Manager, Quality

Premium Waters, Inc. is a growing company in a growing industry and is proud to offer an outstanding lineup of great-tasting, healthy, clean drinking water including Chippewa Springs, Glacier Clear, Glenwood-Inglewood Spring Water, Kandiyohi Premium Water, Nature’s Crystal Spring Water, Nicolet Natural Water and Water Joe.

Whether it is through one of our popular brands of water or our private label services, we are committed to providing the highest quality product and becoming the number one bottled water company in the industry.

There are several defining qualities that filter through the individuals, teams, departments, and locations that represent Premium Waters.

These shared values and practices connect us and help make Premium Waters a great place to work.

Qualifications :

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Minimum of 5 years of manufacturing experience with a beverage, food, or liquid consumer products manufacturer
• HAACP certification and PCQI certification or the ability to become certified upon hiring
• Must have experience with GMP’s, sanitation standards and FDA / SQF requirements.
• Must have supervisory experience, strong facilitation, organizational, and communication skills (oral and written), strong computer skills.
• Effective negotiation skills with the ability to listen.
• Excellent Verbal and Written Communication skills.
• Strong MS Office skills, JDE experience preferred but not required.
• Positive Attitude with the ability to multi-task.
• Ability to work independently, self-starter, energetic.

General Overview :

The Quality Manager position is responsible for managing the Quality Assurance department for our plant location. This position must ensure that the plant produces safe products of the highest and most consistent quality by overseeing various brands and private label production.

This position will aid in the assessment of operations and manage the implementation of corporate quality assurance policies and programs at the plant level.

This is a true hands-on and physical position, but not limited to maintaining and working with water processing equipment on the production floor or outside and exposed to various temperatures.

During the initial starting phase successful candidate will be required to travel to different plants.

Essential Functions :

• Lead implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act at plant.
• Implement and ensure conformance to corporate quality assurance programs to prevent beverage quality or safety issues at manufacturing facilities, which may include an offsite storage facility.
• Monitor finished product quality results to ensure conformance to corporate and customer specifications
• Responsible for overseeing spring site operation and compliance
• This position requires periodic travel to the company spring site.
• Supervise the quality team members.
• Monitor spending within the department to operate within budget.
• Develop skills of direct reports and plant employees.
• Ensure the plant is audit and inspection ready at all times.
• Provide support for all customer, regulatory and third-party audits.
• Identify and lead Process Improvement initiatives.
• Develop a rapport with Plant and QA managers at all company locations.
• Develop and document a complete HACCP and QACCP plan for plant.
• Develop and maintain a specific QA / QC SOP manual for plant.
• Troubleshoot problems associated with finished product production in assigned facilities; investigate root cause, develop and implement corrective actions, and prevent reoccurrence through the development of long-term solutions
• Implement appropriate controls, sample plans, hold / release system modifications, code rotation, batching and processing controls, and other production systems where problems might exist.

Coordinate QA efforts with R&D and vice versa.

• Monitor effectiveness of integrated pest management system
• Work with R&D to ensure that manufacturing and raw material specifications exist and are current and enforced.
• Stay current with all key industry, regulatory and certifying agency guidelines.
• Manage regulatory components within assigned region to include process filings, water quality testing, unannounced inspections, requirements associated with label compliance and net weight, etc.
• Participate and address QA section during our monthly financial calls.

Essential Skills :

• Understand financial information so it can be communicated to all parts of the organization.
• Ability to learn and use software programs such as Presage, Margin Miner and JDE to maintain and evaluate quality data.
• Positive can-do attitude person. Must be flexible to adapt to changes in workload.
• Meets deadlines and maintain a high level of accuracy and confidentiality in a fast-paced teamwork environment.
• Good interpersonal oral and written communication skills.
• Experience in sanitation with ability to develop cleaning procedures based on risk and data.
• Ability to analyze financial statements and company metrics as well as water capital projects and specifications.
• Ability to work independently and simultaneously on multiple projects.
• Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedure and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Knowledge of the structure of the English language including reading, writing, and oral comprehension, and oral and written expression.
• Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer service. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, evaluation of customer satisfaction, and actively looking for ways to help people.
• Knowledge of raw materials, production process, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Ability to consider the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Ability to use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Ability to remain current on changes to industry and regulatory standards.
• Ability to identify complex problems and review related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Key Deliverables :

• Impact : (Operation) : Work achieves operational targets or service standards.
• Communication : (Influence) : Effect change without direct exercise of command where persuasion is required.
• Innovation : (Modify) Adapt or enhance quality or value in existing methods; make better as a part of day-to-day activities.
• Problem Solving : (Difficult) : Problems and issues may be only vaguely defined and require understanding and consideration of other disciplines and job areas.
• Team Leader : Coaches team members (at least three) in skills; leads, schedules, allocates and monitors work.

GMP & PPE Required :

While on the production floor in the plant, you will be required to follow and help to enforce all GMP regulations in the plant.

Anyone entering the production floor must follow the GMP rules in their employee handbook, which includes the required hairnets, beard nets, and earplugs.

It is also required that all personnel wear safety glasses. Follows standard operating procedures including quality checks and procedures for all operations.

Also follows HACCP and SQF requirements for food quality and safety.

Non-Essential Job Duties

Will perform other related work as required.

In the absence of this employee, the direct manager or appointee will cover responsibilities.

Physical Demands :

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Sitting

Approximately 50% of the time

Standing

Approximately 20% of the time

Walking

Approximately 30% of the time

Bending / Stooping

Frequently

Push / Pull

Frequently

Carrying / Lifting up to 40 lbs.

Frequently

Verbal communication

Frequently

Written communication

Frequently

Hearing normal conversation

Frequently

Sight, including near acuity and depth perception

Frequently