Quality Manager – Food Safety & Compliance

About the role

Join a leading NZ‑owned food manufacturer as the Quality Manager, reporting directly to the Senior Leadership Team. You will lead a small Quality Assurance team, own the Food Safety, Quality and Compliance culture, and influence strategic decisions across the business.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and develop food safety, quality and compliance systems, including the Food Safety Quality Management System (FSQMS).
• Build a quality‑first culture through leadership, coaching and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Oversee internal and external audits, ensuring regulatory and customer compliance.
• Investigate product complaints, conduct root‑cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
• Manage the specification database, environmental monitoring, grading and release activities.
• Collaborate with Production, Product Development and Supply Chain on continuous improvement initiatives.

Required profile

• 5+ years’ experience in food industry quality leadership with strong knowledge of NZ and international GMP standards.
• Proven people‑management and leadership abilities.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence at all organisational levels.
• Tertiary qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Engineering, Microbiology or Quality Management.

Required skills

• HACCP
• GMP (NZ and international)
• LEAN
• Lead Auditing
• Food Safety Quality Management System (FSQMS)
• Specification database management
• Environmental monitoring
• Root‑cause analysis
• Corrective action implementation
• Auditing
• Laboratory leadership