Raw Material Quality Specialist at The Coca-Cola Company

Job Description    

• Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) presents an exciting opportunity for a Raw Material Quality Specialist, to join the Midrand team at CCBA.The role will report to the Country Lead QFSE.

Key Purpose

• To safeguard product quality and supply continuity by managing raw material quality systems, driving supplier performance, resolving quality issues, and implementing continuous improvement across the supply chain.

Key Duties & Responsibilities    
Key Outcomes

Raw materials quality governance

• Own and continuously improve the raw materials quality management system for packaging materials and ingredients, including standards, escalation protocols, tracking tools and governance routines.
• Manage the Supplier Partnering Process (SPP), ensuring valid incidents are accurately logged, supported by evidence, appropriately escalated and closed within agreed timelines.
• Strengthen incoming inspection criteria, defect guides, training material and plant controls using lessons from incidents and recurring defects.

Incident resolution and plant support

• Ensure plants record raw material issues timeously and accurately, including defect classification, batch traceability, samples or photographs, downtime and loss information.
• Review quality alerts and SPP incidents for validity and completeness, and coordinate rapid escalation where product quality, line continuity or business supply is at risk.
• Lead or support structured root cause analysis and corrective and preventive action reviews for high-impact and recurring defects.

Supplier performance and assurance

• Notify suppliers of non-conformances, coordinate investigations and drive sustainable corrective and preventive actions to completion.
• Plan and participate in risk-based supplier audits, visits, process-capability reviews and quality assessments, and follow through on resulting actions.
• Facilitate weekly and monthly supplier quality reviews covering defects, action plans, performance trends, claims, risks and improvement commitments.
• Partner with Procurement on chronic supplier performance, supplier development, service-level requirements and commercial escalation where required.

Claims and loss recovery

• Validate supplier claims and supporting evidence, coordinate supplier engagement, credit or replacement stock, and drive recovery or formal closure.
• Maintain visibility of raw material-related downtime, waste, rework and financial losses to support prioritisation and accountability.

Performance insight and stakeholder communication

• Maintain quality alert, defect and supplier issue trackers that provide reliable visibility of open actions, repeat defects, overdue responses, claims and losses.
• Analyse performance to identify high-risk suppliers, plants, materials and recurring defects, and convert findings into targeted improvement actions.
• Provide weekly operational updates and monthly management reports on supplier quality performance, business impact, risk and improvement progress.
• Act as the central raw materials quality liaison across plants, Procurement, suppliers and other Supply Chain stakeholders.

Skills, Experience & Education    
Education

• Bachelor’s degree or National Diploma in Food Science, Chemistry, Microbiology, Packaging Technology, Quality Management, Engineering, Supply Chain or a related field.
• Training or certification in quality management systems, supplier auditing, food safety or structured problem-solving would be advantageous.

Experience

• At least 5 years’ relevant experience in quality assurance, supplier quality, packaging quality, ingredient quality or manufacturing quality within an FMCG, food or beverage environment.
• Practical experience with packaging materials and/or ingredients used in manufacturing operations.
• Demonstrated experience in supplier quality management, supplier audits, performance reviews, non-conformance investigation and corrective action management.
• Experience applying GMP, HACCP, FSSC/ISO and related quality-system requirements.
• Experience analysing quality data and preparing dashboards, trackers and management reports.

Skills

• Technical knowledge of raw material, packaging and ingredient quality risks
• Structured problem-solving, root cause analysis and continuous improvement
• Data analysis, trend interpretation and insight generation
• Supplier and stakeholder management, influencing and negotiation
• Quality auditing and corrective action verification
• Planning, prioritisation and disciplined follow-through
• Clear written, verbal and presentation communication
• Meeting facilitation and accountability management
• Attention to detail and sound judgement under operational pressure
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and relevant quality/reporting systems

Deadline:2nd October,2026