Agro Quality Assurance Manager

This role is responsible for leading the Agro Quality Assurance agenda, ensuring compliance with PepsiCo Agricultural standards in the procurement, handling, transportation, and storage of agricultural raw materials. The position involves managing agro product quality and collaborating closely with stakeholders across Agro, Production, Farmers, and Storage teams to align and execute improvement plans effectively.

Key Responsibilities

- Plan, coordinate, and monitor agro QA operations focusing on the quality of agro commodities, food safety, and compliance with PepsiCo Agricultural standards related to agro processes.
- Collaborate with the Agro regional and Storage & Logistics Manager to forecast field and storage conditions during various crop stages through harvest, aligning action plans accordingly.
- Lead potato crop quality monitoring using YSI testing, providing trend analysis to support field teams in decision-making for harvesting medium and long-term storage potatoes.
- Manage the agro quality program during the season by onboarding and training Agro Interns, developing mobile labs, arranging field team logistics, and executing testing plans aligned with the harvest schedule for timely quality decisions on commodities such as potato (chip stock and seed) and corn.
- Partner with the Agro GH & Best Practices Manager to develop strategies for best practices through comprehensive data analysis, supporting crop-quality improvement and managing quality/productivity projects using Six Sigma methodologies.
- Oversee storage standards for potato and corn, ensuring compliance through audits and regularly sharing reports with actionable insights.
- Lead quality assurance efforts in business expansion and continuity plans by coordinating with Agro and R&D teams on new potato and corn variety development, evaluating their performance from crop to consumer through trial studies.
- Conduct periodic quality health audits of potato and corn in storage, including sampling and testing via in-house or third-party labs, to assess quality and support consumption planning.
- Drive agro footprint expansion by engaging farmers and farm managers in new geographies, tracking potato performance, and establishing development milestones.
- Promote product quality improvement and compliance to meet gold-standard product requirements, qualifying for the Frito-Lay challenge score.
- Ensure strict adherence to Global Control Standards (GCS) by aligning all Agro QA activities and processes accordingly.
- Monitor and validate the application of CIPC and Huwa San in cold stores to prevent sprouting and suppress rotting of chip stock caused by diseases.
- Lead end-to-end quality testing of seed in greenhouses and fields during harvest to ensure acceptance and proper storage of quality stock.
- Verify and optimize potato handling practices using Impact Recording Device (IRD) and Hot Box technology to evaluate grower performance based on bruise indices of delivered stock.
- Support cold store teams in determining chip stock consumption plans based on quality results.
- Monitor sowing practices to ensure growers follow recommended variety-specific agronomy.
- Collaborate with Agro R&D to measure quality, storage stability, and longevity of varieties, aiming to minimize line losses.
- Perform statistical analysis of field and storage quality data using MiniTab and Power BI to enable timely preventive and corrective actions.
- Conduct quality and food safety audits of PCI and third-party cold stores, ensuring compliance with stringent Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
- Implement Global GAP and Primary Farm Assurance (PFA) standards across PCI contracted growers to achieve agreed qualification percentages year over year.

Required Qualifications

- Master’s or Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy, Food Science, or Technology.
- Strong knowledge of material testing and quality assessment.
- Familiarity with quality and food safety standards.

Experience

- 4 to 5 years of experience in the FMCG sector.

Competencies

- Efficient and comprehensive approach to quality management.
- Strong auditing and influencing skills.
- Excellent communication and facilitation capabilities.
- Innovative mindset with a clear understanding of key business drivers.

This role offers the opportunity to lead critical quality assurance initiatives within a dynamic agricultural supply chain, driving continuous improvement and compliance in alignment with global standards.