Quality Excellence Leader

Quality Excellence Leader - Drive Continuous Improvement in Food Manufacturing

Join our Quality Team as a Quality Excellence Leader and be a pivotal force in driving continuous improvement in our food manufacturing processes. You'll champion quality standards, ensure strict compliance with food safety regulations, and cultivate a robust culture of quality throughout our operations. This role demands close collaboration with cross-functional teams to develop and implement systems that elevate product quality, enhance operational efficiency, and maximize customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Quality Excellence:

• Implement Quality, Environmental, and Food Safety plans as directed, contributing to the overall strategic direction of the Quality Team.
• Drive a culture of quality excellence and continuous improvement, positively influencing behaviors and practices at all organizational levels.
• Proactively identify opportunities for innovation and process improvements within our quality systems.

2. Quality Assurance and Compliance:

• Ensure strict compliance with all food safety regulations, certifications, and standards, including FSSC/ISO22000, HACCP, BRC, and specific customer requirements.
• Conduct routine audits of plant, processes, and procedures to verify adherence to both internal and external standards.
• Manage food safety plans, risk assessments, and traceability programs to effectively prevent contamination and product recalls.
• Perform external supplier compliance audits as required.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for customer audits, third-party certifications, and regulatory inspections.

3. Continuous Improvement:

• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, or other relevant continuous improvement methodologies to minimize waste and optimize processes.
• Lead root cause analysis and drive the implementation of corrective and preventative actions for quality incidents.
• Provide support to business teams in improving their respective areas of responsibility.
• Conduct regular quality training sessions to enhance the skills of business teams and promote best practices.

4. People Development:

• Foster cross-functional collaboration to drive team and business improvement.
• Champion and promote a consistent quality-centric business focus.
• Collaborate effectively with BarthHaas group Quality teams as needed.

5. Measures and Reporting:

• Monitor and report on key quality performance indicators (KPIs).
• Support team and cross-functional teams in achieving improvement goals and measuring success.
• Promote a strong culture of health, safety, food safety awareness, and environmental responsibility within our UK operations.

Key Competencies:

• Attention to Detail: Demonstrate meticulous accuracy and thoroughness in quality evaluations, investigations, and reporting.
• Analytical Thinking: Employ data-driven approaches to improve processes and effectively solve problems.
• Influence and Collaboration: Build strong, collaborative relationships across all functions to drive quality objectives and improvements.
• Adaptability: Thrive in a dynamic and fast-paced manufacturing growth environment.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelors degree in a related field, such as chemistry.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in quality assurance, quality control, or a similar role within the food manufacturing industry.
• Proven track record of leading quality improvement initiatives and achieving measurable results.
• HACCP certification.
• Quality Management or Six Sigma Black Belt certification (advantageous).
• Project management skills.
• Proficiency in ISO 9001, 14001, and 22000 (FSSC) standards.
• Excellent leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Strong IT skills, particularly in Excel and PowerPoint.