VP - Food Safety (8-10 years)

Roles and Responsibilities:
Food Safety Management System (FSMS) & Standards:
Design, implement, and maintain a unified Food Safety Management System across all managed cafeterias, kitchens, client sites, and relevant food partner operations, based on HACCP principles and aligned with ISO 22000, FSSAI Schedule 4, and applicable food safety standards.
Develop, standardise, and periodically review food safety policies, manuals, SOPs, checklists, monitoring formats, and operational records across all locations.
Establish standard procedures covering the complete food handling process, including receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating, holding, transportation, and service.
Implement robust controls for personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitation, pest management, water quality, temperature monitoring, allergen management, colour coding, cross-contamination prevention, and food traceability.
Establish practical food, surface, and water testing programmes through accredited laboratories, ensuring timely testing, review of results, and closure of corrective actions.
Maintain document control, version management, and consistent implementation of standards across locations and shifts.
Vendor Audits & Food Partner Management:
Establish and lead a comprehensive vendor and food partner approval programme covering raw materials, fresh produce, meat and poultry, dairy, dry goods, packaging, chemicals, pest control, and logistics.
Define vendor onboarding criteria, risk classification, audit frequency, performance scorecards, food safety requirements, and escalation mechanisms.
Develop and execute a risk-based audit programme for 880+ food partners, suppliers, kitchens, and relevant service providers.
Conduct on-site supplier audits covering sourcing practices, hygiene, storage, cold-chain management, temperature control, traceability, licences, Certificates of Analysis (COAs), and product quality.
Ensure suppliers maintain appropriate documentation, batch-level traceability, recall preparedness, and compliance with applicable food safety requirements.
Issue corrective action plans, monitor closure within defined timelines, and implement escalation, suspension, or delisting of non-compliant partners where necessary.
Kitchen Operations, Quality Assurance & Site Compliance:
Take overall ownership of food safety and quality standards across company-run kitchens, managed cafeterias, and relevant client locations.
Conduct routine inspections and implement daily, weekly, and periodic checks covering hygiene, equipment, storage, food handling, temperature control, FIFO/FEFO practices, and sanitation.
Establish measurable food quality standards covering taste, freshness, temperature, portion size, presentation, and consistency.
Ensure effective controls for pest management, water quality, waste handling, cleaning chemicals, food storage, and prevention of cross-contamination.
Ensure all kitchens and food service locations remain audit-ready through regular inspections, documentation, staff training, and timely corrective actions.
Lead client food safety, quality, and EHS audits; present HSEQ performance during client reviews and contribute to the HSEQ sections of RFPs, tenders, and business proposals.
Certification & Statutory Compliance:
Oversee FSSAI licensing, registrations, renewals, statutory filings, and documentation for applicable kitchens, food businesses, and operational sites.
Lead the implementation and certification of HACCP and ISO 22000 for relevant company-operated kitchens and facilities, including gap assessments, implementation, certification audits, and surveillance audits.
Ensure adequate availability of FoSTaC-trained Food Safety Supervisors at applicable locations and maintain records of training and certification.
Ensure compliance with applicable FSSAI requirements relating to food labelling, menu declarations, allergens, vegetarian/non-vegetarian identification, packaging, and the responsibilities applicable to as a food service platform.
Monitor changes in food safety regulations, government notifications, statutory orders, and advisories, translating them into updated SOPs, controls, and operational practices.
Health, Safety & Environment (HSE):
Develop and implement a structured HSE management framework covering employees, kitchen personnel, and relevant partner staff working across client locations.
Drive compliance with applicable occupational health and safety legislation, including the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, and other applicable central and state requirements.
Conduct workplace risk assessments and implement preventive controls for burns, cuts, slips, falls, manual handling, equipment-related hazards, and other kitchen and workplace risks.
Ensure compliance with applicable LPG/PNG and gas safety requirements, PESO requirements where relevant, fire safety standards, hood and duct cleaning, personal protective equipment (PPE), permit-to-work systems, and emergency preparedness.
Establish incident and near-miss reporting mechanisms, lead investigations into serious incidents, and implement corrective and preventive measures.
Monitor relevant safety performance indicators, including Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) and Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR).
Audits, Risk Assessment & Incident Management:
Develop and execute an annual risk-based internal audit calendar covering kitchens, cafeterias, suppliers, food partners, and client sites.
Establish standard audit protocols, scoring mechanisms, risk ratings, reporting formats, and escalation procedures.
Investigate food safety incidents, suspected food-borne illnesses, foreign-object complaints, allergen exposures, product quality failures, and other critical customer or operational complaints.
Lead root cause analysis (RCA) and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to prevent recurrence.
Coordinate with Operations, clients, vendors, and relevant internal stakeholders during critical incidents.
Review recurring complaints, customer feedback, app ratings, and audit trends to identify systemic risks and drive sustainable improvements.
Food Safety Training & Organisational Culture:
Build a strong culture of food safety, quality, occupational safety, and environmental responsibility across the organisation.
Develop and deliver structured training programmes for food handlers, kitchen supervisors, operations teams, managers, business heads, vendors, and food partners.
Cover essential topics such as personal hygiene, HACCP, allergen management, food handling, sanitation, FoSTaC requirements, workplace safety, emergency response, and environmental practices.
Deliver practical, on-the-floor training and digital learning modules in relevant local languages to improve accessibility and adoption across locations.
Establish training calendars, competency assessments, refresher programmes, and training effectiveness measures.
Track training completion, certification status, and performance gaps, ensuring adequate capability across shifts and high-volume industrial food service environments.
New Site Pre-Opening & Operational Readiness:
Review proposed kitchen layouts, workflow, equipment specifications, storage arrangements, utilities, and infrastructure from a food safety, quality, and HSE perspective before launch.
Define and implement pre-opening checklists and minimum operational readiness requirements for new kitchens and cafeterias.
Ensure required licences, registrations, SOPs, trained personnel, equipment, pest control arrangements, water testing, cleaning protocols, fire safety, and gas safety controls are in place before operations commence.
Conduct pre-opening inspections and provide formal HSEQ clearance before a new site becomes operational.
Digital Systems, Reporting & Continuous Improvement:
Partner with Product and Technology teams to digitise and strengthen HSEQ processes, including audits, checklists, temperature logs, licence tracking, vendor scorecards, incident reporting, and CAPA management.
Establish dashboards and reporting mechanisms to monitor food safety, quality, statutory compliance, supplier performance, training completion, audit scores, and safety incidents.
Prepare monthly management reports highlighting key performance indicators, emerging risks, non-conformities, corrective action closure, and improvement initiatives.
Define measurable HSEQ KPIs, targets, review mechanisms, and accountability frameworks across locations and functions.
Benchmark practices against relevant industry standards and leading food service, hospitality, QSR, and contract catering organisations.
Drive continuous improvement through data analysis, process standardisation, technology adoption, stakeholder feedback, and preventive risk management.
What We’re Looking For:
8–10 years of experience in food safety, quality, or HSE, preferably within multi-site food service, contract catering, hospita

Work arrangement
No