Compliance & Quality Lead

Freixenet Copestick; Haywards Heath; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

Enhanced pension contributions

Private health cover

Generous staff discounts across our PH

25 days annual leave + birthday day, +

Enhanced maternity and paternity pay

Employee Assistance Programme

Income protection and life assurance

Group accident insurance

EV salary sacrifice scheme

Job summary

Bolney Wine Estate is seeking a Compliance & Quality Lead to protect the integrity, safety and quality of every bottle. You will drive systems, processes and culture across the winery, working with winemaking, production and broader business teams to embed quality in daily operations.

You will lead audits, implement improvements, deliver training and mentor team members, ensuring accurate data capture and reporting while supporting sustainability initiatives within the estate.

Qualifications

• Experience in quality, compliance, laboratory, or food manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP and COSHH.
• Ability to apply quality standards within a production environment.
• Experience with laboratory analysis and quality control procedures.

Responsibilities

• Lead compliance activities across winery and production, ensuring adherence to standards.
• Develop, implement and improve compliance programmes, policies and procedures.
• Conduct internal audits, inspections and reviews and drive corrective actions.
• Champion a culture of quality and continuous improvement across the business.
• Deliver training on compliance requirements and internal policies.
• Identify compliance and quality risks and implement practical mitigations.
• Prepare reports, audit documentation and KPI tracking for quality performance.
• Embed compliance and quality into day-to-day operations across teams.
• Support laboratory operations during busy periods with accurate data analysis.
• Record, analyse and interpret laboratory data using systems including Innovint.

Skills

Quality management

Compliance

Data analysis

Communication

Team leadership

Tools

Innovint

Microsoft Excel

Laboratory databases

Job description

We're hiring a Compliance & Quality Lead to join the team at Bolney Wine Estate!

This is a unique opportunity to combine your passion for quality, technical excellence and winemaking with a role that sits at the heart of one of England's leading wine estates. You'll play a key role in protecting the quality, safety and integrity of every bottle we produce, helping ensure our wines continue to meet the highest standards from vineyard to customer.

More than a traditional compliance role, this is an opportunity to shape the systems, processes and culture that underpin our winery and production operations. Working closely with our winemaking, production and wider business teams, you'll lead quality and compliance initiatives, support laboratory operations and help drive continuous improvement across the estate.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead compliance activities across the winery and production operation, ensuring adherence to all relevant wine industry, food safety and regulatory standards.
• Develop, implement and continuously improve compliance programmes, policies and procedures, including HACCP, COSHH and food safety systems.
• Conduct internal audits, inspections and reviews, identifying opportunities for improvement and ensuring corrective actions are implemented effectively.
• Champion a culture of quality, compliance and continuous improvement, helping colleagues understand and embrace best practice throughout the business.
• Deliver training and guidance to employees on compliance requirements, quality standards and internal policies.
• Identify potential compliance and quality risks, implementing practical solutions and mitigation strategies to protect the business and our products.
• Prepare reports, audit documentation and KPI tracking for food safety and quality performance.
• Work collaboratively with winery, production and wider business teams to embed compliance and quality into day-to-day operations.
• Support laboratory operations during busy periods, ensuring accurate and timely analysis of wine samples and production data.
• Manage quality control procedures, equipment calibration activities and the investigation of quality-related issues.
• Record, analyse and interpret laboratory data, maintaining accurate reporting and effective use of systems including Innovint.
• Identify opportunities for new testing methods, technologies and process improvements that enhance quality assurance across the winery.
• Lead sustainability initiatives within the winery and production facilities, supporting our long-term environmental ambitions.
• Train, mentor and support harvest interns and seasonal team members, helping maintain high standards during critical periods.
• Provide administrative and operational support across the winery where required, contributing to a collaborative and joined-up team environment.

What we're looking for:

• Experience in quality, compliance, laboratory, technical or food manufacturing environments; experience within wine, beverages or food production would be an advantage.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP, COSHH and food safety requirements, with the ability to apply these effectively within a production environment.
• A strong understanding of winemaking processes and a genuine interest in developing your expertise, particularly within sparkling wine production.
• Experience of laboratory analysis and quality control procedures.
• Excellent attention to detail, with a passion for accuracy, efficiency, cleanliness and continuous improvement.
• Strong numerical and analytical skills, with confidence interpreting data and maintaining accurate records.
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office and the ability to work confidently with operational systems and databases.
• A proactive and solutions-focused approach, with the confidence to identify issues and implement improvements.
• The ability to build trusted working relationships across departments and influence positive outcomes.
• A self-motivated and adaptable approach, with the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• A full UK driving licence and own transport due to our rural location.
• Flexibility to support operations during harvest and other critical periods, including occasional evenings and weekends.

What we offer:

• Discretionary annual bonus
• Enhanced pension contributions
• Private health cover
• Generous staff discounts across our portfolio
• 25 days annual leave + birthday day off, plus public holidays
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Income protection and life assurance
• Group accident insurance
• EV salary sacrifice scheme

We know that great candidates don't always meet every requirement listed. If you're excited about the opportunity and believe you can make a positive contribution to Bolney Wine Estate, we'd love to hear from you.