Quality Assurance Manager – Food Manufacturing / BRCGS & Retail
Location: Birdham, West Sussex
Hours: 39 hours per week
Working Pattern: Monday to Thursday, 7:00am – 5:15pm. Occasional Friday working will be required on a rolling rota to support warehouse overtime.
About Montezuma's
At Montezuma's, we're passionate about creating extraordinary chocolate while maintaining the very highest standards of food safety and quality.
We're looking for an experienced Quality Assurance Manager with a strong food manufacturing background, hands-on BRCGS experience and proven experience working with retail customers and retailer technical standards to join our Technical team at our Birdham factory.
This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who enjoys leading a team, driving continuous improvement and ensuring products consistently meet the highest standards of food safety, quality and legality.
You'll work closely with colleagues across Production, Engineering, Planning and Customer Services, playing a key role in protecting our brand and ensuring we deliver exceptional products to our customers.
This role is for you if...
You have experience working in a food manufacturing Technical or Quality environment and are confident operating within a BRCGS-certified site.
You'll need to be comfortable working with retailer customers and their technical requirements, as well as managing audits, specifications, complaints, non-conformances and corrective actions.
We're particularly interested in candidates who have had direct involvement in:
- Maintaining and improving a BRCGS-compliant Quality Management System.
- Preparing for and supporting BRCGS, retailer and customer audits.
- Working directly with retailer technical teams and retailer standards.
- Managing customer technical requirements, specifications and quality expectations.
- HACCP, food safety management systems and internal auditing.
- Investigating quality issues and implementing effective root cause analysis and corrective actions.
- Leading, supervising or developing a QA/Technical team.
The Role
Reporting to the Technical Manager, you'll lead our Quality Assurance team and help maintain and continually improve our Quality Management System (QMS).
You'll ensure the site consistently meets BRCGS, retailer, Soil Association, Fairtrade, legal and company requirements, while helping to develop a strong and positive food safety and quality culture throughout the business.
You'll be a key point of contact for quality matters across the site and will work collaboratively with Production, Engineering, Planning, Customer Services and other departments to continually improve standards and performance.
What You'll Be Doing
Quality & Food Safety
- Lead, coach and develop the Quality Assurance team to deliver high standards every day.
- Maintain and continually improve the site's BRCGS-compliant Quality Management System.
- Ensure compliance with food safety, quality, legality, authenticity and customer requirements.
- Act as HACCP Team Leader, reviewing and maintaining the site's HACCP system.
- Verify GMP, hygiene standards, quality checks and product monitoring activities.
- Maintain accurate quality documentation and ensure records are complete and up to date.
- Support product release activities, ensuring products meet specification before despatch.
- Monitor quality KPIs, identify trends and drive continuous improvement.
BRCGS, Retailer & Customer Requirements
- Lead and coordinate BRCGS, retailer, customer, Soil Association, Fairtrade and third-party audits.
- Ensure the site remains audit-ready throughout the year rather than preparing only immediately before an audit.
- Manage the internal audit programme and ensure corrective and preventative actions are completed effectively.
- Maintain awareness of changing retailer technical standards and customer requirements.
- Ensure customer and retailer specifications and technical requirements are understood and implemented across the site.
- Support responses to retailer and customer technical enquiries and requests.
- Manage customer complaints, ensuring investigations, root cause analysis and responses are completed promptly and effectively.
- Build strong working relationships with Customer Services and other departments to ensure customer requirements are consistently met.
Continuous Improvement & Problem Solving
- Investigate quality issues, non-conformances and customer complaints.
- Lead effective root cause analysis and implement sustainable corrective and preventative actions.
- Identify opportunities to improve quality, food safety, efficiency and operational performance.
- Work closely with Production, Engineering and Planning to prevent recurring issues.
- Support Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) verification from a food safety and quality perspective.
- Assist with New Product Development (NPD) trials and technical approvals.
- Use quality data and trends to identify areas for improvement and drive appropriate action.
Team Leadership
- Lead, coach and develop the Quality Assurance team.
- Set clear expectations and support the team in maintaining consistently high standards.
- Promote a positive food safety and quality culture across the site.
- Work collaboratively with colleagues at all levels and ensure quality remains everyone's responsibility.
- Deputise for the Technical Manager when required.
What We're Looking For
Essential Experience
We're looking for someone who can demonstrate:
- Previous experience in a Quality Assurance, Technical or Quality Management role within food manufacturing.
- Hands-on experience working to BRCGS standards within a food manufacturing environment.
- Direct experience working with retail customers and retailer technical standards.
- Experience preparing for, participating in and responding to BRCGS, retailer, customer or third-party audits.
- Strong working knowledge of HACCP and food safety management systems.
- Experience managing internal audits and corrective/preventative actions.
- Strong investigation and problem-solving skills, including practical experience of root cause analysis.
- Experience managing customer complaints and non-conformances.
- Previous experience leading, supervising, coaching or developing a team.
- Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
- Excellent communication skills and the confidence to work effectively with Production, Engineering, Planning, Customer Services and senior management.
- A proactive approach with a genuine passion for food safety, quality and continuous improvement.
Desirable
Experience within chocolate, confectionery or a similar high-care food manufacturing environment would be advantageous, as would experience working with multiple retailer customers and retailer-specific technical standards.
Important – Please Read Before Applying
This is not a general Quality Assurance position.
To be considered for this role, you must have previous experience in food manufacturing, together with demonstrable hands-on experience of BRCGS and working with retail customers and/or retailer technical standards.
We are particularly interested in candidates who have been responsible for maintaining audit readiness, managing retailer/customer requirements, supporting or leading audits, investigating non-conformances and driving corrective actions within a BRCGS-certified food manufacturing environment.
Applications without this relevant food manufacturing, BRCGS and retailer experience are unlikely to be suitable for this position.
What Success Looks Like
In this role, you'll help ensure:
- The site remains fully compliant and BRCGS audit-ready throughout the year.
- Retailer and customer technical requirements are consistently understood and met.
- Our Quality Assurance team continues to develop and perform to a high standard.
- Food safety, quality and GMP standards are consistently maintained.
- Customer complaints and quality issues are investigated effectively and recurring problems are reduced.
- Corrective and preventative actions are completed effectively and on time.
- Quality data is used to identify trends and drive meaningful continuous improvement.
- Food safety and quality become an integral part of everything we do.
Additional Responsibilities
- Follow all company policies, procedures and safe working practices.
- Comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and all relevant health and safety requirements.
- Report any food safety, legality, authenticity or quality concerns immediately.
- Carry out any other reasonable duties appropriate to the level of the role.
Why Join Montezuma's?
At Montezuma's, quality is at the heart of everything we do.
You'll join a friendly, supportive team where your ideas are valued and your expertise can make a real difference. This is an opportunity to take ownership of the site's quality systems, develop a team and help shape the future of quality and food safety at Montezuma's — all while producing chocolate we're proud of.
If you're an experienced food manufacturing QA/Technical professional who understands BRCGS, retailer requirements and what it takes to maintain consistently high standards, we'd love to hear from you.
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Chichester PO20 7BT: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Application question(s):
- What is your salary expectation?
- Do you have Quality Management experience within a food manufacturing industry?
- Do you have experience in BRCGS (Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standards)?
- How many years experience in a Quality Management role do you have?
Work Location: In person
