Agro Quality Assurance Manager

Overview

The role is responsible for leading the Agro Quality Assurance agenda and managing compliance with applicable PepsiCo Agricultural standards in the procurement, handling, transportation and storage of agri raw materials. The role is also responsible for managing agro product quality and coordinating effectively with all stakeholders (Agro, Production, Farmers and storages) to align and execute action plans for improvement.

Responsibilities

• Planning, coordination and monitoring of agro QA operations with prime focus on quality of agro-related commodities, food safety and compliance as per PepsiCo Agricultural standards related to agro processes.

• Partner with the Agro regional and Storage and Logistics Manager to develop capability in forecasting field and storage conditions during different crop stages through to harvest and and align action plans accordingly.

• Lead potato crop quality monitoring through YSI testing and advise field team through trend analysis to support decision-making on potato harvesting at field level for medium and long term stores.

• Manage the agro quality program during the season through onboarding and training of Agro Interns for field and ensuring mobile lab development, boarding arrangements for the field team, tracking and running the testing plan in accordance with the harvest plan for timely quality decisions on agro commodities (Potato – chip stock and seed, Corn).

• Partner with the Agro GH & Best Practices Manager to establish strategies for the best practices agenda through comprehensive data analysis of the agro quality program, supporting the crop-quality improvement agenda and managing quality/productivity improvement projects through the Six-Sigma approach.

• Manage storage standards for potato (chip stock and seed stock) and corn, ensuring compliance through comprehensive audits, and share reports on critical parameters on a regular basis with action plans.

• Lead the quality assurance agenda in business expansion and continuity plans by ensuring strong coordination with Agro and R&D on development of new varieties for potato and corn and evaluate their behavior/response from crop to consumer chain through trial studies.

• Manage periodic potato and corn quality health audits in storages, comprehensive sampling and testing through in-house or third-party laboratories to assess quality performance and ensure issuance of the consumption plan.

• Lead the quality assurance agenda in the agro footprint expansion agenda to develop new geographies through strategic planning and engaging farmers and farm managers, tracking potato performance to establish development milestones.

• Drive product quality improvement and compliance to gold-standard product to qualify Frito-Lay challenge score for the compliance leg.

• Lead the agro QA agenda with absolute compliance to Global Control Standards (GCS) and ensure alignment of Agro QA activities and processes accordingly.

• Monitoring and validation of CIPC and Huwa San application in cold stores to avoid sprouting and suppress rottening of chip stock due to any potential disease.

• Lead E2E quality testing of seed at green house and in fields during harvesting to ensure acceptance and storage of right quality stock.

• Ensure verification and optimization of potato handling practices using IRD (Impact Recording Device) & Hot Box to rate grower's performance as per bruise index of delivered stock in stores.

• Facilitate cold store team to decide chip stock consumption plan based on quality results of stored chip stock.

• Monitoring and validation of sowing practices to ensure growers are following the recommended variety-wise agronomy.

• Partner with Agro R&D while measuring quality, storage stability and longevity of varieties, targeting minimum line losses.

• Ensure statistical analysis of field and storage quality using mini tab and Power Bi enabling respective function to take Preventive and corrective action well in time.

• Ensure quality and food safety audits of PCI and 3P cold stores to deliver compliance as per plan focusing deployment of stringent IPM and GMP’s on storage facilities.

• Ensure deployment of Global GAP and PFA (Primary Farm Assurance) compliance standard across PCI contracted growers to deliver agreed qualification percentage on YOY basis.

Qualifications

• Master's/Bachelor's Degree in Agronomy / Food Science & Technology

• Good knowledge of material testing and quality assessment

• Knowledge of quality and food safety standards

Experience

• 4–5 years with FMCG

Competencies:

• Efficient and comprehensive approach

• Auditing and influencing skill

• Communication and facilitation capability

• Innovative and understands key business drivers