Quality Control Manager

Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Eligibility: Saudi / Arab nationals only; candidates based in Saudi Arabia

Experience: 5+ years in a similar managerial role and 6+ years of non-managerial experience in the food industry, including at least 2 years in the Middle East

Education: Bachelor's degree in Food Technology, Chemistry or a closely related field; a relevant master's degree is preferred

Languages: Arabic is mandatory; proficiency in written and spoken English is required

About the Client

Our client is an established food manufacturing business in Saudi Arabia operating within the FMCG sector. The organization focuses on consistent product quality, food safety and continuous improvement across its manufacturing and distribution operations.

About the Role

The Quality Control Manager will develop and implement specifications and quality controls for raw materials, packaging, production processes and finished products across manufacturing facilities and stores. Reporting to the Head of Quality, the role leads 4 direct and 13 indirect reports, working across office and manufacturing environments to strengthen product quality, regulatory compliance and team capability.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and update quality plans and material and process specifications to maintain consistent product quality across manufacturing facilities and stores.
• Investigate customer and consumer complaints, identify root causes, and communicate corrective actions through shop-floor one-point lessons to reduce recurrence.
• Maintain raw-material and finished-goods traceability systems and conduct traceability and product recall exercises at least once a year.
• Develop process maps and statistical process control (SPC) for all production lines, and train QC and production teams in their effective use.
• Support commissioning of new production lines and commercial launches of new or improved products and SKUs, ensuring compliance with approved quality standards.
• Review daily quality shift reports, delegate actions and follow up with QC staff and cross-functional teams to close identified gaps.
• Lead, coach and develop the QC team; deliver induction and refresher training, coordinate development plans with HR, and report training outcomes to quality and R&D leadership.
• Coordinate third-party certification and regulatory audits, including ISO, SFDA, SASO quality mark and MODON requirements; close audit findings and support environmental certifications.
• Guide the compliance and regulatory team on ingredient declarations, nutrition labeling and packaging artwork, checking alignment with Saudi and relevant export-market requirements.
• Ensure incoming raw and packaging materials are inspected and tested against specifications and supported by certificates of analysis (COAs); assess out-of-specification deliveries.
• Manage release or rejection decisions for non-conforming materials and finished goods within delegated authority; issue non-conformance reports, obtain root-cause analyses and escalate major deviations.
• Maintain SAP master data for new raw materials, packaging materials and finished products using specifications approved by Research and Development.
• Work with R&D on new raw-material suppliers, from specification review through successful commercial production trials; support supplier approval, auditing and evaluation.
• Promote quality awareness on the shop floor and improve incoming inspection practices, coordinating with Production, QA/QC, R&D, HR, Supply Chain, branch teams and certification bodies.

Competencies

• Strong FMCG experience in quality control, quality assurance and food production processes, including new and improved product development.
• Knowledge of ISO 9001, FSSC 22000, ISO 10002, BRC and HACCP, together with Saudi standards, SASO requirements and transportation regulations.
• Computer literacy and working knowledge of SAP, with strong analytical, root-cause investigation and quality decision-making skills.
• Effective leadership, team building, coaching and training skills, with the ability to develop organizational capability.
• Excellent planning, organization, written and verbal communication, interpersonal and negotiation skills.

Only shortlisted candidates shall be contacted.