Tupande Quality Assurance Specialist (Fixed-term) at One Acre Fund in Nairobi, Kenya

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    Tupande Quality Assurance Specialist (Fixed-term)

    One Acre FundNairobi, Kenya

    Posted

    2 days ago

    Apply by

    26 Dec

    Contractor
    On Site
    Senior
    Agriculture & Agribusiness
    Quality Control & Assurance

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    Job Description

    One Acre Fund is seeking an experienced food safety professional with 5+ years in food manufacturing to lead its Food Safety Management System and BRCGS/FSSC certification. This role owns the FSMS behind the certification, which opens premium export markets that raise the price farmers earn for their macadamia. You will lead the food safety team, review shift records, check CCPs and monitoring, walk the floor from receiving to packing, close audit findings, drive corrective actions, investigate issues to root cause, coach your team, and prepare for audits.

    Key Responsibilities

    • Appointed as Food Safety Team Leader, responsible for ensuring the FSMS is established, implemented, maintained and updated
    • Managing and organizing the work of the food safety team
    • Ensuring relevant training and competencies for the food safety team
    • Reporting to top management on the effectiveness and suitability of the FSMS
    • To manage the food safety team and organize its work
    • To ensure relevant training and education of the food safety team members
    • To ensure that the food safety management is established, implemented, maintained, and updated
    • Ensure that information on internal communication is included in the updating of the Food Safety Management System
    • Verification of the accuracy of the flow diagrams by on-site checking
    • Maintaining records of verified flow diagrams, corrections, and corrective actions
    • Conduct a hazard analysis to determine which hazards need to be controlled, the degree of control required to ensure food safety, and which combination of control measures is required
    • Analysis of the results of the verification activities
    • Plan and implement the processes needed to validate control measures and/or control measure combinations, and to verify and improve the Food Safety Management System
    • Systematically evaluate the individual results of planned verification
    • Analyse the results of verification activities, including the results of the internal audits and external audits
    • Evaluate the Food Safety Management System at planned intervals and to report to top management on the effectiveness and suitability of the FSMS
    • Ensure 100% maintenance requirements of both FSMS BRC & FSSC and other legislation requirements Kosher, Halal & Kephis in the next six months
    • Communication of FSMS objectives, tracking of their achievements
    • Effective communication of food safety related issues & recommendations to top management
    • Ensure proper monitoring of FSMS related controls such as CCP, OPRP monitoring, verification of PRP programs to ensure compliance
    • Timely closure of raised gaps/NCRs from both internal and external audits conducted for the FSMS
    • Ensure capacity building for QA & EA for raw material receiving and factory processes to ensure we are able to source NIS of at least 75% by the end of 2025
    • Training on quality processes from sampling to analysis
    • Efficient feedback loop for both teams to ensure implementation of optimal QC processes that help achieve highest possible NIS quality
    • Ensure 100% support to processing operations to realize a final product packed complies to statutory, customer & organizational requirements in the next six months
    • Update changes on requirements by interested stakeholders
    • Spearheading food safety culture through increased awareness on food safety requirements for all staff
    • Manage Product analysis against requirements
    • Manage Swabs & personnel hygiene analysis Environmental monitoring
    • Ensure 100% compliance to factory bi-weekly meetings, timely escalation of issues & reco

    Required Qualifications

    • Minimum academic Qualification: Bachelor's degree in food science
    • Knowledge of quality standards: Must have ISO 22000 experience, HACCP, FSSC 20000, BRCGS
    • Attention to detail: Ensures all your tasks are completed to the business' specifications
    • Problem-solving: Establish root cause and find solutions to meet the required quality standards and customer requirements
    • Analytical skills: Have the ability to identify a problem, investigate to find out relevant facts, and find a logical solution
    • Written and verbal communication: Strong verbal communication skills can help you explain ways to improve processes to other people so they can achieve set quality standards
    • Ability to work as part of a team: Teamwork champion for team work to to help all departments implement FSMS
    • Time management: Ensures you have adequate time to complete your tasks to the desired quality standard, then confirm they comply with specifications

    Job Details

    Estimated Salary Range

    KES 160,000 – 235,000 / monthBased on Kenyan market rates for similar roles

    Job Function

    Quality Control & Assurance

    Minimum Experience

    5 years

    Education Level

    Bachelor’s Degree

    Area of Study

    Science

    Field of Study

    Food Science

    Languages

    English

    Additional Information

    How to Apply: Visit the One Acre Fund careers page at oneacrefund.org to submit your application for the Tupande Quality Assurance Specialist (Fixed-term) role.

