Quality Assurance Manager - Montagu / Western Cape

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Quality Assurance Manager – Montagu / Western Cape

Reporting to: Technical Manager Location: Montagu, Western Cape

Purpose of the job:

Food quality assurance managers are responsible for ensuring that food products meet standards set by both their customers, the internal company’s requirements, and regulatory authorities. They may develop and review quality and safety policies and manage audits by third-party inspectors. Managers may train quality assurance employees and oversee manufacturing and production processes. The QA Manager must ensure that the processes/systems are implemented in line with the business requirements and needs.

Key Responsibilities:

Managing the food safety and quality department team and its activities. Ensuring that the company continuously meets the requirements of certification (e.g., BRCGS & FSSC) & our customer (e.g., WWs SA,) audits requirements by ensuring the system is updated and fully implemented.

Key Position Objective:

• Ensure the company meets the system objectives set & that these are reported to management quarterly.
• Perform the role of HACCP site team leader.
• Ensure that the system is updated in accordance with certification and customer requirements. Ensure that the system is updated due to any internal changes implemented. Ensure that the changes are fully implemented.
• Ensure that the system in place will ensure that the products produced are complying to legal requirements, customer requirements and certification requirements.
• Lead the quality team in continuously improving its systems and activities, identifying areas where change is needed and leading projects to implement this change.
• Lead the quality assurance team in its activities to ensure that these objectives are met.

Requirements:

• Proven track record of in-depth knowledge of food safety systems.
• Excellent knowledge of HACCP and the proven ability to write HACCP plans.
• Proven track record of strong co-ordination, planning and administrative skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft office products (excel, word, outlook, teams).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (in particular, in English). Able to effectively communicate with staff at all levels.
• Accurate and concise in work to ensure that information provided to others is accurate and clearly understandable.
• Good research skills & ability to analyze data.
• Ability to multitask and manage multiple projects concurrently.
• Sound knowledge of legislation.
• Proactive work ethic
• Honesty, Integrity & Reliability
• Strong attention to detail
• Problem-solving skills
• Apply urgency in work done – report faults urgently, act urgently; results orientated
• Self-motivated: Ability to work with little supervision & meet deadlines

Responsibilities:

• Oversee the food safety & quality systems for the spice sites:
  • Ensure compliance with all quality programs, including GMP and HACCP
  • Manage HACCP assessments and reviews.
  • Compose and edit HACCP plans and strategies for new products.
  • Manage HACCP records and file maintenance
  • Maintain current libraries for all GMPs, SOPs
  • Communicate the requirements of the standards and provide advice on how to correctly implement the systems especially in situations of change.
  • Manage change control in the system.
  • Ensure that you always consider quality systems impact as well as food safety systems impact.
• Objective setting and tracking: Set objectives, ensure objectives are tracked and communicated to management quarterly, ensure that action is taken towards improvement where objectives are not met.
• External Audits:
  • Liaise with regulatory bodies e.g., the Health Department on regulatory audits.
  • Ensure all pre-audit documentation is provided timeously to the auditors/ certification bodies.
  • Co-ordinate corrective action activities linked to external audits.
  • Ensure root cause analysis performed on findings and that sustainable corrective actions are implemented
  • Ensure all deadlines are met to ensure the company’s on-going certification.
  • Prepare for these audits e.g., through reviewing procedures and records, ensuring factory standards are in line with the standards requirements.
  • The system implemented for audit preparation must be continuous and set up to facilitate towards the company being ready for unannounced external audits at any time.
  • When new standards are determined to be needed to be implemented, implement these.
  • Stay abreast with changes to certification / standard requirements and implement changes timeously.
  • Other audit related roles – e.g. requesting the audit plans and coordinating with the team/ colleagues when each would partake in the audits, communicating audit time frames, directly answering auditors during the audit.
• Traceability and Mock Recalls:
  • Co-ordinating traceability and mock recall exercises.
  • Train the teams to ensure that all are well versed in what to do.
  • Review the exercises performed & Report on the success of these exercises.
  • Ensure that improvements are implemented post the exercises (where necessary).
  • Ensure these are handled timeously and within the required time frames (e.g., 4 hours / 2 hours & e.g., held annually as per the required schedules and customer requirements).
  • In case of real-life scenarios, act as a recall coordinator. Guide the organization in activities.
• Recalls and Withdrawals:
  • Analyse information where there is a situation that might result in a recall/ withdrawal critically and provide sound advice to the organization as to the risk.
  • Co-ordinate all activities relating to Recalls and Withdrawals.
  • Communicate concisely and clearly and appropriately within the organization
• Security and Food Defense:
  • Participating in meetings & team decisions
  • Implementing actions where necessary
• Internal Audits:
  • Assist Compliance Officer and SHE Officer with conducting internal audits, conduct root cause analysis and corrective action implementation.
• Stay abreast with legal updates and guidelines
• Horizon scanning & communication of changes within the organization
• Lead the Hygiene, Allergen Management program in place:
  • The QA Team is responsible for implementing and overseeing the hygiene systems within the organization.
  • The QA manager is responsible for ensuring that the requirements are correctly set to meet the organizations needs for safe & quality food production.
  • The QA Manager must ensure that there are hygiene and allergen officers appointed & that are competent.
• Lead the Quality systems in place:
  • Ensure that there are appropriate quality systems & procedures & records in place.
  • Ensure that these are updated and implement improvements where needed.
  • The quality control team reports into the QA team and the QA Manager are overall responsible for the quality programs being implemented in the facilities.
  • Lead the team to take proactive action to maintain / reduce (as appropriate to the situation) complaints.
  • Report on the teams’ activities to management.
• Decision-making
• Corrective action system management, non-conformance system management, root cause, customer complaints
• Coaching / training
• Communication
• Tastings:
  • Technical day to day problem solving as they arise.
  • In all cases report any non-conformances & problems noted with urgency to management to allow resolution.
  • Projects – run and set up projects as required from time to time.
  • Data Analysis – Analyse & report on information.
  • Providing the Operational Department with support.
  • From time to time assist with improvements in other divisions of the company or projects in other divisions of the company.
  • You may need to stand in for other functions within the team in cases of absenteeism.
• The company reserves the right to alter these tasks and include extra tasks within the capability of the employee.

Qualification:

B. Tech/ Advanced Diploma in Food Consumer Sciences, B.Tech / Advanced Diploma Food Technology/ B. Sc Food Science / B. Sc Biotechnology or other relevant science related degree.

Years of experience:

Minimum 2 years’ experience in internal auditing, HACCP, BRCGS standard & IFS standard.

Application:

Please hand send your CV to ilze@montfoods.co.za, summarizing your qualifications, with a motivation highlighting why you should be considered for the position. Applications deadline: 24 September 2024. Montagu Foods empowers Employment Equity. Note: In order to consider any application for employment, we will have to process your personal information. The Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA), provides that when one processes another’s personal information, such collection, retention, dissemination and use of that person’s personal information must be done in a lawful and transparent manner. To give effect to the above, we are required to provide you with information regarding the processing of your personal information. This information is recorded under the HR Processing Notice, which can be accessed and viewed on the Company website at . #J-18808-Ljbffr