Teresa Lagan

• Delivering strong leadership and management of the Quality Team with a cross functional collaborative approach.
• Successful ongoing compliance of the quality management system using structured routines and disciplines including short interval control.
• Promoting ‘right first time’ & our ‘food safety’ culture by encouraging an operator driven approach focused on training & shop-floor interaction. 25% improvement in RFT in 2024.

• Developing a a general site awareness of the cost of quality.

• Liaising with the commercial the team to resolve customer complaints leading to a 19.4% reduction in complaints per million units since 2019.

• Leading quality investigations cross functionally, delivering effective corrective action and driving process improvement.

• Monitoring & measuring processes in order to gain compliance to the standards of independent bodies and customers.

• Delivering technical expertise and coordinating with R&D, operational, and commercial teams to ensure regulatory compliance and facilitate access to new export markets.
• Liaising in a professional manner with customers and external bodies on quality assurance matters as and when required.

• Managed the QA budget, tracking expenses and ensuring optimal allocation of resources to meet departmental objectives ensuring alignment with financial targets.
• A key member of A3 continuous improvement projects with cross functional teams.
• Providing accessible, timely & competent technical support to all staff.

· Dedicated manager focussed on driving and delivering compliance to all 3rdparty and customer audit standards including ISO, BRC RSPO, Halal. Reduction in the total external non- conformances in 2019.

· Leading member of the cross functional compliance team which delivered a successful conversion from BRC version 7 to version 8 achieving AA accreditation.

· Successful management of internal audit schedules and non-conformance closure. Closure of 436 non-conformance notices between May & August 2018 using cross functional resource and weekly review routines.

· A key member of the HACCP team involved in the review of current and new products & processes to deliver best in class business outputs.

· Focused on thorough investigation of customer complaints and assisting in implementing corrective and preventative action.

· Ensuring all quality assurance requirements are understood and operated by employees and subcontractors through effective communication platforms.

· Strong organisational skills to ensure tasks are completed to schedule and deadlines are met.

· Responsible for the full implementation of the internal auditing schedule including data analysis and trending of site performance.

· Communication of factory status and performance through monthly meetings with senior management and weekly reviews with wider site management team.

· Responsible for compliance of site procedures & policies in accordance with major retailers’ requirements including accreditation to the BRC standard and all relevant legislation.

· Management of non-conformance closure and driving site standards through continuous improvement project teams. Customer facing experience through a frequent external audit schedule.

· Management of factory process control updates and document control register. Development and coaching of QA Team through group and individual training needs.

· Excellent working knowledge of BRC, HACCP, Food Legislation and Food Hygiene.

· Completion of CCP verification and conducting audits including GMP & Engineering.

· Following up on non-conformances raised & generating reports in conjunction with the operations team to implement corrective actions.

· Coaching and development of new members of the team within the technical & operational functions.

· Key member of the site technical team and an integral part of the wider site leadership team, regularly working with operations to help with new launches and product and processes are delivered to a world class standard on time in full.

· Company Director and General Manager at Riverbank Café Coleraine.

· Strategically tailored the customer experience to the needs of the local community with a view to attracting key target markets.

· Demonstrating drive, determination & passion to contribute to business development by maximising sales and profit based on self-directed market research. As General Manager delivering a significant rise in average weekly turnover.

· Management of a team of up to seven employees, with responsibilities in staff recruitment, induction and training, salaries and wages and implementation of staff disciplinary procedures.

· Developing and maintaining a strong network of local contacts with suppliers and negotiating and delivering the best cost ratio for stock.

· Development of an efficient stock management system ensuring maximum company profit.

· Overseeing all servicing and maintenance of equipment used within the café to ensure business continuity.