Food Quality Assurance Lead

Zest; West Midlands; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Zest is recruiting a Quality Supervisor for a well‑established food manufacturer. This hands‑on role reports to the Technical Manager and leads the QA team across production, hygiene and technical teams.

You will gain broad exposure to audits, lab management, root cause analysis and training, setting you on a path toward a future Quality Manager role. You will oversee daily quality audits, manage laboratory sampling, and deliver food safety training while supporting external audits and customer

Qualifications

• At least one year’s experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Level 2 Food Safety and HACCP as a minimum.
• Understanding of food safety legislation, GMP and third‑party audit requirements.
• Hands‑on approach; comfortable working with production teams.
• Ability to train and coach staff and drive quality improvement.
• Organised, methodical, good written and verbal communication, numeracy.
• Computer literacy; comfortable with new systems.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily quality audits of production records, including CCPs and QCPs.
• Lead and guide the QA team; liaise with production and hygiene teams.
• Deliver food safety training to production and QA staff; maintain training records.
• Manage laboratory sampling and review results; investigate out-of-spec results.

Skills

Food safety

HACCP

GMP

Audits

Lab management

Root cause analysis

Training & coaching

Quality improvement

Education

GCSEs

Science degree (advantageous)

Tools

LIMS

Job description

Zest is recruiting a Quality Supervisor for a well‑established food manufacturer. This hands‑on role reports to the Technical Manager and leads the QA team across production, hygiene and technical teams.

You will gain broad exposure to audits, lab management, root cause analysis and training, setting you on a path toward a future Quality Manager role. You will oversee daily quality audits, manage laboratory sampling, and deliver food safety training while supporting external audits and customer