Tupande Senior Quality Assurance Supervisor (Fixed-term)

Role Overview

The Senior Quality Assurance Supervisor is the on-site guardian of food safety and product quality across the entire macadamia process — from the moment raw nut arrives at the gate to the moment finished kernels are cleared for dispatch. Day to day, this means running sampling regimes on the line, verifying that critical control point records are truthful and within limits, directing QA and sanitation inspectors, and holding back any batch that does not meet customer, legal, or internal specifications. The role matters because export buyers and statutory auditors judge the plant on the evidence this position produces and protects; a batch of rancid or contaminated kernel reaching a customer puts contracts and certification at risk.

Key Responsibilities

• Raw material and input verification: Oversee receiving checks on incoming nut, confirming kernel quality, sound kernel recovery (SKR), and moisture content before acceptance, and assess packaging materials and processing aids against quality requirements before they enter the processing factory.
• In-process quality control: Run and manage the hourly sampling regime at cracking, sorting, and drying stages, and confirm that line operators are correctly identifying critical defects such as immature nut, insect damage, and mould.
• Grading and finished product compliance: Supervise the grading and classification of macadamia kernels against international standards and customer specifications for size, colour, and permitted defect limits.
• Sensory and oxidative stability testing: Enforce organoleptic testing protocols so that early signs of rancidity or off-flavours caused by improper drying or storage are detected before product moves downstream.
• CCP and OPRP verification: Independently verify monitoring records for defined critical control points — including drying temperatures used for Salmonella control and metal detection for physical hazards — to confirm accuracy and prevent record falsification, and monitor operational prerequisite programmes such as allergen controls, sieving, and sorting performance.
• Hold and release authority: Place any batch failing moisture specification or showing signs of contamination on hold before it reaches the packing line, and review laboratory results, moisture confirmations, grading reports, and packaging compliance before recommending release. No finished product leaves without documented quality confirmation.
• Escalation and corrective action: Immediately raise deviations from critical limits, ensure corrective actions are implemented and documented, and maintain records of product approvals and quality release confirmations.
• Team performance and resource planning: Supervise QA inspectors across incoming material checks, in-process line checks, sorting and operator quality of work, and final packing inspection, plus sanitation inspectors who verify cleaning before production starts. Maintain training matrices so sanitation staff understand hygiene, sanitation and chemical safety while QA staff understand sampling validity, process checks, and customer requirements, and manage shift rotas so peak-season coverage never leaves a line running without QA presence or a cleanup unsupervised.
• Prerequisite programme inspections and reporting: Conduct routine PRP inspections covering sanitation effectiveness, pest control trends, glass and hard plastic control, environmental monitoring, hygiene compliance, and waste management; review pest control service reports and escalate adverse trends; support zoning enforcement between low-risk and high-care areas to prevent cross-contamination; and document findings and report gaps for corrective action.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Education: Minimum of a diploma or degree in food science or food technology.
• Experience: At least 2 years in a quality assurance role within food processing, with prior experience managing a team. Macadamia processing experience is preferred.
• Food safety systems knowledge: Demonstrated working experience with at least one recognised standard or framework — ISO 22000, HACCP, FSSC 22000, or BRCGS.
• Attention to detail: Able to detect issues early enough to escalate them, verify records critically, and complete all tasks to the business's specification.
• People management: Proven ability to lead, train, and hold inspectors accountable for the accuracy of their checks.
• Problem-solving: Capable of identifying practical solutions to quality and compliance problems as they arise on shift.
• Communication: Clear written and verbal communication for reporting deviations, documenting findings, and giving immediate feedback to cleaning and production teams.
• Teamwork and time management: Works collaboratively toward shared plant goals and organises deliverables so that sampling, inspection, and release activities keep pace with production.