Tupande Senior Quality Assurance Supervisor (Fixed-term)

About One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund equips 5.5 million smallholder farmers to make their farms more productive. Across nine countries that together are home to two-thirds of Africa's farmers, we provide high-quality farm supplies, tree seedlings, accessible credit, modern agronomic training, and a wide range of other agricultural services. On average, this model enables any farmer to increase their income and assets on supported land by more than 35 percent, while permanently improving their resilience. This is all made possible by our team of 9,000+ full-time staff, drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. To learn more, please see our Why Work Here blog post.

Our Kenya program, founded in 2006, operates under the local brand Tupande. Close to 500 staff in our Kakamega headquarters support 1,747 field staff and serve more than 1 million farmers. In Nairobi, around 50 staff support global functions like procurement, recruitment, government relations, and communications.

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Quality Assurance Supervisor with a minimum of 2 years experience who will support the daily compliance and quality assurance processes of the macadamia factory from receipt through processing to dispatch of products ensuring compliance to customer, internal, legal and statutory requirements

Responsibilities

Materials Management (Raw & Processing Aids)

• Raw Material Intake: Oversee the Raw Material receiving checks. Verify the quality of incoming raw nuts (Good quality, SKR, Moisture content)
• Packaging Inventory: Manage the quality of packaging materials and other processing aids before acceptance to the processing factory

Product Integrity & Quality Assurance

• Finished Product Compliance: Oversee the grading and classification of macadamia kernels to ensure they meet international standards and customer specifications regarding size, color, and quality defect limits.
• In Process Quality Control: Manage the hourly sampling regime at key stages (Cracking, Sorting, Drying). Ensure operators are correctly identifying critical defects such as immature nuts, insect damage, and mold.
• Sensory Analysis: Enforce organoleptic testing protocols to detect early signs of rancidity (oxidative stability) or off-flavors caused by improper drying or storage.
• Hold & Release: Authority to place On Hold any batch of nuts that fails moisture specs or shows signs of contamination, preventing it from reaching the packing line.
• Verify monitoring records for defined Critical Control Points (e.g., drying temperatures for Salmonella control, metal detection for physical hazards).
• Conduct independent verification checks on CCP records to ensure accuracy and prevent record falsification
• Monitor Operational Prerequisite Programs (OPRPs) such as allergen controls (if applicable), sieving, or sorting performance.
• Immediately escalate deviations from critical limits and ensure corrective actions are implemented and documented.

Management of Team Performance (Quality of Inspectors)

• Monitoring the Monitors, You are responsible for the accuracy of your team.
• QA Inspectors: Support in the incoming material checks, in process line checks, sorting/operators team quality of work against standards and final packing inspectors quality of work
• Sanitation Inspectors: Inspect the cleaners work after they finish but before production starts. Provide immediate feedback if residue is found.
• Training & Competency: Maintain training matrices for both teams. Ensure sanitation staff understand Hygiene, sanitation and chemical safety and QA staff understand sampling validity, process checks and customer requirements
• Resource Allocation: Manage shift rotas to ensure coverage during peak seasons, ensuring no production line runs without QA presence and no cleanup happens without supervision.

Final Product Confirmation & Release Support

• Review laboratory results, moisture confirmations, grading reports, and packaging compliance before recommending product release
• Verify finished products meet internal specifications, export standards, and customer-specific requirements
• Ensure finished products are not dispatched without documented quality confirmation
• Maintain records of product approvals and quality release confirmations

Prerequisite Programs (PRP) Inspection & Reporting

• Conduct routine PRP inspections covering sanitation effectiveness, pest control trends, glass & hard plastic control, environmental monitoring, hygiene compliance, and waste management
• Review pest control service reports and escalate adverse trends
• Support zoning enforcement between Low Risk and High Care areas to prevent cross-contamination
• Document inspection findings and report gaps for corrective action

Career Growth and Development

We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You'll have weekly check-ins with your manager, access to mentorship and training programs, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months, and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You'll have the opportunity to shape a growing organization and build a rewarding long-term career.

Qualifications

Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, you will have:

Technical skills:

• Minimum academic Qualification: A minimum of a diploma or degree in food science or food technology
• Knowledge of food quality standards: Must have either ISO 22000 experience, HACCP, FSSC 20000, BRCGS,
• Attention to detail: Able to identify issues on time for their escalation and problem resolution
• People Management: Experience in managing a team
• Attention to detail: Ensures all your tasks are completed to the business’ specifications.
• Problem-solving: Identify solutions to problems encountered
• Written and verbal communication: Able to communicate in word and written form of communication
• Ability to work as part of a team: Play role of a team member to assist the team to accomplish common goal
• Time management: Manage activities for your deliverables
• Experience in Macadamia processing preferred

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Sagana, Kenya

Benefits

Health insurance, paid time off

Contract Duration

2 years

Eligibility

This role is only open to citizens or permanent residents of Kenya.

Application Deadline

26 December 2026. Please note that we hire on a rolling basis which means that applications are reviewed and processed on a continuous basis until a hire is made.

One Acre Fund never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the interview process. Official One Acre Fund emails will always arrive from an @ address. Please report any suspicious communication here (globalhotline@oneacrefund.org), but do not send applications or application materials to this email address.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and anti-racism are deeply connected to our organization's mission and purpose. One Acre Fund aspires to build a culture where all staff feel consistently valued, represented, and connected – so that our team can thrive as professionals, and achieve exceptional impact for the farmers we serve.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.