

As the Quality Manager you will support management of the sites MSC / ASC and BRC certification standards and procedures, ensuring continuous adherence to all required standards including quality, GMP, hygiene, pest control. You will also conduct raw material intake checks to ensure that materials and products supplied to site meet agreed specifications, monitor’ traceability and labelling and coordinate samples for internal panels, external assessment (analytical and microbiological), collation, interpretation and trend analysis of results.

Key accountabilities & responsibilities:

• Ensure due diligence systems (QMS) are continuously improved and enforced through audits, providing technical support and advice to the site, whilst delivering a consistent approach to systems implementation.
• Support customer & regulatory visits and associated customer or 3rd party certification BRC audits.
• Support management of the sites MSC / ASC certification standard and procedures, ensuring continuous adherence to all required standards.
• Maintain site standards for quality, GMP, hygiene, pest control etc.
• Manage the non-conformance system. Investigation of complaints & product non-conformances.,
• Review, monitor and maintain environmental temperature monitoring.
• Maintenance of QMS manual and operational quality documentation / records to ensure a satisfactory standard is always attained.
• Conduct raw material intake checks to ensure that materials and products supplied to site meet agreed specifications’ traceability and labelling.
• Conduct post hygiene environmental monitoring (swabs where required), audits, chemical dosage titration monitoring, audit of hygiene documentation and management of COSHH data sheets.
• Review artwork proofs, labels, manage approval and complete finished product specifications.
• Coordinating samples for internal panels, external assessment (analytical and microbiological), collation, interpretation and trend analysis of results.
• Coordinating organoleptic and shelf-life assessments, with subsequent documentation of results.
• Promote Food Safety culture and ensure quality standards are always met.
• Ensure full traceability is maintained and manage the product recall tests.
• Support food safety training as required.
• Develop, schedule, implement and monitor internal audit program on site.
• Support and manage the Quality Controller to ensure responsibilities are being met.
• Manage effective communications with internal and external customers, suppliers and production teams to ensure all the technical needs of the business are met.
• Ensure routine specification reviews are completed, internal certified claim validations. undertake product quality assessments. Also Issue and review product scorecards to verify policy compliance.
• Using the Assure database and Nutritics System to maintain product and supplier data, conduct spec audits and carry out database searches as appropriate.
• Efficient and accurate data management. Ability to generate and analyse relevant reports using the relevant business systems and databases. Understanding site and business performance indicators, measuring, monitoring, and advising on KPIs on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.
• Engaging in Allergen management projects including allergen segregation, storage, control and contamination mitigation.
• Supporting the NPD team when required.
• Support TM in resolving issues and delivering specific projects as they arise.
• To comply with and promote H&S Standards, including proper use of PPE and leading by example.

About you:

To be successful in this role you must hold a full clean Drivers Licence, have a Food Science or Technology degree (or equivalent) and ideally be minimum HACCP level 3 certified and Internal Auditor/ Lead Auditor qualified. You will ideally have high risk manufacturing and seafood knowledge, (including food safety and quality requirements) and knowledge of relevant food safety legislation, QMS, BRC standards and audits. It is key to have excellent communication skills as you will be customer focused and be well organised and use effective project management skills. You will show tenacity and a desire to follow things through to completion, with strong planning and organisational skills, and a high attention to detail. Previous experience in recipe management systems and developing and reviewing of specifications and artwork approval would be desirable.

What we offer:

• A competitive salary
• Pension scheme
• Generous holiday allowance of 25 days, with option to purchase additional holidays + bank holidays.
• Huge discounts on all sorts of lovely food and award-winning products through our staff shop
• Discounts on Cinema tickets, shopping and earn cashback on purchases through Sodexo.
• Recognition awards and Incentives
• Real career opportunities - being part of Sysco, the world’s leading foodservice business, opens a world of possibility.