Lakeland Dairies Co-operative Society Limited (The Group) is the second largest dairy processor on the island of Ireland. The business is complex and ambitious with a milk supply pool of 2 billion litres of milk, drawn from over 3,200 family farms across 16 counties.
With the most modern dairy manufacturing facilities in 6 locations on a cross-border basis, the Group supplies to a broad customer base including some of the world’s foremost ‘blue chip’ companies across the dairy food ingredients, foodservice and consumer food channels on a domestic Ireland, UK, European and global basis. Internationally we export some 240 different products to over 100 countries worldwide.
The Group’s Agribusiness Division (Lakeland Agri) operates a state-of-the‑art Animal Feed Manufacturing Facility and is a leading and innovative provider of the highest quality feeds and agricultural inputs to dairy, beef and sheep farmers across the north and south of Ireland.
We are seeking an experienced Product Quality Lead to lead our Quality Control, Laboratory and Product Release teams. This is a key leadership role focused on ensuring the highest standards of product quality, driving continuous improvement, and supporting strong cross‑functional collaboration.
You will oversee all product quality control processes, sampling and testing programmes, and final product release activities. Working closely with manufacturing, logistics, commercial and technical teams, you will ensure our products meet customer expectations, regulatory standards and internal quality targets. You will also play a central role in investigations, root‑cause analysis and the development of CAPAs.
Key Responsibilities Lead and develop the QC, Laboratory and Product Release teams, promoting a culture of excellence and continuous improvement.
Oversee sampling, testing, environmental monitoring and product release to ensure regulatory and customer compliance.
Support investigations into deviations, customer complaints and significant quality events, ensuring effective root‑cause analysis and corrective actions.
Drive quality improvement initiatives to enhance product quality, reduce inefficiencies and improve risk management.
Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to support planning, production and on‑time product release.
Support customer audits, third‑party accreditation and regulatory inspections.
Maintain robust reporting of quality metrics, deviations and CAPA progress.
Ensure compliance with Data Protection, Health & Safety and internal quality standards.
About You You are a strong people leader with a solid technical background in quality control within food or related manufacturing. You bring excellent problem‑solving ability, a continuous improvement mindset, and the confidence to drive high standards across multiple teams and processes.
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