Quality Officer

About The Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Bengaluru, India, implementing the PM POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal Programme) initiative. It serves nutritious meals to 2.35 million children across 16 States and 3 Union Territories every school day, ensuring children attend school well-nourished and ready to learn. Over 25 years, the foundation has provided more than 5 billion meals, alongside other programs like Morning Nutrition, Anganwadi Feeding, school rejuvenation, mentorships, scholarships, and disaster relief. The foundation emphasizes innovation, scale, sustainability, and operates with advanced automated kitchens, technology-driven supply chains, renewable energy, and resource-efficient practices, supported by government, corporate, institutional, and individual partnerships.

Role Overview

The Quality Officer position is a full-time, on-site role based in Surat, tasked with maintaining and ensuring strict adherence to quality, safety, and hygiene standards in meal preparation and distribution. This involves daily monitoring of kitchen operations, conducting audits and inspections regularly, and ensuring all operations comply with internal and external regulations. The role requires accurate documentation, reporting discrepancies, collaborating with kitchen, logistics, and operations teams to address and prevent non-conformities, delivering staff training on quality and safety protocols, and supporting continuous quality improvement programs. The Quality Officer also plays a role in reviewing and updating standard operating procedures, as well as aiding in the rollout of new quality and sustainability projects that align with the foundation's mission.

Qualifications and Skills

• Comprehensive understanding of quality management systems including process oversight, internal auditing, and continuous improvement techniques.
• Knowledge of food safety, hygienic practices, and compliance requirements pertinent to large-scale meal production and distribution.
• Ability to gather, analyze, and evaluate quality and operational data to detect trends, identify risks, and discover improvement opportunities.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills for effective teamwork, training staff, and managing expectations with different stakeholders.
• Exceptional attention to detail with problem-solving capability and systematic documentation of inspections, procedures, and corrective measures.
• Bachelor's degree in food technology, quality management, engineering, science, or a related discipline; certifications like ISO, HACCP, or FSSAI are beneficial.
• Experience in quality assurance or control within the food industry is preferred.