Quality Assurance Manager

Natures Way Foods; South Shields; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Profit share bonus

Employer matched pension up to 5%

Health cash plan

Flexible benefits

Online GP & life assurance

Job summary

Nature's Way Foods is seeking a Quality Assurance Manager to lead the QA team and ensure food safety and quality across a fast-paced manufacturing site in the UK. You will oversee audits, CAPA, and KPI reporting while driving continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

You'll work closely with Operations to align procedures with HACCP, legal standards, and customer expectations, developing monitoring systems and reducing non-conformances.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline.
• HACCP Level 3 qualification desirable.
• Food Hygiene Level 3 qualification.
• Experience in FMCG or food manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, quality systems and audit requirements.

Responsibilities

• Manage internal and external audit programmes and compliance.
• Ensure food safety and quality standards across the factory.
• Investigate non-conformances and implement corrective actions.
• Lead traceability and product withdrawal exercises.
• Develop and report KPIs and technical metrics.
• Coordinate for customer audits and close actions.
• Maintain site quality systems and drive continuous improvement.
• Manage QA systems and oversee internal audits.
• Validate and verify processes for compliance and improvement.
• Oversee DQA activities and reporting.
• Investigate customer complaints and root causes.

Skills

Quality management

Data analysis

Auditing

Food safety

Problem solving

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Degree or equivalent

HACCP Level 3 qualification

Food Hygiene Level 3 qualification

Job description

Quality Assurance Manager | Up to £42,000 | Chichester | Amazing Benefits Package

Join us at Nature's Way Foods as our Quality Assurance Manager. If you're an experienced quality professional who cares about food safety, enjoys leading teams and thrives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment, this could be a great move for you.

In this role, you'll help make sure our factory technical standards are consistently met by leading a capable, well-trained and engaged QA team. You'll ensure our ways of working are aligned with internal procedures, HACCP requirements, legal standards and customer expectations.

You'll work closely with Operations and teams across the business to keep improving what we do. From developing monitoring systems to reducing customer complaints, minimizing non-conformances and managing food safety risks, you'll play an important part in building a right-first-time culture across the site.

What you get from us

• Base salary up to £42,000
• Profit share bonus scheme
• Employer matched pension up to 5%
• Health cash plan
• Flexible benefits including; Corporate gym discounts, shopping discounts, enhanced maternity & paternity policy and many more
• Access to online GP & life assurance

Key Responsibilities

• Manage internal and external audit programmes, ensuring ongoing compliance with regulatory, customer, and company standards.
• Ensure food safety, quality standards, and customer Codes of Practice (COPs) are effectively implemented and adhered to across the factory.
• Investigate non-conformances and deviations, conducting root cause analysis and implementing corrective and preventative actions.
• Lead traceability and product withdrawal exercises, including investigations and reporting.
• Develop, monitor, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) and technical performance metrics.
• Coordinate and prepare for customer audits, ensuring successful outcomes and timely closure of actions.
• Manage invoicing processes and support site budget reconciliation activities.
• Maintain factory technical and quality standards, driving continuous improvement against established KPIs.
• Manage quality assurance systems and oversee internal audit programmes.
• Validate and verify new and existing processes to ensure compliance, effectiveness, and continuous improvement.
• Manage site Due Diligence Assurance (DQA) activities, including reporting and compliance monitoring.
• Investigate customer complaints, identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions.
• Produce technical reports and analyse data to support internal stakeholders and customer requirements.
• Lead cross-functional teams and improvement initiatives to enhance quality, compliance, and operational performance.
• Manage site pest control programmes, ensuring compliance with food safety standards.
• Oversee the control, maintenance, and calibration of equipment to ensure accuracy and operational effectiveness.

About You

• Degree, HNC, or equivalent qualification in a relevant discipline.
• HACCP Level 3 qualified (desirable).
• Food Hygiene/Food Safety Level 3 qualification.
• Experience within an FMCG or food manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, quality systems, and audit requirements.
• Experience investigating non-conformances, complaints, and implementing corrective actions.
• Confident analysing data, reporting on KPIs, and driving continuous improvement.
• Excellent organisational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Able to build effective relationships across technical, operational, and customer-facing teams.

Nature's Way Foods is the leading manufacturer of prepared salads, coleslaw and "food-to-go" for supermarkets and retailers, and as such we work closely with farmers across Europe. But there's lots more to us than the products we make.

Our culture is inclusive, and our people are diverse spanning 39 different languages. We operate four manufacturing facilities capable of producing over 400m units per year. It is an exciting time to join Nature's Way Foods as we are growing rapidly and there are genuine opportunities to progress within the organisation.

At Nature's Way Food, we believe that diversity and inclusion are key to driving innovation and achieving excellence. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to reach their full potential. We are dedicated to building a diverse team that reflects the communities we serve and the world we live in.

Join us in our mission to create a more inclusive and fairer world. Together, we can become best at fresh.