About The Company
Meze Foods, part of the Nurture Brands Group and home to some of South Africa’s most trusted wellness and speciality food brands, is passionate about crafting authentic, high-quality products that delight customers. We specialise in flavour-packed speciality foods made with care, integrity, and exceptional standards.
As we continue to grow, we are seeking an experienced Quality & Technical Manager to safeguard our product excellence, ensure regulatory compliance, and uphold the standards that define our brand.
About The Role
The Quality & Technical Manager ensures compliance with statutory, regulatory, customer, and certification requirements (including FSSC 22000), while managing technical systems, processes, and staff. Acting as a champion of food safety and quality culture, the manager drives continuous improvement, leads problem-solving initiatives, and ensures effective implementation of solutions to maintain the highest standards of food safety, quality, and operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities
Food Safety & FSMS Leadership
- Act as the appointed Food Safety Team Leader.
- Implement, manage, review and continuously improve the FSMS in line with FSSC 22000 (latest version).
- Ensure all elements of the FSMS are implemented, maintained and effective in operations.
- Chair and drive monthly HACCP and Food Safety Team meetings.
- Lead management review inputs annually.
- Coordinate mock recalls, traceability exercises and product recall readiness.
- Ensure allergen awareness, controls and verification throughout the facility.
- Remain current with regulatory, customer and certification changes and ensure timely system adaptation.
- Champion quality improvement initiatives and corrective action implementation.
Auditing & Compliance
- Manage and execute the internal audit programme in line with the approved schedule.
- Coordinate and escort external audits (certification, regulatory, customer and supplier).
- Use FSSC 22000 risk assessment methodology to score severity versus likelihood.
- Oversee supplier quality assurance, audits and approvals.
- Conduct monthly self-assessments of food safety elements.
- Verify system effectiveness through audits, inspections and verifications.
Microbiology & Laboratory Oversight
- Manage the swabbing and product testing schedules to ensure swab and product samples are taken and analyzed (in house or external).
- Manage environmental schedules i.e. Air, hand swabs, equipment, drains, fans etc.
- Manage water sampling points and microbiological trending.
- Manage environmental monitoring programmes including Listeria mapping across all factories.
- Oversee laboratory operations, consumables and testing integrity.
- Conduct and manage shelf-life testing.
- Compile monthly microbiological, environmental and product testing trends.
- Compile Listeria swab and product testing report.
Reporting & Continuous Improvement
- Compile weekly and monthly internal and customer complaint trend reports with graphical analysis.
- Compile and analyse CCP, PRP and OPRP trends.
- Compile cleaning efficiency and Listeria monitoring reports.
- Conduct root cause analysis for complaints, NCRs and trends and ensure timely corrective actions.
- Document site and facility continual improvement and CAPEX-related projects (structural and equipment).
- Ensure no system failures or unmanaged non-conformances.
Equipment Calibration & Verification
- Ensure weekly verification of thermometers and scales.
- Ensure calibration and re-calibration of all measurement equipment.
- Ensure external testing of water, chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals and toxins as required.
- Ensure Tech staff verify all scales weekly.
- Ensure chemical testing and verifications (pesticides, Heavy metals, Toxins and chemicals).
Team Leadership
- Lead, manage and develop the Technical and Quality team.
- Ensure staff perform according to job descriptions and KPIs.
- Ensure adequate training, competence and compliance with PPE and hygiene standards.
- Conduct performance reviews and support development plans.
- Support recruitment, onboarding and disciplinary processes in line with HR policies.
NPD & Technical Support
- Provide technical and food safety support to NPD projects.
- Ensure process documentation, control plans, specifications and acceptance criteria are completed.
- Manage shelf-life studies and nutritional analysis where required.
- Support training of production teams on new products and processes.
- Manage all technical and quality communication to customers relating to NPD.
- Lead and monitor continuous improvement projects.
Specification completion.
- Accept/ Reject Criteria completion and implementation with Technical and Production teams.
- Shelf-life of products.
- Nutritional analysis (as required) by customers.