Food Safety & Quality Manager

Lakeland Dairies; Coleraine; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Lakeland Dairies Ballyrashane site is seeking an experienced Technical Manager to lead the Food Safety and Quality function, ensuring compliance, product integrity and continuous improvement. The role sits on the Site Leadership Team and involves building strong stakeholder relationships and maintaining audit readiness.

The successful candidate will champion a culture of food safety and quality, partnering with Operations to drive corrective actions and site excellence.

Qualifications

• Experience leading Technical, Food Safety and Quality teams in food manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP, GMP and Food Safety Management Systems.
• Proven ability to drive continuous improvement and audit readiness.

Responsibilities

• Lead Technical, Quality Assurance and Quality Control functions.
• Ensure compliance with food safety standards and audit readiness.
• Maintain and develop HACCP plans and quality documentation.
• Partner with Operations to investigate non-conformances and implement CAPAs.
• Monitor KPIs and drive proactive site improvements.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Analytical

Education

BSc in Food Science

Job description

Lakeland Dairies Co-operative Society Limited (The Group) is the second largest dairy processor on the island of Ireland. The business is complex and ambitious with a milk supply pool of 2 billion litres of milk, drawn from over 3,200 family farms across 16 counties.

The opportunity:

Our team in Ballyrashane are seeking an experienced Technical Manager to lead their Food Safety and Quality function, ensuring the highest standards of compliance, product integrity and continuous improvement.

Working as a key member of the Site Leadership Team, the successful applicant will champion a strong food safety and quality culture, build effective relationships with customers and external stakeholders, and ensure the site remains audit-ready every day.

This is an exciting opportunity for a driven leader who thrives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and is passionate about delivering safe, high-quality products while developing people, systems and performance.

What does success look like?

• Lead the site's Technical, Quality Assurance and Quality Control functions, driving a culture of food safety, quality and continuous improvement.
• Ensure all food safety management systems, controls and compliance requirements are effectively implemented and maintained.
• Maintain site certification against relevant GFSI standards and support successful customer, regulatory and third-party audits.
• Manage product quality through sensory, analytical and microbiological assessment, ensuring only compliant products are released.
• Partner with Operations to investigate non-conformances, identify root causes and implement effective corrective and preventative actions.
• Develop, review and maintain site procedures, HACCP plans and quality documentation in line with regulatory, customer and company requirements.
• Monitor, trend and improve key performance indicators, leading proactive improvement plans across the site.
• Actively engage on the production floor, supporting cross-functional teams, cost optimisation initiatives and operational excellence.

What will you bring?

• A 3rd level qualification in a Food Science, Food Technology, Microbiology or a related discipline.
• Proven experience leading Technical, Food Safety and Quality teams within a food manufacturing environment.
• Strong working knowledge of HACCP, GMP, Food Safety Management Systems and quality standards.
• Experience maintaining and managing GFSI-recognised certifications (BRCGS, FSSC 22000 or equivalent).
• Strong leadership, coaching and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence them at all levels.
• Results focused with excellent analytical, organisational and problem-solving abilities.

If you have the necessary skills and attributes to meet this challenging opportunity in a dynamic, high volume and fast-moving business, we would be delighted to hear from you!

Lakeland Dairies Ltd is committed to having an inclusive workplace where every employee feels they belong. If you require accommodations to be made during the recruitment process or have questions relating to accessibility, please contact us at [e-mail]