Food Safety Specialist

Danone; Otago; On-site; NZD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A renowned food company in Otago is seeking a Food Safety Specialist to ensure compliance with quality and food safety systems. In this critical role, you'll lead audits, foster a quality-centric culture, and identify food safety risks. Candidates should have a degree in food science or microbiology and experience in food safety in a production environment. This position offers a collaborative team culture, competitive rewards, and a focus on personal development.

Benefits

Health insurance

Personalized learning opportunities

Gender-neutral paid parental leave

Qualifications

• Experience in food safety or quality assurance in a food production environment.
• Strong understanding of HACCP and food safety standards.
• Ideally experience within the New Zealand dairy industry.

Responsibilities

• Lead the compliance of the Quality & Food Safety Management Systems.
• Assist in collecting and analyzing feedback to support continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with team members to ensure adherence to food safety protocols.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Stakeholder management

Leadership abilities

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Education

Diploma or degree in food science, microbiology, or related field

Job description

About the Job

Are you passionate about quality and food safety? Do you enjoy working cross-functionally and fostering a quality-centric culture? Join our talented team as a Food Safety Specialist to lead implementation and maintenance of Balclutha Quality and Food Safety Systems, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and Danone standards. You'll play a crucial role in delivering sustainable products and services at minimal cost, all while keeping our consumers and customers at the heart of everything we do.

Reporting to the Quality and Food Safety Plant Assurance Manager, you will lead the charge in ensuring compliance with Quality and Food Safety Management Systems at Balclutha, safeguarding our operations against potential QFS incidents or crises, and securing a resilient future. In this role, you will concentrate on downstream quality, ensuring that our products maintain the highest standards as they reach our customers.

You will

• Lead the compliance of the Quality & Food Safety Management Systems and lead external and internal audits.
• Assist in collecting and analyzing feedback to support continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with team members to ensure adherence to food safety protocols.
• Foster a quality-centric culture within the Balclutha, NZ operations, and co-manufacturers, including quarterly Quality townhalls.
• Help identify food safety risks and support corrective actions.
• Participate in team meetings and contribute to food safety reporting.
• Support quality initiatives and assist in data collection for improvement projects.

About you

We are looking for someone like you to leverage your excellent communication skills, stakeholder management, and leadership abilities to collaborate effectively and solve problems with logical precision. With a strong technical background in manufacturing processes, HACCP, risk assessment, and auditing, you'll play a key role in delivering superior consumer experiences and safeguarding our operations. If you thrive on taking ownership and responsibility and know how to act with speed, agility, and pragmatism, we want you on our team.

To be successful, you will also have

• A diploma or degree in food science, microbiology, or a related field
• Experience in food safety or quality assurance in a food production environment
• Ideally experience within the New Zealand dairy industry
• Strong understanding of HACCP and food safety standards
• Ability to identify and report food safety issues
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail

About us

We truly value our Danoners and strive to make their experience exceptional by creating a positive and fulfilling environment for everyone. Our unique benefits are designed to enhance the lives and provide genuine value.

• A high-performing, collaborative team culture
• Thank Danone it’s Friday! 230pm finishes every Friday
• Diverse and inclusive work environment
• Personalised learning opportunities to set you up for success
• Competitive Total Reward package including
• Health, Life, and salary continuance insurance
• 26 weeks of gender-neutral paid parental leave
• Employee Share Subscription Plan after 12 months of service
• Performance-related incentives and annual reviews

More About Us

At Danone, we aim to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices, in line with our Vision - Danone, One Planet. One Health. We operate across four business lines Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Products, Waters, Early Life Nutrition, and Medical Nutrition. Our headquarters are in France, we have offices in 55 countries across the globe, and our products are sold in over 120 markets. We have been around for more than a century and are the proud owners of some of the best-known brands worldwide, including favorites like YoPro, Activia, Aptamil and Karicare.

Danone ANZ focuses on dairy and specialized nutrition products for infants and adults and is proud to be awarded the Great Place to Work accreditation winner for ANZ in 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025 – a globally recognised program where we feature as one of Australia’s top places to work.

Visit our website WE ARE DANONE to know more about us.

How To Apply

If this opportunity resonates with you and you’re eager to shape and define this role, then go ahead and seize the moment. Click on the APPLY button and share your resume with us!

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

We proudly affirm that we are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and our ambition is to foster an INCLUSIVE & DIVERSE workplace where all Danoners can bring their uniqueness to contribute to business results. Our commitment to DEI ensures that all qualified individuals receive fair consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and disability at our company.