A leading meal plan and food service company in Dubai is seeking a QHSE Associate to oversee Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental (QHSE) practices across its kitchen facilities and food production operations.
The role focuses on implementing and maintaining health, safety, food safety and environmental management systems while ensuring compliance with UAE regulatory requirements. The successful candidate will conduct routine inspections, identify workplace hazards, coordinate risk assessments, investigate incidents and drive corrective actions to maintain a safe working environment.
This position requires a hands-on professional with experience in food service, catering or hospitality operations, capable of building a strong safety culture through employee training, operational monitoring and continuous improvement initiatives.
Job Responsibilities
- Conduct daily health, safety and food safety inspections across central kitchens and operational facilities to identify workplace hazards, unsafe practices and regulatory non-compliances.
- Monitor compliance with applicable UAE health, safety, environmental and food safety regulations, ensuring all kitchen facilities maintain the required operational standards.
- Conduct workplace risk assessments for existing and new activities, identify potential hazards and implement appropriate risk control measures.
- Investigate workplace accidents, incidents and near misses, perform root cause analysis and coordinate corrective and preventive actions to prevent recurrence.
- Coordinate emergency preparedness activities, including fire safety inspections, evacuation drills, first aid arrangements and emergency response procedures.
- Conduct employee health and safety inductions, toolbox talks and food safety training to promote awareness and safe working practices.
- Monitor the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ensure compliance with safe working procedures for chemical handling, manual handling and machinery operation.
- Ensure contractors, maintenance personnel and external service providers comply with established safety requirements when carrying out equipment repairs, appliance servicing and facility maintenance.
- Support kitchen expansions, facility modifications and new equipment installations by ensuring compliance with relevant municipal, Civil Defence and occupational safety requirements.
- Supervise and monitor cleaning and sanitisation activities across kitchen facilities, ensuring effective hygiene practices and appropriate use of cleaning chemicals.
- Investigate food quality complaints, identify underlying causes and coordinate timely corrective actions with the relevant operational teams.
- Prepare inspection reports, audit findings, incident investigation reports and QHSE performance summaries for management review.
- Monitor non-conformities and corrective action plans, working closely with Facilities, Operations and Business Excellence teams to ensure timely closure.
- Maintain QHSE documentation, inspection records, risk assessment reports, training records and incident registers.
- Monitor changes in applicable health, safety and food safety legislation and support the implementation of company-wide compliance initiatives.
- Drive continuous improvement in workplace safety, food hygiene, operational quality and environmental performance across all kitchen sites.
Job Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health and Safety, Food Technology, Microbiology or a related scientific discipline.
- Minimum 3 years of experience in QHSE, occupational health and safety, quality control or food safety operations.
- Previous experience in catering, central kitchens, meal plan companies, hospitality or food production environments is preferred.
- NEBOSH International General Certificate (IGC) and/or IOSH certification is strongly preferred.
- Level 3 HACCP certification and Food Safety for Catering certification are mandatory.
- Practical experience in workplace risk assessments, incident investigations, hazard identification and emergency preparedness.
- Knowledge of food safety management systems, kitchen hygiene requirements and occupational health and safety practices.
- Familiarity with UAE municipality requirements, Civil Defence inspections and food safety audit procedures.
- Experience coordinating fire drills, first aid readiness, safety inspections and employee training programmes.
- Good analytical, documentation and report-writing skills, with the ability to monitor QHSE performance and identify improvement opportunities.
- Strong interpersonal, communication and leadership skills, with the confidence to coach kitchen employees and operational teams.
- Valid UAE or GCC driving licence, as the position requires travel between operational sites.
Key Skills and Competencies
- Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental (QHSE) Management
- Occupational Health and Safety Compliance
- Food Safety and HACCP Implementation
- Workplace Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
- Incident Investigation and Root Cause Analysis
- Emergency Response and Fire Safety
- Kitchen Hygiene and Sanitisation Monitoring
- Chemical and Equipment Safety
- Contractor and Facilities Safety Management
- Employee Training and Safety Awareness
- Audit Reporting and Corrective Action Management
- UAE Regulatory and Municipality Compliance
Career Insights
QHSE professionals working in central kitchens, catering operations and meal preparation facilities require a combination of occupational health and safety knowledge and practical food safety expertise.
Candidates with NEBOSH IGC, IOSH and HACCP Level 3 qualifications, along with hands-on experience in kitchen safety inspections, risk assessments and UAE regulatory compliance, will be well positioned for this opportunity.
Recommended Certifications:
- NEBOSH International General Certificate (IGC)
- IOSH Managing Safely
- HACCP Level 3
- Food Safety for Catering
- ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems
- ISO 22000 Food Safety Management Systems
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