Senior Food Safety & Hygiene Manager

Role Overview

Elegancia Services Group is seeking a Senior Food Safety & Hygiene Manager to join its Quality, Food Safety & Hygiene function in Qatar/GCC. Reporting to the Operations Director / General Manager, this role is responsible for leading food safety, hygiene, and quality assurance across catering and related operational facilities.

Food Safety Management

• Create, roll out, and continuously improve food safety management systems built on HACCP principles.
• Maintain alignment with ISO 22000, HACCP requirements, local municipality rules, and client-specific standards.
• Drive food safety risk assessments and define preventive controls to reduce operational risk.
• Keep food safety policies, procedures, and SOPs current and effective.

Quality Assurance and Compliance

• Ensure catering operations consistently meet high standards for food safety, hygiene, and quality.
• Carry out routine internal audits and site inspections across kitchens, warehouses, transport areas, and accommodation facilities.
• Coordinate and manage external audits from clients, regulators, and certification organizations.
• Track corrective and preventive actions through to completion within required timelines.

Hygiene and Sanitation

• Set up and oversee cleaning and sanitation programs.
• Maintain effective pest control and environmental hygiene practices.
• Monitor personal hygiene adherence among all food handlers.
• Check that cleaning agents, sanitation methods, and hygiene practices are delivering the expected results.

Leadership and Training

• Guide and support Food Safety Officers, Hygiene Supervisors, and Quality Inspectors.
• Design and deliver food safety training for operational teams.
• Help strengthen a strong food safety mindset across all business units.
• Assess team performance and identify areas for growth and development.

Incident and Non-Conformance Management

• Review food safety incidents, customer complaints, and non-conformities.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective measures.
• Prepare detailed incident summaries and recommendations for leadership review.

Supplier and Vendor Management

• Assess and approve food suppliers and vendors.
• Conduct supplier audits and evaluate ongoing performance.
• Verify that incoming goods meet food safety and quality requirements.

Documentation and Reporting

• Maintain records covering food safety, certifications, audit findings, and compliance files.
• Compile monthly performance reports for food safety and hygiene activities.
• Share key observations and improvement plans with senior management.

Continuous Improvement

• Spot opportunities to strengthen food safety systems and improve operational efficiency.
• Compare practices against industry benchmarks and apply practical improvements.
• Support digitization and automation projects for quality and food safety monitoring.

Qualifications

A bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Microbiology, Public Health, Nutrition, or a related field is required; a master’s degree is an added advantage. HACCP certification is mandatory. ISO 22000 Lead Auditor or Internal Auditor certification is preferred. NEBOSH, IOSH, or Food Safety Level 4 qualifications are considered beneficial.

Experience

The role calls for 10–15 years of experience in food safety, hygiene, and quality assurance, including at least 5 years in a senior managerial position. Prior exposure to large-scale catering, hospitality, airline catering, industrial catering, healthcare catering, or food manufacturing is important. Experience handling multi-site food safety operations, large-volume catering facilities, client audits, certification audits, and regulatory inspections is required.

Skills and Competencies

In-depth knowledge of HACCP, ISO 22000, GMP, GHP, and food safety regulations is essential, along with strong leadership, audit, inspection, root cause analysis, CAPA management, risk assessment, compliance oversight, communication, presentation, reporting, documentation, Microsoft Office, and food safety software capabilities.

Additional Information

Department: Quality, Food Safety & Hygiene. Reporting Line: Operations Director / General Manager. Location: Qatar / GCC.

Terms and Conditions

This is a full-time, onsite position based in Doha, Qatar.