Quality Specialist

Job Summary

The Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment (QHSE) Specialist plays a crucial role in establishing, monitoring, and sustaining management systems related to quality, health, safety, and environmental standards within the catering sector. This position ensures adherence to Saudi FDA requirements, established food safety norms, occupational health and safety laws, environmental regulations, and internal policies to uphold superior food quality and operational safety.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and enforce QHSE policies, procedures, and management frameworks within kitchen and catering operations.
• Monitor compliance with Saudi FDA guidelines, ISO certifications (including HACCP and ISO 22000), and company quality and safety protocols.
• Conduct thorough inspections of raw ingredients and prepared meals to confirm they meet food safety and quality criteria, while supervising staff hygiene practices to maintain high cleanliness standards.
• Oversee sanitation of kitchens, storage facilities, and equipment, ensuring proper calibration of thermometers and testing instruments.
• Implement regular pest control inspections and guarantee appropriate corrective measures where necessary.
• Perform scheduled and surprise audits of subcontracted kitchens to assess conformity with hygiene and food safety standards, documenting findings and recommendations.
• Identify potential operational and food safety hazards, executing corrective and preventive plans to mitigate risks.
• Lead investigations into food safety complaints, incidents, and deviations, preparing detailed root cause and corrective actions reports.
• Conduct internal audits to record non-compliance, develop key performance indicators (KPIs), and support ongoing improvement initiatives.
• Deliver training sessions and raise awareness among operational staff concerning hygiene, food safety, and QHSE protocols.
• Maintain comprehensive QHSE documentation such as inspection reports, temperature logs, audit outcomes, corrective actions, and compliance records.
• Design and implement emergency response strategies including food recall plans, ensuring certifications like ISO 22000, HACCP, and ISO 9001 are upheld.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental Science, or a related discipline.
• Three to five years of professional experience in QHSE or Quality Control fields focused on catering or food manufacturing industries.
• Possession of recognized food safety certifications such as HACCP and ISO 22000 valid within Saudi Arabia.
• Effective bilingual communication skills in Arabic and English.
• Demonstrated capability to train personnel on hygiene and food safety compliance.