Hygiene Officer

Role overview

We are seeking a meticulous and team-oriented Hygiene Officer for our Visakhapatnam operation. The role is central to maintaining excellent standards in hygiene, sanitation, and food safety across all work areas. You will partner with kitchen, stewarding, and facilities teams to ensure alignment with FSSAI requirements and globally accepted hygiene practices, while helping build a strong culture of accountability and ongoing improvement.

Key responsibilities

• Create, roll out, and oversee hygiene and sanitation systems that comply with FSSAI rules, international standards, and relevant Indian regulations.
• Carry out regular checks and audits across food production zones, storage rooms, receiving points, transport areas, and other operational spaces to confirm hygiene compliance.
• Manage scheduled monitoring, verification, and validation activities as per quality procedures, then review the outcomes and recommend practical improvements.
• Take samples from food items, drinking water, work surfaces, staff hands, and raw materials for microbiological and lab analysis; review results clearly and accurately.
• Use swab-based checks to assess hand hygiene and surface cleanliness, and keep detailed records of the findings.
• Plan and conduct training sessions for kitchen, stewarding, and facilities employees on food safety, personal cleanliness, and sanitation practices.
• Keep hygiene documentation complete, orderly, and ready for internal review, audits, and regulatory inspections.
• Look into hygiene incidents and non-conforming products, coordinate corrective actions, and verify that the fixes are effective.
• Handle urgent hygiene events, product recalls, and crisis procedures according to established protocols, and record each outcome clearly.
• Work with external auditors and regulatory authorities during inspections to ensure the facility remains prepared and compliant.
• Respond to hygiene-related concerns from guests and employees in a professional and empathetic manner, and communicate updates to management.
• Coordinate with medical staff and managers to review and investigate any health issues that may be connected to food service or sanitation.
• Support pest control, cleaning, chemical handling, waste management, and sustainability practices across the site.
• Assist management with hygiene reports, statistics, and performance tracking, and help identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Stay up to date on hygiene developments, industry publications, and rule changes, and continue building your expertise through training and seminars.
• Act as a communication link between department leaders and senior management to improve coordination and systems.
• Take on additional duties assigned by management to support operational performance and service quality.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Science, Food Science, Microbiology, or a closely related discipline.
• Formal education or certification in Food Safety Management Systems such as HACCP, ISO 22000, or an equivalent framework.
• Good understanding of FSSAI guidance along with applicable food safety and hygiene laws in India and internationally.
• At least 1 year of experience in quality assurance, food safety, hygiene management, or a similar field.
• Prior exposure to Food Safety Management Systems in hospitality, food service, healthcare, or a comparable environment.
• Hands-on experience with microbiological testing and interpretation of laboratory findings.
• Experience supporting internal and external audits.
• Experience with pest control procedures and sanitation management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability, especially in demanding or fast-paced situations.
• Clear communication skills with the ability to explain technical information to varied audiences.
• Excellent organization and record-keeping skills with careful attention to detail.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and train team members effectively.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Strong interpersonal skills, a collaborative approach, and the ability to work independently while managing multiple priorities.
• Fluent written and spoken English.
• Comfort with flexible working hours, including weekends and public holidays.
• Willingness to keep learning and pursue additional certifications.
• Physical ability to move through the facility and carry out inspections, sampling, and assessments.

Additional qualifications and context

This position suits someone familiar with hospitality service expectations, occupational health and safety practices, and a guest-focused operating environment. The role also calls for a transparent, decisive, and improvement-oriented mindset, along with the ability to cooperate across departments and respond professionally to staff and guest concerns.

Work style and expectations

You should be comfortable balancing routine compliance work with urgent response situations, and able to support management with clear reporting, trend analysis, and process optimization. A proactive approach to continuous development is important for long-term success in this role.