Quality Assurance Manager (Food Safety and Compliance)

ABOUT THE COMPANY

World-class seafood that conserves East Africa’s marine ecosystems and lifts small-scale fishing communities out of poverty.

Kumbatia Seafood exports fresh and frozen seafood sourced from small-scale fishers on Kenya’s coast. We are looking for a food safety specialist to build and run the quality systems behind it. You will own every step from fish arriving at the plant to the export carton leaving on the aircraft, and lead the certifications that open new markets.

Requirements

Degree in Food Science and Technology, Fisheries, Microbiology or a related field

HACCP certification required. Lead auditor training in BRCGS, FSSC 22000 or ISO 22000 is a strong advantage, and social compliance training such as SMETA or amfori BSCI is an advantage.

[5+] years in quality assurance or quality control in a seafood processing plant exporting fresh and frozen products, including [2] years in a supervisory role

Proven record of building HACCP plans and taking a facility through at least one GFSI-benchmarked certification audit or renewal

Experience with public certification and licensing (KEBS, Kenya Fisheries Service, EU export approval) and private certification (GSA’s BAP or other GFSI-recognised schemes), including working with conformity assessment bodies (CABs)

Ability to conduct internal food safety audits and social audits

Hands-on competence in receiving, grading, cutting (loins, fillets and portions), packaging, storage and blast freezing of fish

Working knowledge of export documentation for fresh air freight and frozen shipments, including catch certificates, health certificates and traceability records, as well as documentation for local distribution

Strong command of Excel and document control

Valid food handler’s medical certificate

Fluent in English and Kiswahili

An entrepreneurial mindset: willing to start in a growing company, build systems from scratch and grow into the role of lead food safety specialist

Responsibilities

Food safety systems

Build, validate and maintain HACCP plans for fresh and frozen lines, from receiving to dispatch

Run prerequisite programmes: sanitation, pest control, water and ice quality, staff hygiene, and thermometer and data logger calibration

Apply species-specific controls, including histamine for tuna, wahoo and mahi mahi

Certification, audits and licensing

Lead applications, audits and renewals for public (KEBS, Kenya Fisheries Service, EU export approval) and private (GSA, GFSI) certifications and licences

Run gap assessments, liaise with CABs, prepare for audits and close corrective actions on time

Conduct internal food safety and social audits, maintaining GFSI compliance

Processing floor

Inspect and grade incoming fish for temperature, freshness and species, accepting or rejecting against specification

Supervise cutting, packaging, storage and blast freezing to export standard

Check product, labelling and temperature before every air freight and frozen dispatch

Documentation and traceability

Keep food safety, compliance and export records for fresh, frozen and local channels

Maintain lot traceability from landing site and fisher to export carton, and run mock recalls

Handle customer complaints and root-cause investigations

Supply base and people

Verify handling at Lamu and Kwale landing sites, feeding grading results into fisher training

Train and supervise processing staff on hygiene, handling and quality

Report weekly on rejections, temperatures, audit status and complaints

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