Tupande Soko Avocado Oil Quality Assurance Senior Coordinator (Fixed-Term)

Ensures compliance with food safety, environmental, and regulatory standards and leads a team of QA Officers and technicians to deliver consistent product quality and operational excellence. This role involves developing and implementing a robust QA strategy, policies, and procedures aligned with company goals and industry best practices. You will lead continuous improvement initiatives to elevate product quality, set quality performance targets, monitor KPIs, and report results to senior leadership. Additionally, you will manage and mentor a team of QA Officers and laboratory personnel, oversee staff scheduling, training, performance management, and skills development. The role requires ensuring all operations comply with Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS), HACCP, GMP, SHEQ, and local environmental regulations, coordinating internal and external audits, and acting as the point of contact for quality and food safety inspections. You will also oversee all laboratory testing processes, including dry matter, oil quality, ripening, water, and wastewater analysis, ensuring testing equipment is calibrated and maintained according to SOPs. The position involves monitoring and validating quality at critical control points across receiving, ripening, processing, and storage, approving raw material intake, in-process materials, and finished products based on quality criteria, and reviewing QA reports to recommend corrective and preventive actions (CAPA). Furthermore, you will ensure cleaning schedules cover all production areas, equipment, and facilities, review cleaning records and sanitation checklists, and approve cleaning and sanitizing chemicals. The role also includes maintaining complete and accurate QA documentation, compiling and presenting weekly/monthly quality reports to management, and driving root cause analysis to ensure proper closure of non-conformities. You will champion food safety culture across the organization, supervise proper waste segregation, disposal, and environmental controls, and ensure proper handling of boiler water and wastewater testing for regulatory compliance.

Minimum academic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree or Diploma in Food Science, Chemistry, Food Engineering, Microbiology, or a related discipline; Minimum 3–5 years of progressive experience in quality assurance in food manufacturing or agro-processing; At least 2 years in a supervisory or management capacity overseeing QA/lab teams; Knowledge and experience in Food safety management system, Environmental, Occupational Health and Safety in the workplace; Attention to detail; Analytical skills; Strong written and verbal communication; Ability to work as part of a team; Time management