Job Introduction
As a Quality Assurance Manager at Charlie Bigham’s, you will play a crucial role in upholding our commitment to excellence by coordinating and maintaining the quality assurance activities that ensure our food meet the highest standards. You will be responsible for ensuring that all Bigham’s food is consistently high in quality, safe for consumption, authentic in their ingredients and processes, and fully compliant with all legal and regulatory requirements. This role involves leading quality assurance initiatives, overseeing safety protocols, and working closely with our operations teams to guarantee that every product leaving our facilities is of exceptional quality. You will also be responsible for identifying areas for improvement, implementing best practices, and ensuring that our operations adhere to standards and internal guidelines. You will ensure our QMS is updated and audit ready. You will also be required to have practical knowledge and understating of BRCGS standard including leading site audits.
Role Responsibility
Production Related
- Maintain and proactively promote QA and food safety culture through setting standards, procedures implementation, auditing, training and development of teams across the site
- Through a hands-on approach, raise and maintain team members’ awareness on food safety and quality.
- Develop and maintain a suitable training program to raise awareness and drive improvements in GMP & Quality
- Lead site inspections and audits aiming to drive improvements in GMP standards by working in collaboration with the site’s operation team
- Lead (or be actively involved) in quality improvement initiatives
- Proactively identify opportunities for improvement within food quality and safety and follow up with appropriate improvement plans
- Lead complaints and near miss investigations and associated improvement plans in conjunction with other departments.
- Track / trend results of technical related KPI, including operations non-conformances and provide detailed information as required to drive improvement
- Manage concessions to minimize disruption to site operation whilst ensuring quality and food safety standards are not compromised.
- Ensure the hold and reject procedures are effective to prevent unauthorized stock movement for items that do not conform to standard.
- Ensure site related foreign body contamination investigations are completed with follow up actions completed and communicated.
- Support/lead investigations on internal rejections and food safety/quality incidents
- Provide trouble shooting support to operations teams
- Support Raw material management and related issues including contacting suppliers when necessary.
- Ensure quality and food safety management systems are developed, reviewed, updated, understood and implemented.
Technical Team:
- TA team management including Rota and technical team cover
- Development of TAs, inclusive of appraisals and development plans
- Ensure procedures are understood, carried out and evaluated and that product deviations are investigated as necessary
- Drive improvements in GPTW scores
- Maintain site quality systems and documentation to the required standard.
- Conduct and complete internal audits to the agreed schedule
- Ensure site is operating to BRCGS standards
- Lead/contribute to BRCGS, customer, 2nd and 3rd party audits
- Ensure timely and satisfactory closure of non-conformances by reviewing investigation outcome and ensuring corrective actions target the root cause of the issue
- Ensure testing schedules are developed, regularly reviewed and tests completed including corrective actions for OOS results to drive improvements
- Responsible for smooth running taste panels and associated action planning
- Support validation work as required.
- Lead or support quality projects as required
- Lead activities to ensure site quality targets and objectives are met
- Coordinate completion of actions required within site procedure (i.e. NMRA, Trails Requests)
- Make day to day decisions with regards to quality and food safety related issues
- Deputise for the Technical Manager.
- Escalation cover out of normal hours including some weekends on a rota (phone only)
The Ideal Candidate
Skills and Experience
Food science/technology related qualification
HACCP level 3
Excellent knowledge and practical understanding of BRCGS standard
Internal audit or lead auditor trained
Attributes:
Cultural fit with Bigham's extolling our virtues of passion & pride, respect, goal focussed, collaboration and daring
Strong interpersonal skills
A good team player – influencing others
Analytical thinker, able to understand data and draw compelling business proposals
Problem solving
Presentation skills
Excellent attention to detail
Excellent time-keeping and organisational skills
Ability to prioritise duties to complete tasks efficiently in a timely manner
Flexibility and ability to work in a fast-changing environment
Available to work outside of normal hours and bank holidays if required
Clear and concise communication (including written) skills
IT proficient (Microsoft office and Windows environment)
Proactive with ability to drive improvement