Head - HSEQ

SmartQ; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

SmartQ Bengaluru invites a dynamic Head – HSEQ to lead development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality standards across all kitchens, production facilities, and service operations.

You will drive compliance with statutory regulations, champion food safety excellence, and mentor teams across regions, ensuring recipe and process discipline throughout the F&B value chain.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in a relevant field as listed.
• Strong knowledge of FSSAI, HACCP, ISO standards with practical applications.
• Proven leadership and ability to drive audits and governance.

Responsibilities

• Develop and enforce Health & Safety policies across kitchens, transport, and service areas.
• Lead HACCP, ISO 22000, FSSAI compliance, and audits.
• Drive quality improvements, waste reduction, energy and water management.
• Ensure 100% adherence to licensing, certifications, and documentation.
• Build an HSEQ culture and mentor regional teams; train on safety and emergency response.

Skills

HACCP expertise

ISO 22000 / FSSAI knowledge

GMP / GHP knowledge

Leadership & stakeholder management

Auditing & compliance

Education

Bachelor’s in food technology

Bachelor’s in microbiology

Bachelor’s in environmental science

Bachelor’s in industrial safety

Bachelor’s in hospitality management

Tools

Six Sigma

Kaizen

5S

Job description

We go many miles beyond the F&B industry into capturing hearts and making a real difference by resolving the root cause of the business problem. At the core we strive to understand our clients' requirements through the display of empathy and provide solutions with an analytical mind that are both scalable and sustainable.

In less than a decade we have made significant strides, streamlining cafeteria operations across the globe across multiple industries through our cutting-edge technology. Armed with a global presence across 14 countries, we believe in the principle of serving our clients and the ultimate users wholeheartedly. We are relentless at solving the key insight of “how do we make people feel the best every day!”

On the macro, we are built on 4 key pillars-great people, great food, great experience, and greater good. These pillars keep us firmly grounded to our work culture that resonates with humility and hard work, which shows in the projection of our growth trajectory.

To know more about the 5 key pillars that surround our culture check out our LinkedIn ‘Life’ page. You will be amazed to be a part of our growth story - https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartq-bottlelabs/life/cdc290f8-ff81-4e7f-9c96-37d842f936c4/?viewAsMember=true

Are you excited to join our team as Head - HSEQ?

We are looking for a dynamic and proactive Head – HSEQ to lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality standards across all kitchens, production facilities, and service operations. This role will ensure strict compliance with statutory regulations, champion food safety excellence, minimize operational risks, and drive strong process discipline throughout the end-to-end F&B value chain.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Health & Safety (H&S)

• Develop and enforce workplace safety policies across kitchens, transport, and service areas.
• Conduct regular safety audits, risk assessments, and incident investigations.
• Implement preventive and corrective actions to reduce workplace accidents.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, local safety laws, and F&B safety norms.
• Design and deliver safety training programs for employees and contractors.

2. Food Safety & Quality

• Implement and maintain HACCP, ISO 22000, FSSAI and other food safety standards.
• Ensure hygiene practices across receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, packaging, and dispatch.
• Conduct testing, quality audits, and kitchen inspections.
• Review and update SOPs for food handling, cleaning, sanitization, pest control, personal hygiene etc.
• Work closely with culinary and operations teams to ensure recipe and process compliance.
• Develop strategies for waste reduction, energy conservation, and water management.
• Ensure compliance with pollution control norms and sustainability guidelines.
• Oversee proper disposal of food waste, used oil, packaging, and chemicals.

4. Compliance & Governance

• Ensure 100% adherence to FSSAI licensing, statutory audits, certifications, and documentation.
• Lead internal and external audits; coordinate with regulatory bodies.
• Maintain accurate and updated records for HSEQ inspections, licenses, and permits.

5. Training & Capability Building

• Build an HSEQ culture across all levels of the organization.
• Conduct training on food safety, hygiene, personal safety, fire safety, first aid, and emergency response.
• Guide unit managers and staff on corrective and preventive actions.
• Drive quality improvement projects using tools such as Six Sigma, Kaizen, 5S.
• Monitor KPIs: incident rate, audit scores, non-compliance trends, customer complaints, waste levels.
• Introduce technology-based solutions for quality tracking and traceability.
• Lead and mentor the HSEQ team across regions/units.
• Collaborate with Ops, HR, Culinary, Supply Chain, Facility Management, and Vendor Partners.
• Ensure performance management, training, and development of the HSEQ function.
• 10 + Years of strong knowledge of FSSAI, HACCP, ISO standards, BRC, GMP, GHP.
• Deep understanding of commercial kitchen operations, food handling, supply chain hygiene, and F&B risk controls.
• Excellent audit, inspection, and documentation skills.
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to manage multi-location operations.
• High attention to detail and problem-solving skills.

Educational Qualification:

• Bachelor’s or master’s in food technology / microbiology / environmental science / industrial safety / hospitality management.
• Certifications in HACCP, ISO 22000, OHSAS/ISO 4501, NEBOSH preferred.

Message from CEO:

We've come to realize that we're not merely in the B2B Food service industry; we're in the business of 'Capturing Hearts.' We find ourselves in a unique position to turn ordinary, mundane corporate cafeterias into places of pure delight, where individuals can freely express themselves, find inspiration, and share happiness. Such a profound transformation opportunity is a rare gift, where the purpose of our enterprise transcends the ordinary. If this vision resonates with you, we invite you to join us in our mission to spread joy and happiness in a world weighed down by stress and pressure. Together, let's play our part in making this world a more beautiful place.