QA Specialist Packaging at The Heineken Company

Safety, Food Safety and Sustainability

• Identify, interpret and ensure timely implementation of the latest SHE and food safety standards, ensuring availability, understanding and application by all relevant stakeholders across packaging and warehousing operations.
• Ensure safety training is planned, delivered and refreshed for all relevant stakeholders, and that all SHE-related incidents, near misses and unsafe conditions are accurately recorded, investigated and followed up.
• Ensure all packaging laboratories and quality work areas consistently meet safety, 5S, HACCP and hygiene standards.
• Ensure departmental compliance with company SHE standards and the OHS Act through ongoing training and fostering a zero-accident culture.
• Record and report all quality-related incidents accurately and promptly.
• Ensure continuous adherence to all health and safety requirements.

Quality of the Process and Product

• Contribute actively to the implementation, governance and continuous improvement of quality management systems, procedures and controls within packaging and warehousing.
• Ensure packaging process capabilities, quality control points and specifications are clearly defined, understood and consistently applied to prevent deviations reaching the market.
• Provide technical quality decision support during deviations, trials, equipment changes and non-routine operations to safeguard product integrity.
• Ensure all activities align with relevant quality standards (e.g., ISO 9001, LSS, TPM).
• Conduct internal assessments of Quality Management Systems using ICC methodology.
• Collect and evaluate quality data from packaging analysis activities.
• Ensure governance and accuracy of quality control results.
• Manage quality measurement systems and tools.
• Analyze data to identify risks related to quality and food safety.
• Oversee the successful commissioning and integration of new quality control equipment on production lines. 

TPM and Continuous Improvement

• Drive and participate in quality-focused TPM activities, ensuring quality losses, recurring defects and system weaknesses are structurally addressed through root cause analysis and sustainable corrective and preventive actions.
• Monitor and support adherence to TPM practices.
• Maintain workplace standards in line with AM and 5S requirements; actively participate in AM/5S teams.
• Ensure quality standards, control plans and work instructions are updated following improvements and that solutions are horizontally expanded where applicable.
• Support the execution of improvement initiatives across operations.
• Lead quality problem-solving and continuous improvement efforts.

Process Management

• Structurally prevent quality issues across the packaging department by evaluating the efficiency, effectiveness and robustness of quality-related processes and initiating corrective and preventive actions.
• Manage internal and external complaints related to packaging quality, ensuring root cause analysis, corrective action definition, verification of effectiveness and proper closure.
• Ensure clear decision-making within defined authority limits and escalate risks appropriately where product safety or compliance may be impacted.
• Execute quality control strategies and manage all quality related processes within packaging.
• Provide support during quality issues and NPI projects.
• Develop and maintain quality control procedures and work instructions for packaging and logistics.
• Ensure timely and accurate execution of required analyses.
• Facilitate decision-making by providing technical expertise and ensuring compliance with internal and external requirements.

Equipment & Material Management

• Ensure all quality measurement and analysis equipment is fit-for-purpose, reliably available and does not compromise packaging quality or process control.
• Define, monitor and govern quality control points (Q-points) linked to packaging equipment and materials.
• Support commissioning, validation and handover of new or modified packaging and measurement equipment from a quality perspective.
• Monitor and ensure analysis instruments in packaging environment are maintained in optimal working condition.
• Manage procurement activities for packaging laboratory equipment and supplies.
• Troubleshoot and resolve breakdowns of quality control equipment.

Organization and People Management

• Adjust workforce planning (e.g., shifts, overtime, temporary labor) to meet operational demand.
• Develop, maintain and deliver packaging quality training materials and ensure effective coaching of operators, technicians and quality team members both in the classroom and on the shop floor.
• Build quality capability and ownership within operations to ensure consistent execution of quality tasks and sustainability of controls.
• Provide functional guidance, performance feedback and day-to-day prioritisation for packaging quality personnel within own scope.
• Provide regular performance feedback and coaching to direct reports.
• Lead the packaging quality team with a focus on engagement, collaboration, and cross-functional integration.
• Manage individual and team performance effectively.
• Attract, recruit, and retain high-performing talent.

Management of Information and Reporting

• Collect, process, and report packaging laboratory data in alignment with operational requirements.
• Capture, analyse and interpret packaging quality performance data, ensuring timely reporting and initiation of corrective actions within defined authority levels.
• Interpret quality data to identify issues and implement corrective actions.
• Use quality data and trends to proactively identify risks, systemic weaknesses and improvement opportunities.
• Maintain and ensure reliability of reporting systems.

Budget Planning

• Monitor monthly budget expenditures, report variances, and ensure timely follow-up actions.

Planning & Execution

• Plan, coordinate and follow up on regular maintenance, verification and calibration of packaging quality measurement and control equipment.
• Support project and NPI execution through trials, testing, tastings and quality risk assessments, ensuring a First-Time-Right (FTR) approach.
• Balance resource utilisation within own area to support operational priorities and project execution.

Supplier Management

• Maintain close cooperation with packaging material suppliers to ensure consistent quality performance and effective resolution of packaging quality issues.
• Execute and evaluate trials and testing of new or modified packaging materials in collaboration with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Support supplier investigations, corrective actions and continuous improvement activities linked to quality performance.
• Conduct trials and testing to evaluate and implement new materials and products.