Quality Manager

Technical Recruitment Solutions Ltd; Upper Hutt; On-site; NZD 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent NZ food manufacturer based in Upper Hutt is seeking a QA Manager to lead their Quality Assurance team and ensure compliance with food safety standards. This role focuses on maintaining a culture of quality, overseeing audits, and implementing continuous improvement processes across the organization. The ideal candidate should have significant experience in the food industry, strong leadership skills, and a tertiary qualification in Food Science or a related field. Apply now to influence quality management at all levels.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ industry experience with strong knowledge of GMP.
• 5+ years’ hands-on experience developing and managing Quality/Food Safety systems.
• 5+ years’ people management and leadership experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop food safety, quality, and compliance systems.
• Build a quality-first culture through leadership and coaching.
• Maintain and improve Food Safety Quality Management System.

Skills

Planning skills

Analytical skills

Organisational skills

Communication skills

Education

Tertiary qualification in Food Science, Food Technology or related field

Tools

HACCP

GMP

LEAN

Lead Auditing

Job description

• Innovative and respected NZ-owned brand with a commitment to quality and excellence.
• A company that values collaboration, continuous improvement, and people-first leadership.
• Opportunity to be part of the Operations Leadership Team, influencing business-wide outcomes.

The Company

Our client is a proudly owned NZ food manufacturer conveniently located in Upper Hutt, Wellington. With their business exploring international export, it is a great time to join the team and help influence their growth trajectory! This is more than just a compliance role – we're seeking an influential, people-first leader to take ownership of their Food Safety, Quality, and Compliance culture across the business.

The Role

As the QA Manager, you’ll be responsible for leading and developing a small Quality Assurance team, maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements, and ensuring food safety systems and products are of an excellent standard. But just as important – you’ll be the cultural driver of site quality. Our client is looking for a candidate that brings people on the journey, inspires best practices, and drives ownership of food safety and quality at all levels of the organisation.

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Leading and developing food safety, quality, and compliance systems.
• Building a quality-first culture through leadership, coaching and cross-functional collaboration.
• Maintaining and improving Food Safety Quality Management System (FSQMS).
• Overseeing all internal and external audits and ensuring regulatory and customer compliance.
• Investigating product complaints and implementing effective root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Managing the specification database, environmental monitoring, and grading & release activities
• Collaborating closely with Production, Product Development, and Supply Chain teams on continuous improvement.
• Reporting directly to the Senior Leadership Team and contribute to strategic decision-making.

You, the Candidate

As an experienced quality leader in the food industry, the ideal candidate for this role will bring strong planning, analytical, and organisational skills. You will be a motivational, hands-on leader with deep knowledge of FSANZ Food Code and regulatory standards, data analysis, and implementing food safety and quality systems. It is critical that you are a strong communicator and able to connect and influence at all levels of a business.

You will also possess the following skills and attributes:

• Tertiary qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Engineering, Microbiology, or Quality Management.
• Formal training in HACCP, GMP, LEAN, and Lead Auditing (preferred).
• 5+ years’ industry experience with strong knowledge of GMP (NZ and international).
• 5+ years’ hands-on experience developing and managing Quality/Food Safety systems.
• 5+ years’ people management and leadership experience.
• Background in technical compliance and systems development within the food industry
• Extensive auditing and laboratory leadership experience.
• Solid track record in lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.

Apply

To apply for this role, please select the relevant Apply button. Alternatively, please send a copy of your CV to [e-mail]

We look forward to hearing from you!