Quality Assurance Manager at Tropical Heat

Job Description

This role is a key pillar to support Company Operations by ensuring adherence to established quality parameters by every department and enforcing world class quality standards across the company. Accountable for management of customer complaints with a vision to set systems and controls to reduce the number and frequency of the complaints. Regular review of quality parameters and standards and ensuring continuous improvement. Responsible for testing raw materials and products and discovering opportunities for improving working conditions and executing the Companies Health & Safety Programs.Create a culture of continuous improvement and discipline, waste elimination, a lean resource structure
and adhere to safety standards at all times.

Key Responsibilities 

• Ensuring zero major customer complaints & putting controls in place to reduce existing minor complaints.
• Responsible for making sure that there is a safe working environment across all departments. Goal is zero work related accidents & injuries.
• Management of all staff in the Quality Assurance team. Including, but not limited to supervision, evaluations,trainings, Job descriptions review, appraisals, performance management.
• Ensuring that the legal and government regulations on Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental issues,KEBS, NEMA, US FDA, UKAS etc are met. Waste management and control / NEMA / Energy Audits management.
• Customer complaints: Leading communication across all relevant departments to ensure that all the customer complaints regarding quality of products are attended to and resolved satisfactorily and on time.
• Understanding customer expectations of needs from a product.
• External audit of both new and existing suppliers.
• Use of ERP efficiently and effectively for smooth flows in communication and report generation. Implementation of improvements and simplifications on the ERP system.
• Recording and reporting quality control evaluation results to the top management.
• Identification and correction of gaps in the processes including data accuracy.
• Develop new, and review existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) and quality control processes for production and hygiene requirements in consultation with the relevant departments, and ensuring that the developed operating procedures are adhered to at all times to consistently achieve the set quality standards.
• Responsible for implementation and execution of current ISO standards and certifications including the Food Safety Systems Certifications (FSSC). And also ensuring certifications and ISO standards are to the newest versions.
• Training in Food safety, and conducting internal as well as external audits.
• Help in Kaizen, energy management implementation and other change programs.
• Review and improve critical control points, including allergen management.
• Evaluating product recalls and conducting mock recalls.
• Ensuring plant cleanliness at all times and managing the cleaning & sanitisation departments, including the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP).
• Managing hygiene standards including Covid-19 Awareness and Control within the company.
• Be an integral part of new product developments and product trials along with all relevant departments.
• Supervision of on line quality tests and advising the relevant personnel on corrections or corrective actions where the products or processes are found to be non conforming. Rejection of products that fail quality standards.
• Designing product specifications for all new products and reviewing existing specifications with the relevant departments.
• Conduct intra & inter departmental trainings.
• Approval of chemical and microbiological tests on all the raw materials and finished products to ensure that they
• meet the company and other relevant statutory standards.
• Inspecting and approving all the incoming materials, materials that are work in progress & finished goods according to company specifications.
• Developing company standards on the raw materials and end products in consultation with the Research and Development Manager.
• Evaluating warehousing and distribution conditions on shelf life of the company products.
• Development of SOP for QA and external contractors, Security issues.
• Ensure that all machines comply with all statutory issues/calibration.

Key result areas: 

1. Zero major Quality Defects.
2. Minimize Customer Complaints & Quality Defects.
3. Continuous improvement through operational excellence.
4. Cost reductions whilst maintaining quality.
5. Plant hygiene & Plant safety to achieve zero work-related accidents & injuries.
6. Waste reduction from processes.
7. Evaluation of incoming and outgoing materials like raw material, packaging materials, work in progress, finished goods, sanitization and cleaning materials.
8. Ensuring training and compliance to all statutory and legal requirements like the following, but not limited to
9. Occupational health and safety, waste disposal and management, ISO requirements.
10. Updating of SOPs and ensuring they are implemented, understood and being followed.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science
• Master’s Degree an added Advantage
• In-depth knowledge of modern Quality Management Systems and Process.
• Working Knowledge of regulatory legislations on Safety, Health and Environment management