QA Technologist

**Job Title: QA Technologist**

**Newport Pagnell, UK**

**Scope of the Role**:
The role is fast paced and requires a high level of ownership and autonomy to be successful.

**Key Duties and Responsibilities**:

- Ensuring products are safe, legal, and responsibly sourced, escalating concerns/specific issues to line manager as required
- Responsible for creating and maintaining product technical files to include test reports, toy safety assessments, MSDS, product specifications, bill of materials, bill of substance, user instructions and UKCA/CE Conformity Declarations.
- Artwork review and sign off ensuring labelling is legal and factually correct.
- Proactively inputting product, process, and improvement ideas into multiple NPD projects, often with tight deadlines.
- Input into new defined product approval processes, supplier on-boarding, grading and development initiatives.
- Minimising cost and risk throughout the supply chain and product range ensuring appropriate Due Diligence is applied.
- Working closely with buying teams, briefing compliance testing with costs to support new business tenders.
- Creating and uploading technical specifications to customer compliance portals such as TQC, SGS and ChainPoint.
- Reviewing and assessing Material Safety Data Sheets.
- Timber compliance & FSC support ensuring our legal obligations have been fulfilled.
- Contributing to various projects driving our commitment to environmental sustainability and single use plastic reduction targets.

**Key Skills and Attributes**:

- Hold a degree level or an experienced assistant technologist looking for their next career progression would be preferred.
- Great team player with the ability to support and lead.
- Excellent IT skills are essential.
- Demonstrate ability to manage and influence stakeholders at all levels of the business.
- Capacity to embrace and create change.
- Project management skills and the capability to efficiently operate within a multi-function team.
- Flexible approach and willing to work additional hours when the job requires to meet deadlines.
- Experience of toy safety, GPSD and REACH, with a background in the development of toys/children’s products would be preferred.
- Experience and a thorough understanding of designated and harmonised standards, in particular EN71 series.
- Familiarity with the SEDEX platform.
- Understanding of chemicals, mixture and substances (REACH, SVHC) microbiological would be advantageous.

**Our People**

Our culture and heritage are extremely important to us and Design Group UK has developed into a business that employs over 600 in the UK and 1,000 in the Far East. We believe the success of our business depends on the success of our people and we strive to create a working environment where our employees feel valued and their achievements are recognised and rewarded. We employ capable people with the attitude and aptitude to succeed and deliver, within an enabling environment.

**Diversity and Inclusion**:
We are guided by our values - purpose, pace, passion and people. We are committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to create an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds.

**Benefits**:

- Cycle to work scheme
- Flexitime
- Free parking
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
- Work from home

Schedule:

- 8 hour shift
- Flexitime
- Monday to Friday

**Experience**:

- QA Technologist: 1 year (required)

Work Location: In person