    Prove Your BRCGS and FSSC Audit Muscle Before the Interview

    Food safety leadership roles in export-driven agribusiness are won by candidates who can show they have held a certification, not just studied one. This posting is specific: BRCGS, FSSC, ISO 22000, HACCP, and a track record of closing non-conformances. Your CV and interview stories need to mirror that language.

    1. Lead with certification ownership: Your CV should name each standard you have personally maintained — BRCGS, FSSC 22000, ISO 22000, HACCP — and state the audit outcome you achieved. Hiring managers at One Acre Fund will scan for whether you were the Food Safety Team Leader or just a team member. Write a bullet like 'Maintained BRCGS Grade A for two consecutive audits' if that is true for you. Vague claims about 'knowledge of food safety standards' will not survive the first screen.

    2. Map your experience to the six-month targets: The posting sets hard deadlines: 100% FSMS maintenance, 75% NIS sourcing, and 100% processing support within six months. Prepare one story for each target showing how you mobilised a team, tracked progress, and reported to top management. Interviewers will probe whether you can translate a target into weekly actions. Bring a simple example of a KPI dashboard or tracker you built for a previous FSMS.

    3. Speak the language of CCPs and OPRPs: You will be asked how you monitor critical control points and operational prerequisite programmes on the floor. Rehearse a specific incident where you caught a deviation, documented it, and drove a corrective action to root cause. Use the terms from the posting — verification of flow diagrams, hazard analysis, internal audit findings — naturally in your answers. Show that you walk the floor from receiving to packing rather than managing from a desk.

    4. Prepare for the audit-closure question: One Acre Fund needs someone who closes NCRs on time. Think of a time you inherited open non-conformances and cleared them before an external audit. Be ready to explain your prioritisation method, how you coached the team through the fix, and how you verified the correction held. Interviewers often ask 'What was the hardest finding you closed?' — have a crisp, honest answer ready.

    5. Show you can coach, not just police: The role leads a food safety team and builds capacity for QA and EA on raw material receiving. Describe how you trained shift staff on sampling and analysis, and how you handled resistance to new hygiene rules. A story about turning a sceptical production supervisor into an ally will land better than listing training sessions you attended. They want a team leader, not an auditor who only writes reports.

    6. Know the Kenyan regulatory layer: The posting mentions Kosher, Halal, and Kephis requirements alongside BRCGS and FSSC. Brush up on Kephis export certification and how it interacts with private standards. If you have handled KEBS or Kephis inspections, put that on your CV. Even a short line about coordinating with regulators shows you understand the local compliance environment that premium macadamia exports depend on.

    7. Bring evidence of environmental monitoring: Swabs, personnel hygiene analysis, and environmental monitoring are listed duties. Prepare to discuss your experience with swabbing schedules, interpreting results, and escalating trends. If you have used a specific lab or testing protocol, mention it. This is a detail-heavy role, and candidates who can talk through a monitoring calendar and corrective thresholds stand out from those who only know the theory.

    8. Ask about the certification timeline: In your interview, ask how the BRCGS and FSSC certification journey is currently tracked and what support the food safety team has. This shows you are already thinking about the six-month compliance target and the resources needed. It also gives you a sense of whether the role has top-management backing. A thoughtful question about audit preparation or team structure can leave a stronger impression than another rehearsed answer.

    CareerSasa Safety Alert: Never pay employers or agencies for interviews, training, or job placement. Does a job request payment? Report it immediately using the "Flag" button. While CareerSasa vets job postings thoroughly, always verify opportunities independently.
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    Tags

    food safety
    BRCGS
    FSSC
    ISO 22000
    HACCP