Product Quality Auditor

B&Q Limited; Eastleigh; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible & Hybrid Working

Career Growth & Development

Competitive Reward Package

Colleague Discounts

Health & Wellbeing Support

Time Away From Work

A Place Where You Belong

Make a Difference

Job summary

B&Q Limited is seeking a Product Quality Auditor based in Southampton with hybrid working options. The role focuses on vendor and exclusive-brand assurance, ensuring compliance with safety and quality standards across UK and ROI, supported by the QA governance teams.

You will lead audits, develop SME knowledge for the Commercial Team, and drive continuous improvement. The role offers a permanent contract with a salary of £40,000–£48,000 plus pension, PMI, ShareSave, and generous holiday, with

Qualifications

• Experience managing product compliance in UK & EU markets.
• Strong technical product knowledge for a commercial environment.
• Clear communication, articulate and adaptable to audience.
• Proficient with Excel and PowerPoint to deliver insights.
• Experienced in coordinating projects and meeting deadlines.
• Iso 9001:2015 Lead Auditor training is advantageous.
• Commercially aware; balances policy and business objectives.
• Logical, analytical, and detail‑oriented with cross‑functional influence.

Responsibilities

• Deliver workflows ensuring Vendors comply with regulatory, safety, and product quality standards.
• Support quality audit managers on new vendor/product approvals and reviews.
• Liaise with vendors and buyers to collect assurance evidence for the RTF.
• Develop SME for Commercial Team and vendors to ensure product and packaging compliance.
• Support commercial teams in understanding specifications and regulatory requirements.
• Facilitate authoring of new product artwork and user manuals with support from audit teams.
• Conduct quality issue management and response activity.
• Establish good working relationships with internal stakeholders and vendors.
• Attend and participate in relevant commercial meetings regularly.
• Utilise and maintain the QA laboratory workspace with colleagues.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives within the team.

Skills

Communication

Project coordination

Analytical thinking

Team player

Self-motivation

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Overview

Permanent

From£40,000 - £48,000 + Pension + PMI +ShareSave+ 6.6 weeks holiday+ Hybrid Working (2/3 days per week in the office)

Southampton, Store Support Office

We believe anyone can improve their home to make life better. From our Southampton Store Support office (SSO) we equip our stores, our people, and our whole business with everything it takes to help our millions of customers create a home they’ll love. Join us as a Product Quality Auditor and you’ll be a big part of this.

Role Purpose: Handling Vendor and B&Q exclusive brand assurance workflows for products sold in UK and ROI. As a key member of B&Q’s Product Quality Service Programme you will ensure Vendors meet B&Q’s quality policy requirements supplying products that comply with legal standards, safety requirements and policy needs. You will be responsible for product approvals, supplier audits, and quality monitoring, working closely with Commercial teams to support introduction of new products and suppliers through the audit and product lifecycle plan. Reporting into an experienced Quality Audit manager you work closely with them and the audit , quality governance and surveillance teams to identify, demand and deliver world class outputs from our suppliers. As part of the audit team, you will be deployed across the range of products to support workload balancing across the team, working together to achieve objectives. This provides you the opportunity to develop subject specialisms though BAU and project works. The role is a key actor in B&Q’s due diligence process, and you will support continuous improvement initiatives.

What's the job?

• Deliver workflows ensuring Vendors comply with all regulatory, safety, and product quality standards.
• Support quality audit managers on new vendor/ product approval and review of existing vendors /products as required for Vendor & B&Q Exclusive brands. Includes Technical Audit and collaboration with B&Q Sustainability Team to deliver parallel Ethical and Wood & Paper audits.
• Liaising with vendors & buyers to collect and check assurance evidence for use in the Required Technical File (RTF) in line with quality policy.
• Develop Subject Matter Expertise (SME) for Commercial Team and vendors to ensure compliance of product and packaging /artwork.
• Support commercial teams in understanding specification of product and regulatory requirements. This will include working with current product reference specifications, creating new or updating of these documents. Build product lifecycle /development knowledge.
• Facilitate authoring of new product artwork and customer user manuals with support from audit managers, packaging and commercial teams.
• Conduct quality issue management & response activity with support of the Governance & Surveillance sub teams.
• Establish good working relationships with all internal stakeholders and vendors.
• Attend and participate in relevant B&Q Commercial meetings on a regular basis.
• Utilise and maintain the QA laboratory workspace with support of colleagues.
• Participate in the Quality Team continuous improvement journey through Team meetings, process development in your field, joining relevant external committees and undertaking relevant training.

Key Business Relationships:

• Collaborate with stakeholders in B&Q QA, Commercial & Planning departments, Responsible Business, Retail, Supply Chain, and Kingfisher Group Quality & Sustainability teams in aligning on quality priorities on a routine and project basis.
• Support improved supplier performance and accountability through the audit programme, ensuring vendors consistently deliver compliant & safe products.
• Positively advocate for the B&Q quality policy and work closely with commercial partners to guide & select suppliers that achieve our policy standards.

What we need:

• Experience managing product compliance ideally working in UK & EU markets within a major retail or consumer goods organisation.
• Good technical foundation with sound product knowledge to apply it in a commercial environment.
• Communicates clearly, articulately and with conviction when speaking and in written form with individuals or to a group. Able to adapts content and style to their audience. Energetic team player with drive and self motivation.
• Good understanding of IT tools, particularly Excel and PowerPoint, to deliver impactful insights.
• Exposure and delivery of project coordination, driving initiatives from concept to delivery. Ability to prioritise and maintain workload to specific deadlines.
• Experience working with external partners such as vendors and service providers. ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor trained a distinct advantage.
• Commercially aware, able to balance policy requirements and business objectives.
• Logical and analytical with attention to detail and communication skills. Influencer able to build strong cross-functional relationships.

Other Requirements:

• Ability to travel away from home overnight occasionally.

What's in it for me?

What's In It For You?

At B&Q, we're building more than great homes – we're building great careers.

When you join us, you'll be part of a supportive, inclusive business where your ideas matter, your development is invested in, and your wellbeing is genuinely important.

Here's what you can expect:

• Flexible & Hybrid Working - Work in a way that helps you perform at your best, balancing business needs with personal commitments.
• Career Growth & Development - Access learning, development and career opportunities across one of the UK's leading retail organisations.
• Competitive Reward Package - A competitive salary, pension and a range of financial benefits.
• Colleague Discounts - Enjoy discounts across B&Q and the wider Kingfisher Group.
• Health & Wellbeing Support - Access wellbeing resources, health support and employee assistance programmes designed to help you thrive.
• Time Away From Work - Generous holiday entitlement and family-friendly policies that support life both inside and outside work.
• A Place Where You Belong - We're committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and empowered to be themselves.
• Make a Difference - The work you do will have a direct impact on our customers, colleagues and business.

Eligibility To Work

Please note that B&Q does not currently offer visa sponsorship for this role. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK at the time of application and throughout their employment.

Accessibility & Disability Confident

At B&Q, we're committed to creating an inclusive recruitment experience for everyone.

If you require any additional support or reasonable adjustments to help you complete your application or throughout the recruitment process, please let us know.

If you would like to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, please contact us at [e-mail]. If you meet the minimum criteria for the role, we'll consider your application in line with our Disability Confident commitments.