Founded in 2003 by Dong Hyun Kim, his mission was simple: to make fresh and flavorsome sushi and bento available to everyone. Almost 20 years later, Wasabi has 40 successful branches across London, other UK major cities, and New York. The journey continued in 2019 with the launch of Wasabi Home Bento exclusively into Sainsbury's. After several years of great success there, the grocery business expanded into Tesco in September 2022. Wasabi has now firmly established itself as the No. 2 chilled ready meal brand and a driver of significant market growth. And we're just getting started. The leadership team has set out their 5-year strategy which encompasses company growth, franchise, and international expansion.
Our menu is renowned for its distinctiveness, freshness, and flavour. The cold food range of sushi, pokes, and salads are made fresh daily in our branch kitchens, and our hot bento, noodle bowls, and soups offer an indulgent and comforting alternative to our broad and democratic demographic.
As we prepare for our next phase of growth and innovation, we have an incredibly exciting opportunity for a Quality Assurance Manager to join our Technical Team based in Park Royal.
The Role:
To help lead and inspire a culture of food safety and continuous improvement by providing professional support and assisting in the management of food safety, food quality, health & safety, and legal compliance in all operations taking place at the Wasabi Central Production Unit. Ensuring the CPU's compliance with required external standards such as the BRC. To lead, manage, mentor, and train the quality assurance team in the Central Production Unit.
Key Responsibilities:
* Routinely review and challenge technical and operational practices within the Central Production Unit (CPU) to identify areas of continuous improvement.
* Drive and inspire a food safety and quality culture within all areas of Technical and CPU.
* Audit and monitor environmental and food production standards such as hygiene practice, GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), temperatures, raw materials, operational processes & product quality, taking appropriate corrective actions where they do not meet required standards.
* Ensure completion of all required internal auditing on a regular basis, e.g., glass & plastic, GMP, CCP (Critical Control Point), and allergen, ensuring that audits undertaken are to the required standard and corrective actions taken by those responsible for closing out non-conformances raised are appropriate. Document and report the findings from the audit to all relevant operational managers and senior management.
* Ensure calibration tests & records on monitoring equipment are in place.
* Manage routine sampling plans (microbiological testing and food surveillance), analysing and evaluating results and leading root cause investigations into failures with appropriate operational and hygiene teams as required, verifying corrective actions taken.
* Facilitate root cause investigations into customer complaints with appropriate operational teams, verifying corrective actions taken.
* Manage, mentor, and train the quality assurance team in the Central Production Unit, including executing an effective training plan for new and current staff, e.g., new starter site induction food safety training.
* Advise technical and operational teams on corrective actions required as a result of monitoring activities.
* Liaise with the supplier assurance team where non-conformances are identified for suppliers to the CPU.
* Work with various departments, e.g., operation, hygiene, and engineering teams, providing professional support to ensure they operate towards the BRC (British Retail Consortium) standard.
* Participate as an active member of the HACCP and food defence team.
Our Requirements:
* Strong knowledge of food safety and quality systems, preferably within a short shelf life chilled food business.
* Knowledge of global auditing systems (ISO or BRC, for example) is required.
* Strong management & leadership skills.
* Strong attention to detail and a logical approach to working with practical problem-solving and decision-making skills.
* Ability to review large amounts of information.
* Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
* Experience of working in partnership with operational teams to drive change in production areas.
* Comfortable and able to challenge where required at all managerial levels, including peers & superiors, to create a culture of continuous improvement within a manufacturing facility.
In Return We Provide:
* A great working environment.
* Pension scheme.
* Target bonus.
* Refer a friend scheme.
* Free sushi or hot food (vegan options available).
* 50% discount in our branches.
* Employee Assistance Programme.
* Long service awards.
* Wagestream - a financial wellbeing benefit that lets you access your pay as you earn it in real time and manage savings.
* Life assurance.
* Cycle to work.
* Free on-site parking.
* A variety of discounts (shopping, food & drink, entertainment, and health & fitness) through Perkbox.
* The opportunity to develop your skills within a growing company.
Our people make us who we are. If you're looking for an exciting challenge and this sounds like the job for you, please apply today as we can't wait to hear from you.
COME ROLL WITH US!
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