QA Manager

Sharp and Carter; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharp and Carter is seeking a QA Manager to own the quality function across the business in Australia. You will lead day-to-day quality operations, manage a QA Assistant, and collaborate with manufacturers and co-packers to investigate and resolve issues.

You will drive maturity of quality systems, reporting, and continuous improvement as the business scales, while owning recall processes and FSANZ compliance.

Qualifications

• Experience in Quality within Food, FMCG or food manufacturing.
• ,
• ],
• job_responsibilities_description

Responsibilities

• Own and manage day-to-day quality operations across the business.
• Maintain product quality across a growing portfolio.
• Build and maintain relationships with manufacturers, co-packers and suppliers.
• Act as the primary contact for quality issues with suppliers; investigate and resolve.
• Own recall processes, FSANZ requirements, HACCP, food safety and compliance.
• Conduct regular site visits to manufacturing and supplier partners.
• Support NPD and product projects from a quality perspective.
• Develop supplier scorecards, data reporting and quality systems as the business matures.

Skills

Quality management

Food manufacturing

Supplier management

HACCP

Food safety

Sensory evaluation

Communication

NPD collaboration

Audits

Job description

About the Company

Our client is a growing Australian FMCG food manufacturer with an expanding product portfolio and significant growth in project and production volume. Working with a network of manufacturers, co-packers and raw material suppliers, the business is focused on strengthening product quality and building a more mature quality function as it scales.

About the Role

The QA Manager will own the quality function across the business and act as the key point of contact for day-to-day quality matters. The role manages one experienced QA Assistant and works directly with manufacturers and co-packers to investigate and resolve quality issues, while also driving the maturity of quality systems, reporting and continuous improvement as the business grows.

Key responsibilities include:

• Owning the quality function and managing day-to-day quality operations


• Taking ownership of product quality across a growing portfolio


• Building and maintaining strong relationships with manufacturers, co-packers and raw material suppliers


• Acting as the key point of contact for quality issues, working directly with suppliers to investigate, resolve and prevent recurrence


• Owning recall processes, FSANZ requirements, HACCP, food safety and broader compliance


• Conducting regular site visits to manufacturing and supplier partners


• Supporting NPD and product projects from a quality perspective


• Developing supplier scorecards, data reporting and quality systems as the business matures


• Identifying and driving continuous improvement opportunities across the quality function

This is an excellent opportunity for a quality professional who enjoys ownership, direct supplier engagement, and building capability within a fast-growing FMCG environment.

Skills & Experience

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Proven experience in Quality within Food, FMCG or food manufacturing


• Strong product quality experience


• Manufacturing experience with confidence working directly with manufacturers and co-packers


• Strong understanding of HACCP, food safety and compliance requirements


• Strong sensory experience, particularly in products where sensory evaluation is central to quality


• Proven experience managing supplier and co-manufacturer relationships


• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build positive relationships internally and externally


• Confident communicator, comfortable managing upwards and owning difficult conversations


• SME experience preferred, comfortable wearing multiple hats


• Audit experience advantageous; systems experience beneficial