Production and quality officer

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

Production & Quality Officer

A hands-on quality and production-floor leadership role

COMPANY
Drinkpak (Pty) Ltd

LOCATION
Cullinan , Gauteng

REPORTS TO
Production Manager

ENVIRONMENT
Beverage manufacturing and packaging

About Drinkpak and the role

Drinkpak is a growing beverage contract-packaging business specialising in bottled water and soft drinks.

We are looking for a practical and dependable Production & Quality Coordinator to take ownership of daily quality control on the production floor while supporting the Production Manager with the coordination of production activities.

The primary purpose of the role is to ensure that every production run consistently meets Drinkpak’s product, packaging, food-safety and customer requirements. The successful candidate will work above the production supervisor level and will coordinate daily production when the Production Manager is unavailable.

This is a hands-on, floor-based position for someone who combines strong attention to detail with the confidence to give direction, raise problems and ensure corrective actions are completed.

Reporting structure

The position reports to the Production Manager and works closely with Drinkpak’s outsourced QA specialist.

Key responsibilities

• Perform and oversee in-process and finished-product quality checks.
• Verify product, packaging and production specifications during each production run.
• Maintain accurate checksheets, batch records, traceability records and controlled production documentation.
• Identify non-conforming materials or products and ensure they are properly held, recorded and escalated.
• Follow quality problems through until corrective action has been completed and verified.
• Monitor hygiene, housekeeping and food-safety compliance on the production floor.
• Help implement QA procedures and policies developed with Drinkpak’s outsourced QA specialist.
• Support incoming raw-material and packaging checks where required.
• Support quality checks and documentation during new-product or packaging trials.
• Assist the Production Manager with daily floor management and production coordination.
• Give operational and quality direction to production supervisors and team members.
• Coordinate daily production according to the approved plan when the Production Manager is unavailable.
• Assist with production reporting, investigations, audits and continuous-improvement activities.

Authority

Within the responsibilities of the position, the successful candidate will be authorised to:

• Hold or quarantine potentially non-conforming product.
• Require production staff to correct quality, hygiene or documentation failures.
• Do NCR’s and Implement corrective actions .

Minimum requirements

• At least two years’ experience in an FMCG manufacturing environment, preferably in food, beverage or packaging.
• Practical experience performing production-floor quality checks.
• Exposure to production coordination or supervising production employees.
• Experience maintaining accurate batch, QC or production records.
• A basic understanding of packaging materials and specifications.
• Confidence to give clear direction and address problems directly.
• Strong computer competency: confident and efficient use of Microsoft Word, Excel, email and business software; the ability to establish and maintain structured digital document control; and the ability to use AI tools

Advantageous

• Experience in bottled water, soft drinks or liquid filling.
• A qualification or certificate in quality, food technology, production management or a related field.
• Understanding of HACCP, GMP, ISO 22000, FSSC 22000 or related food-safety principles.
• Experience with bottles, caps, labels, shrink-wrapping and batch coding.
• Experience assisting with audits, non-conformance investigations or corrective actions.

This role will suit someone who

• Is reliable, honest and consistent.
• Notices small problems before they become large ones.
• Follows procedures even when working without direct supervision.
• Remains calm and practical on a busy production floor.
• Is comfortable challenging a problem respectfully and directly.
• Takes ownership and follows matters through to completion.
• Enjoys understanding how the product, packaging and production process work together.
• Can step up when required without creating unnecessary conflict.
• Wants to build knowledge and responsibility over time.

This role may not suit someone who

• Wants a purely administrative or laboratory-based quality position.
• Avoids difficult conversations on the production floor.
• Dislikes routine checks, records and repeatable processes.
• Wants a management title without first demonstrating operational capability.
• Is looking for a short-term position with rapid title progression.

Workplace expectations

Drinkpak operates a food-production environment with strict hygiene, conduct and safety requirements. Employees must comply fully with the company’s smoking, hygiene, food-safety and personal-conduct policies.

How to apply

Please send your CV and a short cover letter to Debbie@pakpal.co.za.

In your cover letter, briefly explain a quality problem you identified that others had missed, what action you took, and how you ensured that the problem was resolved.

Please note: If you have not received a response within two weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful.

Pay: R15 000,00 - R16 000,00 per month

Work Location: In person