Overview
IFP Labs – UK, South Yorkshire, is a UKAS-accredited laboratory with over 30 years of experience providing microbiology and nutritional analysis services to the food industry.
We are seeking a highly experienced and motivated quality professional to join our team as Senior Quality Manager. This is an excellent opportunity for an individual with a passion for quality, compliance, and continuous improvement to lead and enhance our Quality Management System, ensuring the highest standards of accuracy, reliability, and regulatory compliance across all laboratory operations.
As a key member of the leadership team, you will be responsible for maintaining our ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, driving quality improvement initiatives, managing audits and investigations, and fostering a strong culture of quality throughout the organisation. Working closely with operational, technical, and commercial teams, you will ensure the laboratory continues to deliver accurate, reliable, and defensible results while meeting customer expectations and regulatory requirements.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead, maintain and continuously improve the laboratory Quality Management System in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025 requirements.
- Ensure ongoing compliance with accreditation standards, regulatory requirements, customer expectations and internal quality policies.
- Act as the primary contact for UKAS assessments, external audits, customer audits and regulatory inspections.
- Manage and oversee non-conformance investigations, customer complaints, root cause analysis and corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
- Promote and maintain high standards of quality, data integrity, compliance and continual improvement across the laboratory.
- Oversee quality assurance activities, including proficiency testing, quality control monitoring, equipment compliance and supplier approval processes.
- Develop and manage the internal audit programme, ensuring effective follow-up of actions and continuous compliance.
- Support management review processes by analysing quality performance, risks, opportunities and improvement initiatives.
- Work with laboratory management to ensure staff training, competency assessment and quality awareness meet ISO/IEC 17025 requirements.
- Build and maintain effective relationships with customers, accreditation bodies, suppliers and regulatory authorities.
- Provide leadership and direction to the Quality Team, ensuring resources, development and succession planning support business objectives.
- Drive quality improvement initiatives that enhance compliance, operational performance and customer confidence.
Full Job description available on request.
Essential Experience
- Degree, HNC/HND or equivalent qualification in Microbiology, Food Science, Chemistry or a related scientific discipline, or demonstrable equivalent laboratory quality experience.
- Significant experience working within an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory environment.
- Previous experience in a quality management, quality assurance or senior compliance role.
- Experience supporting or leading UKAS assessments, customer audits or external inspections.
- Strong understanding of Quality Management Systems, accreditation requirements, root cause analysis and CAPA management.
- Experience investigating customer complaints, quality incidents and laboratory non-conformances.
- Strong written communication, report writing, organisational and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to influence, challenge constructively and maintain independence in quality decision making.
Desirable Experience
- Previous experience within a food testing laboratory.
- Experience across microbiology and/or chemistry laboratory operations.
- Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor qualification.
- Experience managing quality teams within a regulated laboratory environment.
- Knowledge of relevant food industry legislation, customer standards and laboratory best practice.
Skills & Competencies
- High level of integrity, impartiality and attention to detail.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Calm, resilient and able to manage competing priorities.
- Collaborative leadership style with the confidence to challenge when required.
- Practical, improvement-focused and committed to high standards of laboratory quality.
Location – Hexthorpe Road, DN4 0AE
Hours: 9:00–17:00, Monday to Friday (onsite)
Pay: £45,000.00-£50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Application question(s):
- What experience do you have working to ISO 17025 standards?
Education:
- Certificate of Higher Education (required)
Experience:
- Quality assurance: 2 years (required)
- Quality management: 2 years (required)
Work Location: In person
