Technical & Compliance Lead

Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited is seeking a Technical & Compliance Manager to oversee regulatory compliance, product safety, and quality across all categories. The role ensures vendor compliance and product integrity through the lifecycle for national brands and exclusives.

You will lead a team of Technical Compliance Officers, collaborate with NPD, Buying, Marketing, and Private Label, and engage with regulatory bodies to maintain audit readiness and governance.

Qualifications

• Degree in relevant field required.
• Postgraduate qualification advantageous.
• 3-5 years’ experience in technical compliance, product safety, regulatory, quality assurance in Pharmacy, Health & Medical or Retail FMCG sectors.

Responsibilities

• Oversee vendor evaluation and regulatory compliance.
• Oversee ongoing supplier regulatory, technical and quality assurance.
• Ensure product formulations, labelling, and claims meet regulatory and quality requirements.
• Provide expert guidance to NPD teams on compliance, technical, and quality matters throughout development.
• Lead testing programmes and quality assurance initiatives including budget control.
• Drive compliance of advertising, labelling, and product claims to regulations across all marketing channels.

Skills

Regulatory compliance

Quality assurance

Stakeholder engagement

Risk assessment

Analytical capability

Education

Degree in Food Science / Food Technology / Dietetics / Nutrition / Biochemistry / Consumer Science / QA

Postgraduate qualification

Job description

Technical & Compliance Manager leads product compliance, safety, and quality oversight across all categories, ensuring regulatory adherence, vendor compliance, and product integrity throughout the product lifecycle for national and private label or exclusive brands.

• Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Dietetics, Nutrition, Biochemistry, Consumer Science, Quality Assurance or a related field.
• Postgraduate qualification or relevant certifications advantageous
• 3-5 years’ experience in technical compliance, product safety, regulatory, quality assurance in Pharmacy, Health& Medical or Retail FMCG sectors.

Responsibilities

Regulatory Compliance & Product Assurance

• Oversee the evaluation and approval of new vendors by assessing risk profiles, regulatory compliance,
• Oversee on going supplier regulatory, technical and quality assurance. Drive vendor compliance including audits, approvals, and risk assessments.
• Ensure all product formulations, labelling, and claims meet regulatory, quality and technical requirements.
• Provide expert guidance to New Product Development (NPD) teams on compliance, technical, and quality matters throughout the development cycle, including aspects such as product testing, labelling accuracy, permissible claims, and packaging requirements.
• Lead testing programmes and quality assurance initiatives including budget control.
• Drive compliance of advertising, labelling, and product claims to regulations across all marketing channels.

Leadership and collaboration

• Lead and develop Technical Compliance Officers to ensure consistent execution.
• Collaborate with Category, Buying, NPD, Customer service, Private label and Marketing teams to ensure compliance alignment.
• Promote strong regulatory visibility and fosters cross-functional alignment, supporting governance and change readiness and provide expert guidance on regulatory and compliance matters across the business
• Engage with regulatory bodies, authorities and industry organisations.
• Manage day-to-day team workflows and delegate responsibilities to ensure efficient execution of compliance duties and seamless operational delivery.

Governance and risk

• Monitor regulatory risks, compliance gaps, and product safety issues.
• Lead product recalls, investigations, withdrawals, and incident management.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks across all channels (in-store, digital, marketing, packaging)
• Lead and execute internal and external audits and maintain audit readiness.
• Provide internal reporting as mandated and support formal enterprise risk reporting.
• Supports enterprise risk mitigation by ensuring product integrity, regulatory conformance, and consumer protection.

Key Skills

• Strong regulatory and compliance expertise.
• Understanding of product safety, quality assurance, and risk management.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing capability.
• Analytical capability in compliance and risk assessment