Quality & Compliance Head – Food Manufacturing (FMCG)Location: Bangalore

Experience: 8–12 Years

Industry: FMCG / Food Manufacturing

Function: Quality Assurance, Quality Control & Regulatory Compliance

Employment Type: Full-Time

About the RoleThe Quality & Compliance Head will lead the complete Quality, Food Safety, and Regulatory Compliance function for Lo Foods across in-house operations and contract manufacturing units.

The role will be accountable for defining, implementing, and governing quality systems, food safety standards, regulatory compliance, supplier quality, manufacturing standards, and internal and external audit processes.

The position plays a central role in ensuring that all products, including Atta, high-protein snacks, cookies, ready-to-eat foods, bread, and other food categories, meet the highest standards of safety, consistency, quality, and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities1.

Product Quality

Assurance &

• Control

- Develop robust systems for incoming raw material approval, process control, and finished product release.
- Approve batch releases after validating product specifications and safety parameters.
- Ensure the internal laboratory is equipped with appropriate instruments, calibration systems, and skilled personnel.
- Define, implement, and periodically update quality standards, testing protocols, specifications, and SOPs across product categories.
- Ensure consistent execution of quality checks across in-house and partner manufacturing units.
- Establish effective systems for monitoring product quality, process parameters, and finished product compliance.

2. Regulatory & • Statutory Compliance

- Ensure compliance of product labels, claims, artworks, packaging, and documentation with applicable FSSAI regulations and food safety standards.
- Manage FSSAI licence modifications, renewals, regulatory documentation, and statutory compliance requirements.
- Coordinate and interface with regulatory authorities during inspections and other regulatory interactions.
- Ensure effective closure of consumer grievances raised through the FoSCoS portal, including appropriate Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) within stipulated timelines.
- Establish, implement, and continuously improve the Quality Management System (QMS) and Food Safety Management System (FSMS).
- Ensure alignment with applicable standards including FSSAI, ISO 22000, HACCP, GMP, and corporate quality standards.
- Drive external certifications, regulatory inspections, and compliance with legal and customer requirements.

3.

Contract Manufacturing Quality

Governance

- Develop and maintain a periodic audit schedule for all contract manufacturing units.
- Conduct quality audits and prepare comprehensive audit reports.
- Ensure timely closure of audit observations and drive continuous improvement in the quality audit scores of contract manufacturing partners.
- Ensure adherence to GMP, testing protocols, packaging and labelling requirements, and company-defined quality standards.
- Conduct periodic quality reviews and CAPA follow-ups across contract manufacturing partners.




- Monitor manufacturing partner performance and establish appropriate quality improvement plans wherever required.

4. Cross-Functional Quality Coordination

- Collaborate with Procurement to define raw material and packaging specifications and evaluate supplier quality.
- Work closely with Production teams to implement robust in-line quality controls and end-of-line validations.
- Partner with R&D; / Product Development teams to integrate quality and food safety requirements from the product trial and development stage.
- Work closely with Supply Chain, Procurement, Production, R&D;, and other stakeholders to ensure end-to-end quality ownership.
- Provide technical inputs for product, process, packaging, and supplier-related quality decisions.

5. Audits, Documentation &

• CAPA Management

- Lead all internal audits, plant inspections, process audits, and quality compliance reviews.
- Prepare and manage periodic audit schedules for contract manufacturing units.
- Ensure timely preparation and circulation of audit reports.
- Drive timely closure of audit observations and non-conformities.
- Manage external audits, including regulatory, certification, customer, and third-party audits.
- Drive effective Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for deviations, complaints, and non-conformities.
- Ensure CAPAs are implemented and closed within defined timelines.
- Maintain comprehensive quality documentation, including:

1. SOPs
2. Process checklists
3. Product specifications
4. Testing protocols
5. Test reports
6. RCA & • CAPA reports

7. Audit reports
8. Quality records
9. Compliance documentation

6.

Continuous

Improvement &

• Quality Systems Development

- Drive quality improvement initiatives to reduce defects, optimise yields, minimise waste, and improve product consistency.
- Utilise quality tools such as:

1. FMEA
2. Pareto Analysis
3. Control Charts
4. Statistical Analysis
5. Root Cause Analysis

- Identify recurring quality issues and develop sustainable corrective actions.
- Build and implement long-term quality and food safety roadmaps.
- Strengthen quality systems, processes, capabilities, and product performance across all manufacturing locations.
- Establish data-driven quality monitoring and improvement mechanisms.

7. Customer & • Product Quality Improvements

Drive measurable improvements in customer-facing quality parameters, including:

- Improvement in customer ratings and product reviews across relevant platforms.
- Reduction in customer complaints per million units sold (CPM).
- Faster turnaround time for complaint investigation and closure.
- Improvement in product consistency scores based on Voice of Customer (VOC).
- Reduction in market returns, replacements, and quality-related rejections.




- Improvement in product performance through sensory evaluations and shelf-life stability testing.
- Identification and elimination of recurring product quality issues.

8. Team Leadership & Capability Building

- Lead, mentor, coach, and develop Quality Assurance and Quality Control teams across sites.
- Build a high-performing quality team through effective performance management and capability development.
- Develop contract-manufacturer-wise quality training programs to strengthen employee competence.
- Ensure regular training on:

1. SOPs
2. GMP
3. Hygiene
4. Food Safety
5. HACCP
6. Quality Standards
7. Audit Readiness

- Establish a culture of quality ownership, accountability, discipline, and continuous improvement.
- Identify capability gaps and implement structured training and development programs.

Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Food Technology, Food Science, Microbiology, Dairy Technology, or a related field.
- Master’s degree in a relevant field will be preferred.
- FoSTaC certification preferred/required.
- Certification in FSMS / Lead Auditor such as:

1. ISO 22000
2. FSSC 22000
3. BRCGS
4. Other relevant food safety management systems
5. Strong understanding of:
6. FSMS
7. HACCP
8. GMP
9. FSSAI regulations
10. Schedule IV requirements

- Food safety and regulatory compliance
- Strong proficiency in quality documentation, auditing, CAPA, RCA, and quality management tools.

Experience Requirements

- 8–12 years of experience in FMCG / Food Manufacturing Quality.
- Proven experience in a quality leadership role with responsibility for quality assurance, quality control, and food safety.
- Solid experience in quality management for categories such as:
- Baked goods
- Flours / Atta
- Snacks
- Ready-to-Eat (RTE) foods
- Bread
- Other FMCG food categories
- Experience managing quality across multiple manufacturing sites and contract manufacturing partners.
- Strong background in plant quality operations, audits, regulatory compliance, CAPA, and process improvement.
- Experience in establishing and strengthening quality systems across growing organisations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)The role will be measured on:

- Reduction in non-conformance rates and customer complaints.
- Improvement in audit outcomes with minimal major findings.
- Timely closure of CAPAs and audit observations.
- Compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and zero critical regulatory non-compliances.
- Improvement in manufacturing quality performance.
- Cost savings through yield improvement and waste reduction.
- Reduction in quality-related rejections, returns, and replacements.
- Improvement in quality system maturity across manufacturing locations.
- Improvement in quality team capability and performance.
- Improved customer/product quality metrics.

Key Skills

- Food Safety | Quality Assurance | Quality Control | FSSAI | FSMS | HACCP | GMP | ISO 22000 | FSSC 22000 | BRCGS | Contract Manufacturing | Supplier Quality | Regulatory Compliance | Audits | CAPA | RCA | FMEA | Process Improvement | Team Leadership | FMCG Food Manufacturing

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