Summary/Objective
Provides leadership and direction for all food safety regulations, policies, and procedures to ensure the highest product quality standards. Working directly with management, leads the plant food safety culture.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Champion corporate food safety culture and strategies to mitigate food safety risk. Administer the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs) and all relevant company policies and food safety regulations. Ensure full compliance with all relevant USDA/FDA and regulatory guidelines established for food manufacturing. Coordinate plant inspection activities with government and regulatory agencies to ensure compliance. Serve as Lead SQF Practitioner to develop and implement Food Safety & Quality, SQF fundamentals, and the Food Safety. Oversee the maintenance, review and validation of the SQF System (food safety fundamentals and the food safety plan). Develop and maintains QA procedures and conducts QC testing on a timely basis to ensure that product specifications are met. Conduct routine quality audits of the plant and coordinate required corrective actions. Oversee and direct testing procedures to assure compliant testing standards and product integrity. Provide leadership with mock recall and business continuity planning. Daily review of HARPC Critical Control Point records. Responsible for Product Hold & Releases. Facilitate & manage sample pulls and retention. Communicate with salespeople regarding product quality issues. Coordinate and respond to customer issues related to product quality. Provide leadership and direction to QA personnel including communicating employee performance expectations, provide coaching and conduct performance reviews. Interact with Operations Management and collaborate to increase product quality and safety. Support of Production Management to troubleshoot deficiencies in quality execution and assures plant preparedness for customer and regulatory inspections. Educate and motivate the plant workforce on Quality Initiatives and serves as the Subject Matter Expert in all aspects of the Quality Program.

Additional Responsibilities
Performs other duties as assigned from management to ensure business operations run smoothly. Responsible for instilling the importance of safety in the workplace through adherence to safety rules, practicing safe work habits, utilizing appropriate safety equipment and reporting unsafe conditions to the appropriate administrator. Utilizing continuous improvement mindset, assist in identifying opportunities to improve processes.Ability to be flexible to the productions needs and adjustments to work-hours.

Knowledge and Skills Requirements
Ability to interact with regulatory personnel, including practical audit experience. Comprehensive knowledge and competency of Food Safety including HACCP principals, CGMPs, SOPs and SSOPs, Pest Control, Allergen Control & Recall programs. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Excellent communication skills both verbal and written. Excellent interpersonal skills and a collaborative management style to create an engaged, motivated and high performing team. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical information, instructions and details and utilize to guide methods and procedures. Advanced project management, leadership, and delegation skills; able to lead projects, assign tasks and achieve results through others Organized and detail oriented Proficient in Microsoft Office suite, basic experience with laboratory software and manufacturing databases.

Certification and License
SQF Practitioner certificate Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) Industrial Supervisor by CDFA Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points Certification

Education and Experience
5+ years of food industry experience in a quality assurance environment, with at least 3 years at the management level. Bachelors Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Microbiology or related fields preferred. Understanding of the SQF Code level 2 and the requirements to implement and maintain SQF system SQF Practitioner/HACCP certified.