QA Coordinator - Carrum Downs, Melbourne VIC, Australia

Essential Flavours; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Essential Flavours, a family-owned food ingredients company based in Carrum Downs, Victoria, is seeking a QA Coordinator to support and maintain its high standards of food safety and quality. The role focuses on quality systems documentation, audits, and continuous improvement across production and engineering teams.

The ideal candidate has 2–3 years in QA, experience with GMP/HACCP, and SQF audits, with strong problem-solving and communication skills.

Qualifications

• 2–3 years proven QA experience.
• Experience in flavour/ingredients industry or food lab preferred but not mandatory.
• Strong understanding of GMP and HACCP required.
• Previous SQF audits experience essential.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Good time management and organisational abilities.

Responsibilities

• Maintain quality systems documentation and drive continuous improvements to quality processes.
• Coordinate customer complaint investigations and collaborate with engineering and production to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.
• Implement preventative measures to avoid recurring quality issues.
• Support certification, customer and regulatory audits, including preparation and addressing corrective actions.
• Monitor internal audit schedules and ensure findings are addressed within agreed timelines.
• Deliver and support GMP, HACCP, and food safety training programs.

Skills

QA Coordinator

SQF audits

GMP

HACCP

Food safety

Communication

Job description

About Us

Essential Flavours was established in 1989 as a family-owned business and now spans two generations. Located in Carrum Downs, Victoria, our facility is purpose-built to our requirements and to further expand our capabilities in local and international markets.

At Essential, one of our core principles is to always be audit ready. Essential Flavours is proud to have excelled in quality certification in SQF and are seeking a highly motivated and experienced QA Coordinator to join its team in supporting and maintaining its high standard of food safety and quality.

Key responsibilities:

• Maintain quality systems documentation and actively participate in continuous improvements to the quality systems and work procedures.
• Coordinate customer complaint investigations, collaborate across departmental teams, including engineering and production, to identify root causes, identify corrective measures, implement corrective actions and monitor outcomes.
• Identify and put into place preventative measures to avoid any future occurrences of quality issues and ensure these measures are being consistently followed across teams.
• Support certification, customer and regulatory audits, including preparation, execution and addressing any corrective actions in a timely manner.
• Monitor compliance by coordinating internal audit schedules and ensuring audit findings are addressed within agreed timeframes.
• Deliver and support training programs relating to GMP, HACCP, food safety, quality systems and compliance requirements.

To succeed in this role, you will have:

• At least 2-3 years of proven experience in a previous QA or similar role.
• Experience within the flavour/ ingredients industry or in a food lab setting highly regarded but not mandatory.
• Strong understanding of food safety principles, particularly Good Manufacturing Practices and HACCP is a must.
• Previous experience participating and/or driving SQF audits essential.
• Possess strong initiative to troubleshoot, investigate issues and recommend actions.
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills.
• Must be willing to learn and be flexible

To find out more about us, please visit our website:https://www.essentialflavours.com.au/