Senior Quality Assurance Officer

In Silal, our mandate is to diversify food sources and stimulate manufacturing and distribution in the agri-food sector in the UAE and beyond. As a part of ADQ, one of the region's largest holding companies, Silal is emerging as one of the sector's leading and most ambitious players.

Position Overview

Senior Officer - Quality Assurance will be responsible for ensuring that products, processes and/or services meet established quality standards, service standards and specifications by monitoring, inspecting, and testing production processes and outputs within the Ag Tech Park. The role involves enforcing adherence to set standards for compliance and quality achievements. Daily tracking of activities within the Ag Tech department to ensure compliance with setting parameters.

Position Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities as Senior Officer - Quality Assurance will include the following:

• Daily monitoring of harvesting, packing and storage of berries and other crops.
• Daily imparting knowledge of crops to employees.
• Supervise the implementation of procedures to prevent pests from infecting fresh produce handling facilities and prevent the risk of cross contamination.
• Contamination of products, inputs, premises, and equipment.
• Implement quality control procedures to significantly reduce damage and preserve quality of product post-harvest.
• Tracking cold chain for produce from harvest to packhouse and during storage at packhouse.
• Conduct inspections and tests on products, services, or processes to identify defects and non-conformance, report on findings of the inspections and tests.
• Assist in supplier quality assessments and inspections, evaluating supplier performance, capabilities, and adherence to quality standards, and communicating feedback to suppliers.
• Attending customer complaints timeously and escalating issues timeously for quick resolution of problems. Carry out root cause analysis for all quality non conformances.
• Collaborate with different teams and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and recommend corrective actions.
• Carry out training as per training program to educate stakeholders on compliance and product handling.
• Promote ethical conduct and sustainability initiatives within the Farming Division, including fair labor practices, and community engagement.
• Assist in auditing programs (Food Safety, Food Quality, Environment and Ethical trading) to guarantee compliance with set standards, procedures and policies.
• Assist in carrying out root cause analysis for raised non-conformities and coming up with action plans.
• Assist the Auditee to carry out set action plans from the audit.
• Produce accurate reports and records.
• Ensure accurate documentation (name, version) is in use for all work areas.
• Reporting and Communication: Communicate compliance and quality updates and issues to the Agri-Compliance Manager and/or Ag Tech Managers, providing insights and recommendations for improvement.

Position Requirements

In order to be successful in this role, you should have

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as agricultural science.
• Strong knowledge of handling berries
• Proven experience with quality management systems (e.g., ISO 9001), preferably within the farming or agriculture industry.
• Familiarity with agricultural best practices and sustainable farming methods (e.g. water management, wastage, IPM, food safety, workers safety, etc )
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Detail-oriented with a commitment to accuracy and ethical standards.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.

As Silal's Talent Acquisition team, we encourage all interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. All qualified applicants will be reviewed, however due to the high volume of applicants, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.