Quality Manager

Job Introduction

As we continue our mission to make people and nature happy through re-inventing chocolate, we’re looking for a Quality Manager to join our Technical Team on a permanent basis. 

As Quality Manager, you will lead quality, food safety and product integrity at our chocolate packing site. This is a pivotal role at the heart of our operation, ensuring that every product leaving the site always meets the highest standards.

Working closely with our Operations Team, you will champion a strong food safety culture and drive excellence in quality across all products packed on site. You will play a key role in embedding robust quality practices within the packing hall, ensuring compliance with internal standards, customer expectations and regulatory requirements.

You will inspire and develop our Quality Team whilst acting as a trusted expert for operational colleagues across the business, helping to deliver safe, high-quality products whilst strengthening customer confidence and supporting the site’s performance and continuous improvement ambitions.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Quality Manager who is passionate about quality, enjoys working cross-functionally, and wishes to play a vital role in the continuous delivery of safe, high-quality products that we are known for to our customers.

As well as a competitive salary and a range of company benefits including private healthcare cover, enhanced maternity and paternity leave and Company pension contributions, you’ll receive 50% discount on all products, and a 70% discount for you and your guests when you stay at our Rabot Estate hideaway on the paradise island of Saint Lucia. 

Here at Hotel Chocolat, this role is site-based, with four days per week spent at our Packing Hall ‘Alpha’ in St Neots, Cambridgeshire and one day per week at our manufacturing site, ‘Hadley Park’ in Huntingdon. This role will also include occasional travel to our Distribution Centre ‘Beta’ in Northampton.

 What you’ll be doing….

Leadership & People Development

• Provide clear, structured development plans for direct reports, supporting capability building and engagement within the Quality team.
• Embed ownership of food safety and quality into Quality Technician roles through effective day-to-day leadership and coaching.
• Act as a deputy for the Operational Technical Manager or Manufacturing Quality Manager when required.

Food Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Provide clear guidance to operational teams to ensure compliance with the latest BRCGS / FSSC 22000 for Food Safety.
• Ensure site activities are fully aligned with manufacturing and storage & distribution policies, procedures and quality expectations.
• Act as HACCP Team Leader for the packing hall, ensuring effective risk identification, assessment and control.
• Lead the site allergen management team, driving continuous improvement and robust allergen control.
• Act as Deputy team leader for the TACCP team at the Alpha site.
• Coordinate CCP and allergen validation activities as required.
• Fully understand site traceability, carry out complete traces and train direct reports to ensure compliance.

Audits, Risk & Continuous Improvement

• Conduct unannounced technical audits across the sites as required, including manufacturing, packing and storage/distribution operations.
• Ensure effective management of non-conformances.
• Identify quality, food safety and integrity risks across operations and lead action plans.
• Deploy paperless factory quality management system and manage stakeholders throughout.
• Continuously develop and maintain the Quality Management System, ensuring alignment with manufacturing and Storage & Distribution requirements.

Incident & Complaint Management

• Lead and support incident management meetings when required, ensuring robust root cause analysis and timely resolution.
• Ensure customer complaints are investigated thoroughly and promptly, with effective corrective and preventative actions implemented and verified.

Food Safety Culture & Engagement

• Own and manage the site food safety culture plan, including:
  1. Annual review and enhancement of the food safety culture survey, hosting a food safety week for the business, building on previous years working with the MQM and wider technical team.
  2. Manage the delivery, tracking and reporting of agreed objectives and action plans throughout the year

Projects & Reporting

• Own and support Manufacturing Operations projects as defined and agreed with the Operational Technical Manager to support the manufacturing site with physical presence being required at the manufacturing site at least 1 day a week.
• Complete periodic technical, quality and performance reports as required for the business.

In addition, the role may be required to undertake additional tasks to support the wider technical function and overall site objectives. 

Who you are…

To be successful the Quality Manager will demonstrate strong leadership and influencing skills and be able to support the operational teams as well as clearly engage and communicate with the wider site leadership team. The ability to problem solve and demonstrate quick thinking and flexibility in all situations will ensure teams receive the correct level of support where required. This role is the voice of quality with a hands-on approach.

Essential 

• A full and complete understanding of the latest BRCGS or FSSC22000 standards in food safety
• Resilient leadership style with the ability to make clear assessments and decisions in a timely manner
• Food Safety Level 3 and HACCP Level 3
• Internal auditing and TACCP awareness and experience
• Proactive can-do attitude
• A strong eye for detail and accuracy of information

Desirable

• Food Safety Level 4 and HACCP Level 4
• FSSC 22000 experience
• Training experience
• Knowledge and experience in producing chocolate and confectionery products

Who are we?

We’re one of the UK’s favourite premium chocolate brands, with a range of products spanning luxury gifts, alcohol and our pioneering drinking chocolate system, the Velvetiser™.

A cacao pod takes years to grow – it can’t be rushed if it’s going to be just right for our products. The same can be said for Hotel Chocolat, which originally started as a mint production company before we realised it was luxury chocolate that we were really passionate about. 

Now, we’re market leaders in the industry. What began as an online-only business grew to over 150 stores across the UK, and we’re still growing… Today, we’re multi-category, multi-channel and multi-territory and our customers, colleagues, cacao farmers and suppliers all benefit from the success we make together.

To learn more about us and read about our People Pledge – our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion – click here: hotelchocolat.com/uk/engaged-ethics/our-people.html