Job Description

Role Summary

The Quality & Compliance Manager is responsible for embedding a strong food safety, quality, and continuous improvement culture across the business. The role has site-level ownership of technical risk management, ensuring compliance with BRCGS, regulatory requirements, and customer standards, and maintaining robust systems that protect product integrity.

The role leads the Quality and Compliance function, ensuring that site processes consistently deliver safe, legal, and high-quality products. Acting as the principal technical authority on site, the Quality & Compliance Manager supports the Technical Manager (Retail & Systems) and deputises in their absence.

Quality Management System, Risk & Compliance

Develop, implement, maintain, and continually improve the Quality Management System (QMS) in line with BRCGS, HACCP, TACCP, VACCP, regulatory requirements, and customer codes of practice. Maintain and update the HACCP plan, ensuring reviews, validations, and meetings are completed to schedule. Ensure effective technical risk and incident management, including escalation, investigation, corrective action, and prevention. Maintain document control, version management, and governance of all QMS procedures and records. Ensure hygiene standards and programmes are consistently implemented and verified across the site. Manage the site pest control programme, ensuring full compliance with BRCGS, legal, and customer requirements. Oversee supplier performance for raw materials, packaging, and services, using risk-based review and trend analysis.

Audits, Certification & External Interface

Lead the internal audit programme, ensuring full coverage of food safety, quality, hygiene, GMP, regulatory, and customer requirements. Host, coordinate, and lead external audits (customer, certification, and regulatory), ensuring timely and robust closure of non-conformances. Coordinate and close out all QMS-related non-conformances within agreed timescales, maintaining audit readiness at all times. Act as a key technical contact for customers and regulatory bodies, supporting audits, questionnaires, and technical queries.

Testing, Monitoring & Product Integrity

Implement and manage sampling and testing programmes for raw materials, in-process, and finished products. Review, interpret, and act on microbiological, analytical, allergen, and quality data, ensuring effective corrective actions. Oversee environmental monitoring, water testing, and hygiene verification programmes. Manage the allergen validation and verification programme across the site. Control and manage distressed or non-conforming stock, including out-of-date materials, quarantines, and disposals.

QA Team Leadership, Training & Capability Building

Lead, manage, and develop the Quality and Compliance team, ensuring resourcing aligns with business priorities. Deliver performance management, coaching, development planning, and people management responsibilities in line with company policy. Develop and deliver training on GMP, hygiene, food safety, QMS procedures, and customer standards, ensuring competency is achieved and maintained. Build site-wide technical capability through training, coaching, and engagement, supporting a strong food safety culture.

Non-Conformance, Complaints & Continuous Improvement

Manage internal non-conformances, supplier issues, and customer complaints through effective root cause analysis, corrective and preventative action. Maintain and trend reporting systems for internal NCFs, supplier NCFs, customer complaints, audit findings, and incidents. Drive continuous improvement initiatives based on data, trends, and risk assessment outcomes.

Production, NPD & Operational Oversight

Monitor and audit production operations to ensure customer requirements, specifications, and quality standards are fully understood and achieved. Review and verify specifications for products, packaging, and ingredients, ensuring only current, approved versions are in use. Provide technical support to NPD and Commercial teams during product trials, factory trials, and first productions. Support traceability systems, mock recalls, and verification exercises.

Reporting, Escalation & Governance

Conduct trend analysis to identify risks, recurring issues, and improvement opportunities. Escalate significant food safety, quality, or compliance risks promptly to the Technical Manager (Retail & Systems) and senior leadership. Prepare and present weekly quality KPIs and performance reports for management and customers as required. Coordinate and chair Quality Meetings and reviews, ensuring actions are tracked and closed.

Deputising Responsibility

Deputise for the Technical Manager (Retail & Systems) during periods of absence, representing the Technical function internally and externally.

The Ideal Candidate

Experienced Quality / Compliance professional within a food manufacturing environment. Strong working knowledge of BRCGS, HACCP, food safety legislation, GMP, allergen management, and retailer standards. Proven experience of leading a Quality and Compliance team. Confident in audit leadership, customer interaction, and regulatory engagement. Data-driven, risk-focused, and improvement-led. Committed to developing people, systems, and food safety culture.
Job Type: Full-time

Pay: 35,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension On-site parking
Work Location: In person