Quality and Compliance Manager

Sharp & Carter; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharp & Carter is recruiting a Quality Compliance Manager for a high-growth, high-volume food manufacturer in Melbourne. You will lead the site's quality and food safety program on the factory floor, partnering with operations and senior leadership to balance safety with business needs.

You will manage certifications (SQF/FSSC 22000), lead audits, oversee HACCP, allergen, traceability and recalls, and drive improvements across supplier quality and cost of quality.

Qualifications

• Senior quality experience in high-volume food manufacturing.
• Experience with SQF or FSSC 22000 certifications.
• Strong HACCP knowledge and audit leadership.
• Experience managing customer/retailer audits.
• Knowledge of food safety legislation, allergen management, traceability and recalls.
• Experience root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Understanding of GMP, sanitation and foreign matter controls.
• Commercial awareness and cost of quality.
• Excellent communication and ability to manage difficult conversations.
• Hands-on, autonomous with production teams.
• Coaching and mentoring others, building a quality culture.

Responsibilities

• Maintain food safety and quality systems, certifications and audits.
• Lead customer audits and quality meetings.
• Manage complaints, non-conformances and corrective actions.
• Oversee HACCP, allergen management, traceability and recalls.
• Collaborate with production to maintain standards.
• Identify opportunities to reduce waste and cost of quality.
• Develop and maintain SOPs for production consistency.
• Coach and mentor the quality team.
• Build quality ownership across the site.

Skills

Senior QA

SQF/FSSC 22000

HACCP knowledge

Audit leadership

Customer audits

Communication skills

On-floor QA

Cost of quality

Supplier quality

Tools

GMP

Job description

About the Company

Our client is a high-growth, high-volume food manufacturer in Melbourne supplying well-known brand and retail customers.

With growing customer accounts and new business coming on board, the business is focused on increasing production while maintaining high standards across quality, food safety and manufacturing.

About the Role

The Quality Compliance Manager will lead the site's quality and food safety function, working closely with operations, senior leadership and customers to maintain standards as the business grows.

This is a hands-on role suited to someone who combines strong technical quality experience with commercial awareness and excellent communication skills. You'll be comfortable on the manufacturing floor, building relationships with operators, managing customer expectations and making practical decisions that balance food safety with business requirements.

Key responsibilities include:

• Maintaining food safety and quality systems, certifications and audit schedules
• Leading customer audits, quality meetings and ongoing customer relationships
• Managing complaints, non-conformances, investigations and corrective actions
• Overseeing HACCP, allergen management, traceability, recalls and supplier quality
• Working closely with production to maintain quality and food safety standards
• Identifying opportunities to improve processes, reduce waste and manage the cost of quality
• Managing difficult customer conversations and resolving quality disputes using factsDeveloping and maintaining SOPs to ensure consistency across production
• Coaching and mentoring the quality team and supporting capability development
• Building quality ownership across the site and taking responsibility for quality outcomes

Skills & Experience

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Senior quality experience within high-volume food manufacturing
• Experience managing SQF or FSSC 22000 certification requirements
• Strong HACCP knowledge and experience leading certification audits
• Experience managing major customer or retailer requirements and audits
• Knowledge of food safety legislation, allergen management, traceability and recalls
• Experience managing complaints, root cause analysis and corrective actions
• Understanding of supplier quality, GMP, sanitation and foreign matter controls
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of the cost of quality
• Strong communication skills and confidence managing challenging customer conversations
• A hands-on approach, with the ability to work closely with production teams
• Experience coaching and mentoring others and building a strong quality culture
• The ability to take ownership, work autonomously and balance technical and commercial priorities