AGRICO PRODUCE PTY LTD
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Quality Assurance Manager
ANZSCO occupation
Quality Assurance Manager (139916)
Employment basis
Full-time
Location
Hillston, New South Wales
Reports to
Production and Technical Manager
Direct reports
Quality Control personnel and other quality staff as allocated
Key relationships
Packing Shed Manager, Production Supervisor, Dispatch, Farm Operations, Sales, customers, auditors and service providers
1. Position purpose
The Quality Assurance Manager plans, organises, directs, controls and coordinates Agrico Produce’s quality management systems and certification processes across the receipt, storage, packing and dispatch of fresh potatoes and garlic.
The role has organisation-level responsibility for ensuring products consistently meet legislative, food-safety, customer and certification requirements. It leads the quality function, maintains effective assurance and traceability systems, manages audits and non-conformances, and provides independent quality oversight of packing and storage operations.
2. Scope of the role
· Quality management systems covering incoming produce, storage, packing, finished goods and dispatch.
· Fresh potatoes and garlic supplied to major retail and other commercial customers, including Woolworths, Coles and Aldi.
· HACCP-based food-safety programs, customer standards, product specifications and applicable certification requirements.
· Quality Control personnel, inspection activities, quality records and competency training.
· FreshTrack traceability, retention samples, product holds, releases, quarantine and recall readiness.
3. Key accountabilitiesQuality systems and certification
· Develop, implement, maintain and continuously improve the company’s quality management and food-safety systems.
· Translate regulatory, certification and customer requirements into controlled policies, procedures, work instructions, specifications and records.
· Maintain the quality manual, document-control system, verification schedules and evidence required to demonstrate compliance.
· Plan and coordinate internal, customer, certification and regulatory audits, including preparation, site participation, corrective actions and close-out.
· Monitor changes to relevant standards, customer requirements and legislation and ensure the business responds appropriately.
Food safety, risk and compliance
· Lead hazard analysis, risk assessment and review of HACCP-based controls for receiving, storage, packing and dispatch activities.
· Verify that hygiene, cleaning, pest control, foreign-material, allergen where applicable, chemical, temperature and product-handling controls are implemented and effective.
· Maintain testing, environmental monitoring and verification programs appropriate to the products and operating risks.
· Lead mock recalls and traceability exercises and maintain readiness for product withdrawal or recall.
· Immediately escalate any actual or potential food-safety, legality, integrity or serious customer-compliance risk.
Product quality and customer specifications
· Own and maintain current finished-product, raw-product, packaging and labelling specifications for each customer and product line.
· Establish inspection, sampling and release requirements for incoming produce, in-process product, finished goods and stored inventory.
· Analyse defect trends, pack-out results, retention samples, shelf-life performance and customer feedback to identify systemic risks and improvement priorities.
· Provide quality input into production scheduling, stock rotation, forward packing and allocation of inventory to customer orders.
· Ensure out-of-specification product is identified, segregated, assessed and dispositioned through an authorised process.
Traceability, inventory and storage assurance
· Maintain effective batch, bin, pallet and finished-goods traceability through FreshTrack and supporting records.
· Verify that stock movements, coolroom locations, product age, holds, releases and quarantine status are accurately recorded.
· Review storage conditions and product condition to manage deterioration, shooting, staining, decay and other quality risks.
· Conduct and document stock inspections and provide clear recommendations on rotation, release, rework or disposal.
· Investigate traceability or inventory discrepancies and implement corrective controls.
Non-conformance, complaints and corrective action
· Manage the non-conformance and corrective-action system, including root-cause analysis, assigned actions, due dates and effectiveness checks.
· Lead quality investigations arising from customer complaints, rejected loads, audit findings, process failures and recurring defects.
· Prepare accurate, timely and evidence-based responses for management and customers.
· Identify recurring causes of quality loss and recommend changes to product handling, storage, equipment, training or procedures.
Leadership and capability
· Lead, allocate and supervise the work of Quality Control personnel and ensure appropriate coverage across production and dispatch activities.
· Set clear inspection standards, review completed records and verify that non-compliances receive appropriate action and sign-off.
· Develop and deliver quality, food-safety, hygiene and traceability training and maintain competency records.
· Build a culture in which quality issues are reported early and production pressures do not override food-safety or customer requirements.
· Provide technical quality advice to management, production, dispatch, farm and sales teams.
Reporting and continuous improvement
· Report regularly on complaints, holds, non-conformances, audit actions, defects, waste, rework, testing results and quality trends.
· Set measurable quality objectives and lead improvement projects based on risk, evidence and business impact.
· Review the effectiveness of the quality system with senior management and recommend resources, controls and priorities.
· Maintain accurate, complete and readily retrievable records for customers, auditors and regulators.
4. Decision-making authority
· Authority to stop production, packing or dispatch where a food-safety, legality, traceability or serious quality risk is identified.
· Authority to place product, packaging or materials on hold and to require segregation pending assessment.
· Authority to require corrective action and verification before a non-conformance is closed.
· Product release and disposition decisions within approved procedures and delegated authority; recalls, withdrawals and material customer commitments require approval from the Production and Technical Manager or Managing Director.
5. Key performance indicators
Performance area
Expected outcome
Compliance
Successful maintenance of required certifications and timely closure of audit findings.
Customer quality
Reduction in substantiated complaints, rejected loads and repeat quality failures.
Food safety
Effective verification program, complete records and timely control of identified risks.
Traceability
Accurate records and successful traceability and mock-recall exercises within required timeframes.
Corrective action
Root causes identified and corrective actions closed on time with verified effectiveness.
Team capability
Quality personnel trained, competent and consistently applying approved inspection standards.
Improvement
Measurable reduction in preventable defects, rework, waste and quality-related operational disruption.
6. Qualifications and experience
· Demonstrated 3 years’ experience managing quality assurance and food-safety systems in fresh produce, food processing, packing or a comparable regulated production environment.
· Practical knowledge of HACCP principles, audit management, corrective action, document control, traceability and customer specifications.
· Experience leading quality personnel and influencing operational teams.
· Strong written communication, investigation, data analysis and problem-solving capability.
· Competence using quality records, inventory or traceability systems; FreshTrack experience is desirable.
7. Personal capabilities
· Independent judgement and the confidence to protect food-safety and quality standards under operational pressure.
· High attention to detail combined with an ability to manage systems and priorities across the whole operation.
· Clear, practical communication with employees, management, customers and auditors.
· Strong ownership, integrity, follow-through and commitment to continuous improvement.
8. Acknowledgement
This position description summarises the principal responsibilities of the role. Duties may be reasonably varied to reflect operational, regulatory and customer requirements, provided the role remains consistent with the position’s quality-assurance management purpose.
Pay: $70,272.21 – $80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
