Quality Assurance Lead, Food & Non Food (12 month contract)

At Pet Circle, we believe pets deserve the very best, and the people who love them deserve a better way to care for them. Since 2011, we've grown from that single idea into Australia's biggest online pet retailer, with around 700 Pet Circlers across Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines, reshaping how pet parents discover, choose and receive what their pets need.

Pet care is a $15 billion industry in Australia, and as pet ownership continues to grow, so do the expectations of modern pet parents. They want expert advice, personalised experiences, convenience and reliability, all delivered seamlessly. That's where we come in. We're building the future of pet care through technology, innovation and a deep understanding of what pets and their people need. It's a big opportunity, and we're only just scratching the surface.

The role

Please note this is a 12-month contract

We’re looking for an experienced Quality Assurance Lead to support product quality, safety and responsible sourcing across Pet Circle’s product and supplier base, with a particular focus on our own brand portfolio.

Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, you’ll work across food and non-food categories to manage quality assurance activities, support supplier performance and drive continuous improvement. You’ll bring a practical, risk-based approach, balancing day-to-day quality requirements with improvement projects that support our product range and business priorities.

This is a hands-on individual contributor role. Working with internal stakeholders, suppliers and external specialists, you’ll provide technical expertise, translate requirements into practical ways of working and support the consistent application of quality standards.

What you’ll be working on

• Quality assurance and continuous improvement: Review quality practices, assess product and supplier risks, and identify opportunities for improvement. Translate priorities into practical action plans and take ownership of implementation.

• Quality systems and product specifications: Manage and improve quality procedures, document controls and own brand product specifications, ensuring technical information is approved, current, accessible and appropriately maintained.

• Supplier assurance: Manage supplier approval, onboarding and ongoing quality assessments. Review certifications, coordinate audits and work with local and international suppliers to address findings and improve performance.

• Product testing and verification: Coordinate risk-based product testing, including pre-shipment and ongoing checks where appropriate. Work with external laboratories and technical specialists to determine testing requirements, review results and maintain traceable records.

• Product safety and compliance: Provide technical guidance on applicable product safety, packaging, labelling and claims requirements. Coordinate quality reviews and approvals for own brand product launches and changes, working with stakeholders to resolve concerns before products reach customers.

• Responsible sourcing: Manage supplier due diligence, responsible sourcing risk assessments and ethical audit follow-up. Work with suppliers and internal stakeholders on remediation, maintaining evidence to support responsible sourcing and modern slavery reporting.

• Quality issues and corrective actions: Investigate product complaints and non-conformances, identify root causes and coordinate corrective and preventive actions. Monitor trends to inform product and supplier decisions.

• Traceability and incident readiness: Review and test product traceability, withdrawal and recall procedures, including mock-recall exercises. Coordinate responses with suppliers and internal stakeholders, ensuring product safety concerns are escalated promptly.

• Stakeholder support and performance reporting: Provide practical guidance to internal teams and suppliers on quality requirements and responsibilities. Monitor quality performance and communicate priority risks, recommendations and progress to relevant stakeholders.

What we're looking for

• Experience in a retail quality assurance or technical role, with direct responsibility for own brand or private label products and supplier quality.

• A track record of managing and improving quality systems and processes, including end-to-end ownership of product specification management, document control and the implementation of practical improvements.

• Ideal but not required: A qualification in food science, food technology or an equivalent relevant discipline, supported by strong food safety knowledge and practical experience applying HACCP.

• Hands-on experience in supplier approval and auditing, product testing, technical investigations and corrective action management, including working with international suppliers.

• Working knowledge of Australian product safety, labelling and claims requirements, with the ability to translate technical requirements into clear, practical guidance.

• Experience with responsible sourcing, supplier due diligence and ethical audit programmes, including following through on identified risks and remediation.

• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence decisions, constructively challenge where quality or safety is at risk, and build effective supplier relationships.

• A practical, organised and self-directed approach, with the ability to prioritise competing demands and take ownership of work from assessment through to implementation.

• Experience across both food and non-food categories, along with specific pet food knowledge, would be highly regarded. You don’t need to be a specialist in every category, but you should be confident identifying where additional technical expertise is required and coordinating the right support.

Where you'll work

This is a Sydney-based role. Our office sits on top of Wynyard station, it's pet-friendly (of course). Our teams collaborate best and are most effective when together in the office but we work flexibly based on team needs. We believe spending time together in person is important for building strong relationships, collaborating effectively, moving quickly as a team, and having fun!

A few good things

• Heaps of development opportunities - lunch & learns, secondments & unlimited learning courses via Go1

• Flexible working environment

• Up to 50% employee discount

• Product sample giveaways

• Pawrental leave

• Volunteer days for the causes you care about

• Fitness corporate partnership

Why you'll want in

Looking after pets, and the pet parents who love them, is what gets us out of bed. That energy carries into how we work, and into what your days here would feel like.

You'll own your patch and have the room to act on it. We move fast and decide fast, and we'd rather test an idea and learn from it than sit on it. You'll have rich, real-time data at your fingertips to back your thinking, and the freedom to chase an opportunity the moment you spot one. The best idea wins, wherever it comes from.

What holds it together is what we stand for:

• We're better together

• We operate with humble hearts and hungry minds

• Pets matter, so pets and pet parents always have a seat at our table

• We're instinctively curious. Always

Everyone (& their pets) Welcome

We're better when we don't all think the same. Different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences make our work sharper and our days more interesting, so whoever you are, if this role excites you we'd love to hear from you, even if you don't tick every box. And if you need anything adjusted in the process to do your best, just say the word, we're happy to help.