Quality Assurance Manager

Job description :

Provides leadership and direction for the facilitys Quality Assurance and Sanitation functions to ensure that all materials used and products produced meet customer requirements and comply with all company, USDA, FDA and other professional / regulatory requirements.

KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

Accountable for facility results regarding food safety, quality, and sanitation performance.

Develop and lead food safety and regulatory programs including internal recall program. Facility liaison with outside labs as required for testing purposes.

Ensure that all new and current products are produced and manufactured according to customer and regulatory specifications.

Serve as primary facility food safety and quality contact for regulatory officials and customers.

Lead the facility through customer, regulatory, and 3rd party food safety and quality audits and corrective actions as needed.

Assist with the development and implementation of company Quality, Food Safety, and Sanitation systems including SSOPs. Ensure adherence to approved programs to assure food safety and product quality.

Serve as the HACCP Coordinator for the facility and maintain / reassess the HACCP and PC Plans as needed.

Develop and train all QA and sanitation staff to ensure the proper levels of testing on raw materials, WIP, finished goods, and the environment meet standards.

Prepare QA and Sanitation annual budget with aggressive stretch targets.

Develop and execute plans to achieve both short term and long term needs.

Conduct audits of all facilities for compliance to established programs and report opportunities for quality improvement.

Primary liaison between the company and its customers and supplier partners for senior management review of performance, long term planning and problem resolution. Act as company agent to commit resources to prevent or correct customer issues with products or services.

Maintain focus on customer expectations, train all levels of the organization, to achieve and recognize technician participation and communicate quality activities internally and externally.

Provide an on-going series of total quality improvement tools and training. Areas of focus will include quality leadership, team-based problem solving, statistical experiments and process control techniques, reliability methodologies, cost of quality and Continuous Process Improvement.

Complete KPI Reports per internal and customer requirements.

Create an appropriate and flexible Quality and Sanitation organization.

Qualifications :

Makes decisions based on a mixture of information, analysis, experience and judgment

Understands how to separate and combine tasks into efficient work flow

Can flex style to adapt to others when necessary and demonstrates ability to update priorities

Works well with others to jointly achieve goals

Monitors and evaluates plans, focuses on results and measures attainment of outcomes

Used different ways of conveying a message to add clarity and meaning to communications

Acts as a resource to approach issues or disagreements with the objective of reaching win / win solutions

Establishes development plans for staff and succession plans for key positions while leading with emotional intelligence

DIMENSIONS

DEPARTMENTS AND FUNCTIONS SUPERVISED

Direct Reports : 6-10

CUSTOMERS AS DEFINED FOR ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

Client Companies customers

Quality Control Supervisors and Technicians

Sales and marketing staff

Production staff

Research and Development staff

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Bachelors Degree in Food Science, Microbiology or other closely related field.

Minimum of 10+ years of Quality Assurance experience in areas of increasing responsibility in a perishable or frozen food manufacturing environment preferably with a company with high volumes of formulas and SKUs.

Minimum of 5 years in a Management position. Prior experience with FDA / USDA a must.

Must have extensive USDA manufacturing experience with strong food processing skills.

Thorough knowledge of FDA (FSMA) and USDA regulations.

Thorough knowledge of HACCP, Preventive Controls, SSOPs, allergens, product traceability, and other food industry regulatory requirements.

GFSI (BRC, SQF) Certification experience.

Well versed in the latest Quality Assurance and Sanitation techniques with the proven ability to develop and implement tactical and strategic plans to drive step-function improvement in quality and consistency.

Proven ability to troubleshoot / problem solve to increase first-pass-yields to near 100% (reduce product defects and double-handling).

Requisite leadership skills and experience to thoroughly develop / challenge the organization and staff to achieve high performance and modify the culture.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to directly interface with the customer on both a tactical and strategic basis. Bi-lingual (Spanish / English) a plus.

Must have advanced computer skills.

A self-starter who can accomplish results in an ambiguous environment with little or no direction along with the ability to make rapid decisions to drive business results.

A team player that can lead and contribute equally depending on the situation to allow for the business needs to be put at the forefront.

Must have the innate ability to take complex situations and simplify them for presentation and training of hourly technicians as well as senior management.

Must be able to handle multiple priorities to achieve desired financial, quality and customer service goals.

Why is This a Great Opportunity :

This Premier Food Manufacturer recently was added to a massive player's portfolio within the big brand food industry with tremendous upside in terms of growth.

High visibility with the senior corporate structure and lots of room to be a key player in the ongoing growth of the firm

Excellent Benefit package

Salary Type : Annual Salary

Salary Min : $ 105000

Salary Max : $ 115000

Currency Type : USD