Manager - Quality Assurance

Job Title: Manager – Supplier Quality and Distribution Quality

Location: Noida, DSHQ

Department: Quality & Food Safety

Job Summary:

Lead supplier quality assurance for raw and packaging materials and maintain product quality across storage, transportation and distribution. Build a proactive, risk-based programme to identify, qualify and develop vendors, prevent material-related food safety and quality failures, and verify damaged and expired market stock through documented controls. Partner with Procurement, R&D, Manufacturing, Packaging Development, Supply Chain and Sales to improve material consistency, supplier capability and product protection throughout the supply chain.

Key Responsibilities:

Supplier Quality Strategy and Governance: Establish supplier qualification criteria, approval workflows, material risk categories and audit schedules. Maintain an approved supplier list and define quality requirements for new suppliers, existing suppliers and changes to material sources or manufacturing processes.

Raw and Packaging Material Risk Assessment: Assess biological, chemical, physical, allergen, adulteration and authenticity risks in raw materials. Evaluate food-contact suitability, migration, contamination, barrier performance, seal integrity and transit protection risks in packaging. Define sampling, testing and verification requirements according to material risk and supplier performance.

Proactive Vendor Development: Identify and assess potential vendors with Procurement, including alternate sources for critical materials. Conduct gap assessments and implement supplier improvement plans covering hygiene, process controls, traceability, testing, packaging consistency and capacity readiness. Provide technical guidance and training, verify improvements and qualify vendors through trials before regular supply.

Supplier Audits and Performance Management: Conduct risk-based supplier audits covering food safety systems, good manufacturing practices, process capability, laboratory controls and traceability. Maintain supplier scorecards using rejection trends, complaints, audit findings and corrective action performance. Escalate recurring failures and recommend approval, conditional approval, suspension or delisting through the defined governance process.

Material Specifications and Qualification: Develop and review raw and packaging material specifications with R&D, Packaging Development and plant QA. Define acceptance criteria, certificates of analysis and compliance evidence. Coordinate sample evaluation, plant trials, packaging compatibility and shelf-life studies, and control supplier or material changes before implementation.

Incoming Quality and Supplier Nonconformances: Align plant teams on inspection and test methods, certificate verification, deviation handling and material traceability. Investigate supplier-related failures, establish containment and drive root cause analysis and corrective and preventive actions (CAPA). Verify action effectiveness and prevent recurrence across plants.

Quality in Storage Transportation and Distribution: Set and verify quality requirements for warehouses, depots, transporters and distributors. Audit hygiene, pest control, stacking, handling, temperature and humidity where applicable, vehicle suitability and first-expiry-first-out practices. Monitor remaining shelf life, stock ageing and transit damage, and drive corrective actions with Supply Chain and Sales.

Market Damaged and Expired Material Verification: Establish and execute a verification process for damaged, expired and near-expiry market stock. Verify product identity, batch, quantity, expiry date, condition and supporting records through physical checks or an approved evidence-based process.

Compliance Documentation and Capability Building: Ensure supplier and distribution quality controls align with applicable food safety and food-contact packaging requirements and company standards. Maintain audit-ready risk assessments, supplier files, specifications, test reports and CAPA records. Train suppliers and internal teams, and report supplier rejection, CAPA closure, distribution compliance, market damage and expiry trends to management.

Skills & Competencies:

Food Safety and Risk Assessment: Practical knowledge of HACCP, GMP, supplier assurance, food fraud prevention and risk-based testing.

Raw and Packaging Material Expertise: Understanding of ingredient quality, food-contact materials, packaging defects, shelf-life protection and transport performance.

Vendor Development and Auditing: Ability to assess supplier capability, identify gaps and deliver measurable improvements through technical engagement and follow-up.

Investigation and Analytical Skills: Strong root cause analysis, CAPA verification, trend analysis and evidence-based judgement for material and market quality issues.

Stakeholder Management: Ability to influence suppliers, Procurement, plant QA, R&D, Packaging Development, Supply Chain, Sales and Finance.

Execution and Documentation: Disciplined field verification, record reconciliation, project tracking, clear reporting and timely escalation; willingness to travel to supplier sites, plants and distribution locations.

Education:

B.Tech / M.Tech in Food Technology, M.Sc. in Food Science, Chemistry, Microbiology, Packaging Technology or an equivalent relevant discipline. Additional training in HACCP, food safety management systems, supplier auditing or packaging quality will be preferred.

Experience:

Manager: Typically 6–10 years of relevant experience in food manufacturing / FMCG quality assurance, with hands-on responsibility for supplier quality, raw and packaging materials, vendor development and distribution quality.

Experience in supplier qualification and audits, material risk assessment, packaging evaluation, market returns, damaged and expired stock verification, and CAPA implementation is required. Exposure to multi-plant operations and packaged foods, confectionery, beverages, dairy or related food categories will be preferred.