KwaZulu-Natal: Head of SHEQ

About the Role

The Head of SHEQ is a critical leadership position responsible for ensuring the highest standards of quality and safety in our food manufacturing operations. The successful candidate will lead and manage technical and quality teams, drive performance, and implement strategies to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading and managing technical and quality teams, including QA technologists, product development, and quality staff, by providing guidance, training, support, and performance development.
• Developing and implementing technical and quality strategies, policies, procedures, and the overall quality management system to maintain high standards and drive continuous improvement.
• Ensuring full compliance with regulatory requirements, including HACCP, GMP, FSSC 22000, State Vet, and other bodies, while managing audits, certifications, and corrective actions.
• Overseeing product development processes, including formulation, ingredient selection, process optimization, and alignment with customer needs for nutrition, safety, and taste.
• Managing product quality assurance, including raw material and finished product testing, laboratory operations, testing protocols, and monitoring final goods against specifications.
• Conducting internal audits, coordinating external audits, identifying improvement opportunities, and ensuring timely closure of corrective actions and non-conformances.
• Driving quality improvement initiatives, including CPAR processes, continuous improvement projects, and trend analysis to reduce complaints, recalls, and quality issues.
• Providing technical expertise and support to production, R&D, sales, marketing, and other teams to optimize processes, resolve issues, and support new product launches.
• Managing product recalls, incident response, customer complaint investigations, and resolving issues to minimize risks and enhance customer satisfaction.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Quality Assurance, Animal Nutrition, or a related field
• Minimum 8 years’ experience in technical and quality roles within a food manufacturing environment
• At least 3 years of leadership experience
• Proven experience in implementing and maintaining quality management systems
• Strong knowledge of regulatory standards such as HACCP, GMP, FSSC 22000, and other relevant food safety requirements
• Experience with laboratory testing methods, procedures, and product development or formulation in the food industry, preferably in pet food

Qualifications

• Formal education/certifications not specified