The Role & Impact
The Quality Assurance (QA) Lead is the ultimate guardian of product safety, regulatory compliance, and consistent manufacturing quality across the freshDRIP facility. Managing cross-functional QA personnel, this key leadership position translates global food safety metrics into precise shop-floor execution, leading internal/external audit workflows to safeguard our brand identity.
Key Responsibilities
- Team Leadership & Mentoring: Directly manage, train, and mentor QA operatives and laboratory analysts. Optimize shift allocation and drive objective accountability parameters.
- Compliance & System Architecture: Maintain and champion the site's complete Quality Management System, securing robust adherence to FSSC/ISO 22000, HACCP, and GHP matrices.
- Quality Control Oversight: Orchestrate sampling and testing procedures for incoming raw inputs and finished outputs. Oversee end-of-shift batch reviews to clear finished goods release permissions.
- Continuous Improvement: Drive trend analysis of process defects and non-conformances. Identify strategic continuous improvement projects to optimize efficiency and minimize scrap levels.
- Audit Management & Reporting: Lead structural facility compliance audits. Gather, interpret, and present performance analytics directly to senior plant leadership.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Serve as the primary technical point of contact for customer complaints, directly coordinating with Production and Supply Chain cohorts to enforce immediate corrective resolutions.
Required Qualifications & Skills
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Engineering, or a closely related life-science discipline.
- Experience: 3–10 years of progressive QA/QC experience within FMCG or high-risk food manufacturing environments, with 3–5 years established in a leadership capacity.
- Technical Knowledge: Mastery of HACCP systems, GMP protocols, FSSC 22000 structures, and Zambian regulatory standards (ZABS & Ministry of Health).
- Analytical Mastery: Exceptional problem-solving agility, sharp attention to validation details, and proficiency in analyzing automated metric systems.