UHT Quality Manager

About ButtaNutt

ButtaNutt produces plant-based UHT beverages, including oat-based drinks, and manages its own dedicated oat groats facility for gluten-free sorting and milling. As the business scales, we are looking for an experienced UHT Quality Manager to take full end-to-end ownership of quality and food safety across our production, milling, and warehousing operations.

Key Responsibilities

1. Quality Management System & FSSC 22000 Compliance

• Own and maintain the plant's FSSC 22000-certified Food Safety Management System (FSMS) in full, including document control, policies, procedures, and work instructions.
• Lead day-to-day preparation for FSSC 22000 (and related GFSI) certification and surveillance audits, and host auditors on-site; the Technical Manager is the primary strategic point of contact for certification bodies and is looped in on all audit outcomes.
• Own the HACCP plan(s) across UHT processing, oat groats sorting/milling, and warehousing — lead hazard analysis, CCP/OPRP determination, validation, and verification.
• Run the internal audit programme, non-conformance and CAPA (corrective and preventive action) processes, and root cause analysis for quality and food safety deviations.
• Contribute to management review meetings, reporting on food safety and quality KPIs, audit outcomes, and risk status to the Technical Manager and senior management.
• Maintain regulatory compliance with all applicable South African food safety legislation and liaise with regulatory bodies as required.
• Investigate and resolve customer/retailer quality complaints operationally — root cause analysis, corrective action, and trend reporting — escalating to the Technical Manager where client relationship management is required.
• Manage allergen control programmes across all product lines.
• Provide food safety and quality input (e.g. HACCP impact assessment, validation testing, shelf-life data) to New Product Development projects; the Technical Manager leads overall NPD liaison and final artwork sign-off.
• Maintain full traceability systems and lead recall/withdrawal simulations and, if ever required, actual recall execution.
• Identify and implement continuous improvement initiatives within the department, aligned with the broader improvement agenda led by the Technical Manager.

2. UHT Process Quality

• Aseptic & sterility assurance: Oversee sterility assurance across UHT processing and aseptic filling, aseptic zone integrity, and CIPs/CIP verifications.
• In-process and finished product testing: Oversee physicochemical, and sensory testing programmes, ensuring specifications and shelf-life claims are consistently met.
• CCP monitoring: Ensure critical control points on the UHT lines are monitored, verified, and deviations are actioned immediately.
• Troubleshooting: Provide hands-on quality troubleshooting support for UHT processing and filling issues, working closely with production and engineering.

3. Oat Groats Facility Oversight

• Gluten-free sorting: Oversee the sorting process to ensure incoming oat groats meet gluten-free thresholds, including optical/manual sorting verification and rejection of non-conforming material.
• Gluten testing & verification: Manage the gluten testing programme (e.g. ELISA or equivalent), including sampling plans, test frequency, and record-keeping to support gluten-free claims.
• Milling quality: Oversee quality control of the milling process following sorting, including particle size specification, and cross-contamination prevention.
• Segregation & cross-contact control: Maintain physical and procedural segregation between the oat groats/milling facility and other raw materials to protect gluten-free status.

4. Warehousing Oversight

• Sales / finished goods warehouse: Ensure correct storage conditions for finished product prior to dispatch.
• Procurement / raw material warehouse: Oversee incoming goods storage condition compliance for raw materials and packaging.
• UHT Final product retention warehouse: Ensure correct storage conditions and on-hold/release procedures for finished product prior to transfer.
• Traceability: Ensure batch traceability and stock accuracy across all three warehouse functions to support recall readiness and audits.
• Pest control & housekeeping: Coordinate pest control and GMP/housekeeping standards across all warehouse areas.

5. People & Team Management

• Directly manage, coach, and develop the Quality Controllers and Hygienists within the department.
• Set, monitor, and report on the KPIs of the Quality Controllers and Hygienists; own KPIs are set and reviewed by the Technical Manager.
• Build and maintain ongoing training and competency where needed.
• Champion day-to-day food safety and quality culture within the department, reinforcing the broader food safety culture and inter-departmental collaboration led by the Technical Manager.

6. Hygiene & Sanitation

• Own the plant sanitation programme, including CIP/COP verification, environmental monitoring, and hygiene audit schedules.
• Oversee the Hygienists' daily/weekly hygiene inspection and cleaning verification activities.
• Ensure allergen cleaning validation between changeovers.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Microbiology, or a related field.
• 5–8 years' experience in quality assurance/management within a UHT dairy processing environment, including hands-on exposure to aseptic filling and commercial sterility testing.
• Demonstrated experience managing or working within an FSSC 22000 (or equivalent GFSI) certified food safety management system, including hosting external audits.
• Solid working knowledge of HACCP principles; formal HACCP training/certification is advantageous.
• Prior experience managing direct reports (quality controllers, hygienists, or similar) is advantageous.
• Experience with allergen management programmes and/or grain sorting/milling operations is a strong advantage.
• Working knowledge of relevant South African food safety legislation and regulatory requirements.
• Computer literacy, including MS Office
• Willingness to be on call for food safety incidents.

Work Location: In person