Quality Assurance Manager
Trade · Newcastle, Newcastle, Maitland & Hunter NSW, Australia · Full-Time · $80,000/yr
Audits, food safety systems, incident investigations and a QA team looking to you for direction. That is the core of this Quality Assurance Manager job with an established Australian food processing business in Newcastle, New South Wales.
You will own quality outcomes, keeping food safety systems, regulatory rules, customer expectations and internal standards on track every day. The employer weighs qualifications, professional experience and hands-on quality know-how, and the role is open to suitably qualified people from Australia or overseas who want to grow their careers in the Australian food industry.
Structured onboarding, mentoring and career development are available, making this a strong step for an experienced QA professional ready for more operational responsibility. Keep certified copies of your degree and transcripts on hand if you studied in South Africa.
Key Responsibilities
- Take charge of the site's entire QA and food safety function, with quality management and food safety systems that actually work
- Go over the Approved Arrangements and the compliance processes tied to them, improving them where you can
- Hold the site to every applicable Australian food safety and regulatory requirement
- Coordinate the audit calendar (internal, customer and regulatory) so the plant could be audited on any given day
- When a quality incident, non-conformance or process failure happens, investigate it and drive the corrective and preventive response until it is closed off
- Organise mock recalls, verification programs and traceability exercises
- Make sure quality paperwork, records and compliance data are correct
- Measure production against the plant's food safety and quality standards, and lead pre-operational, hygiene and process verification
- Set the technical direction for the QA team and lead it day to day
- Mentor and develop QA staff so quality results improve across the plant
- Grow accountability and a healthy food safety culture on the floor
- Spot gaps in quality systems, processes and operational controls, and partner with production and management to resolve quality and compliance issues
- Back animal welfare requirements and relevant industry standards
Requirements & Eligibility
- Qualified in Food Science, Food Technology, Agricultural Science, Quality Management or a comparable field
- A professional track record in quality assurance, food safety, compliance or food manufacturing
- Practical command of HACCP principles and food safety management systems
- Audit experience, either backing up or leading quality, customer or regulatory audits
- Shown ability to trace non-conformances to their causes and fix them for good, including running corrective and preventive actions
- Knows quality documentation, verification and traceability procedures well
- Holds high standards inside a regulated production plant
- Background in supervising, coordinating or developing quality staff
- Sharp analytical thinking and problem-solving
- Confident communicator who manages stakeholders and partners easily with production and senior managers
- Food processing or export industry experience is advantageous
- Experience with meat processing, DAFF compliance or Approved Arrangements is highly regarded
- International qualifications and professional experience that are relevant will be considered, along with a commitment to Australian workplace, food safety and compliance standards
- Visa sponsorship is available for a suitable overseas candidate
Apply: jobs@mzansiabroad.co.za · WhatsApp