Food Safety and Product Development Manager

F2F Food Company is looking for an experienced and dynamic Food Safety & Product Development Manager to lead our technical, quality, food safety and product innovation functions within a high-volume food manufacturing environment.

This is a key leadership role for a hands-on professional who is passionate about food safety, technical excellence, product development and retail market readiness.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and maintain the FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management System, including policies, procedures, risk assessments, audits and certification.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, legal, customer and export requirements.
• Develop and maintain HACCP, PRPs, GMP, allergen management, traceability and recall systems.
• Oversee microbiological, chemical and physical food safety controls.
• Coordinate internal, certification, retail and regulatory audits.
• Drive factory hygiene, sanitation, environmental monitoring and pest management programmes.
• Lead verification and validation of cleaning, disinfection, allergen controls and CCPs.
• Conduct factory inspections, process checks, complaint investigations and root-cause analyses.
• Lead new product development from concept through to commercialisation and launch.
• Manage formulation, ingredient sourcing, trials, sensory evaluations, nutritional targets, costing and shelf-life testing.
• Ensure accurate BOMs, production specifications and successful handover into commercial production.
• Engage with retail QA, technical teams, food technologists, buyers and compliance departments.
• Manage product submissions, technical dossiers, specifications and certification documentation.
• Ensure products meet retail technical requirements, including labelling, allergens, nutritional information and claims.
• Drive the site's food safety culture and provide food safety, hygiene and GMP training.
• Monitor and report on key quality, food safety, complaints, CAPA, audit and product development KPIs.
• Manage departmental budgets and cost controls relating to quality, compliance and training.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Microbiology, Biotechnology or a related field.
• Minimum 5–8 years’ experience in food manufacturing technical, quality or product development roles.
• Proven experience with FSSC 22000 implementation, maintenance and audit coordination.
• Strong HACCP, CCP, PRP, GMP, hygiene and food safety knowledge.
• Experience working directly with retail clients and technical/QA teams.
• Experience within prepared foods, ready meals, bakery, convenience foods, dairy, frozen foods or ingredient processing will be advantageous.
• Strong New Product Development (NPD) experience, from concept through to commercial launch.
• Knowledge of food labelling regulations and allergen declarations.
• Experience with supplier and raw material qualification.
• Knowledge of sensory evaluation, formulation and product costing.
• FSSC 22000 Lead Auditor and/or HACCP certification will be advantageous.

Key Competencies

• Strong leadership and communication skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a zero-compromise approach to food safety.
• Commercial understanding of cost, quality and production requirements.
• Ability to influence stakeholders from senior management through to factory-floor employees.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical ability.
• Proactive, solutions-driven and able to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Passion for food innovation, product development and retail market trends.

Location

Kyalami, Johannesburg, with periodic retail and supplier site visits.

If you are an experienced food safety and product development professional ready to take ownership of technical excellence, innovation and food safety within a growing food manufacturing business, we would love to hear from you.

Apply via Indeed with your updated CV.

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: In person