Senior Lead, Co-Man Quality, Food Safety

About the role:

The Senior QA Co‑Man Lead is responsible for driving Quality, Food Safety, and compliance performance across a network of Co‑Manufacturers (Co‑Mans) in the European region. This role provides technical expertise and operational oversight to ensure that all Co‑Man sites consistently meet BC QFS standards, and customer expectations. The position acts as the primary regional authority for QFS matters related to Co‑Manufacturing operations, supporting continuous improvement, incident management, new Co-Mans approval and new product initiatives.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the implementation, governance, and continuous improvement of QFS standards and processes across all assigned Co Man sites in Europe.


• Train, coach, and develop Co Man Quality teams to ensure consistent understanding and execution of BC QFS requirements.


• Conduct regular technical site visits, audits, and capability assessments to evaluate compliance, identify risks, and drive improvement plans.


• Monitor, analyze, and report QFS KPIs for all Co Man sites, ensuring progress against defined glidepaths and escalation where performance deviates.


• Partner with Co Man QFS team to strengthen problem solving and quality culture.


• Act as the first point of contact for QFS incidents, serious consumer complaints, and potential crisis situations at assigned Co Man sites.


• Lead or support incident investigations, root cause analysis, and development of corrective and preventive actions.


• Ensure timely communication, documentation, and escalation of incidents according to corporate protocols.


• Serve as the primary regional contact for customer complaints related to Co Man products.


• Coordinate with Co Man teams to ensure thorough investigation, resolution, and communication of complaint findings.


• Identify complaint trends and drive systemic improvements to reduce recurrence.


• Lead the onboarding, qualification, and approval process for new Co Manufacturers, ensuring full compliance with QFS standards before production start.


• Support cross functional teams in evaluating technical capability, risk level, and readiness for commercial operations.


• Collaborate with R&D, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams to support new product introductions at Co Man sites.


• Ensure QFS requirements are embedded in product development, trials, and scale up activities.


• Drive regional QFS improvement programs and benchmarking across Co Man sites.


• Promote best practices in quality systems, food safety, hygiene, and operational excellence.

About you:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Quality Management, Engineering, or related field.


• 7+ years of experience in Quality, Food Safety, or Manufacturing within the food or FMCG industry.


• Strong experience working with Co‑Manufacturers or external suppliers or food manufacturing sites .


• Proven expertise in auditing and QFS systems.  Knowledge of GFSI schemes (e.g., BRCGS, FSSC 22000, IFS).


• Demonstrated ability to lead cross‑functional teams and influence without direct authority.


• Strong analytical skills and experience with KPI management.


• Excellent communication skills in English; additional European languages are an advantage.


• Ability to travel across Europe (30–50%).


• Experience in crisis management and high‑severity incident handling.


• Experience supporting new product development in a manufacturing environment.

We offer: