For our sister Lebanese food manufacturing company specializing in premium cheese products, including Mozzarella, Pizza Cheese Toppings, Kashkaval, White Cheese and Breaded Cheese Appetizers, located in Zahle.

The Opportunity

Seeking an experienced Quality & Food Safety Manager to lead the company's quality, food safety and compliance agenda across its manufacturing operations.

The role will ensure that company's products, processes, raw materials and manufacturing environment consistently meet internal standards, regulatory requirements, customer expectations and internationally recognized food safety principles.

Beyond compliance, the successful candidate will establish a strong quality culture, drive continuous improvement and partner with Operations, R&D, Procurement and Commercial teams to ensure quality is embedded throughout the product lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Quality & Food Safety Leadership
Develop, implement and continuously improve KMR's Quality and Food Safety Management System.
Establish quality standards, procedures, specifications and control measures across manufacturing operations.
Ensure compliance with applicable Lebanese food regulations and relevant international food safety standards.
Maintain a strong preventive food safety culture across the organization.
Provide senior management with regular reporting on quality performance, risks and improvement priorities.

2. HACCP & Food Safety Systems
Lead the implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement of HACCP-based food safety systems.
Identify and assess food safety hazards and ensure appropriate preventive and corrective controls.
Monitor Critical Control Points and verify that controls are consistently effective.
Ensure appropriate sanitation, hygiene, allergen management, pest control and environmental monitoring programs are implemented.
Maintain food safety documentation, records and traceability systems.

3. Incoming Materials & Supplier Quality
Establish quality standards and specifications for raw materials, ingredients, packaging materials and finished products.
Work closely with Procurement and suppliers to ensure compliance with agreed specifications.
Conduct supplier quality assessments and performance reviews.
Lead investigations into raw-material-related quality issues and implement corrective actions.
Support supplier qualification and approval processes.

4. Production Quality Control
Establish effective quality control procedures throughout the production process.
Monitor product quality, consistency, texture, taste, appearance, weight, packaging and storage conditions.
Ensure quality checks are properly documented and deviations are immediately addressed.
Partner with Production to identify root causes of quality issues and prevent recurrence.
Drive reduction of product defects, waste, rework and customer complaints.

5. Finished Product & Laboratory Management
Establish testing requirements for raw materials, in-process products and finished goods.
Coordinate microbiological, chemical, physical and sensory testing with internal or external laboratories.
Review laboratory results and ensure timely action on non-conformities.
Monitor product shelf-life and stability requirements.
Maintain accurate technical specifications and product quality records.

6. Regulatory & Compliance
Ensure product labels, specifications, nutritional information and technical documentation comply with applicable requirements.
Monitor changes in food regulations and assess their impact on KMR products and processes.
Maintain all required quality and regulatory documentation.
Act as the key quality contact during regulatory inspections and external audits.
Ensure corrective actions resulting from inspections or audits are implemented effectively.

7. Customer Quality & Complaints Management
Own the investigation and resolution of customer quality complaints.
Establish a structured complaint analysis and corrective action process.
Identify recurring trends and implement preventive measures.
Work with Commercial and Operations teams to ensure timely and professional responses to customers and partners.
Monitor customer quality indicators and identify opportunities for improvement.

8. Audits & Continuous Improvement
Plan and lead internal quality and food safety audits.
Coordinate external, customer and certification audits.
Track non-conformities, corrective actions and preventive actions through to closure.
Establish quality KPIs and continuously monitor performance.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen product quality, food safety and operational efficiency.

9. Cross-Functional Leadership
Partner closely with Production, R&D, Procurement, Supply Chain, Warehouse and Commercial teams.
Ensure quality considerations are integrated into new product development and product changes.
Participate in product trials and validation processes