Vice President of Food Safety & Quality

Job Description

A rapidly growing, nationally recognized food manufacturer is seeking a strategic and hands-on Vice President of Food Safety & Quality to lead enterprise-wide FSQA initiatives across USDA-regulated and SQF-certified operations.


This organization is known for its strong culture, family-oriented environment, investment in people, expanding product lines, and long-term career growth opportunities. The company has built a reputation for delivering high-quality, great-tasting products while maintaining an unwavering commitment to food safety, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.


This is a highly visible executive leadership role partnering closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, R&D, and executive leadership to drive food safety performance, strengthen customer confidence, and support continued expansion across multiple facilities and co-packers.


What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead and enhance enterprise-wide food safety and quality systems across multiple manufacturing facilities and co-packers
• Ensure compliance with USDA, FDA, SQF, HACCP, BRC, and customer-specific standards
• Drive a proactive culture focused on food safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence
• Partner closely with R&D to support commercialization, reformulations, ingredient innovation, and compliant product launches
• Oversee audits, inspections, corrective actions, supplier quality programs, and risk mitigation initiatives
• Lead recall readiness and crisis management activities when necessary
• Develop and mentor high-performing FSQA teams across corporate and plant operations
• Establish and monitor KPIs tied to food safety, quality, customer satisfaction, and compliance
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, Procurement, and Supply Chain to improve performance and consistency across the organization
• Travel domestically as needed to support plants, suppliers, and co-packers

What They’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, or related field
• 10+ years of progressive food safety and quality leadership experience within food manufacturing
• Strong background in USDA-regulated and SQF-certified environments
• Experience supporting products such as:
  • Fully cooked or raw meat products
  • Bakery products
  • Portable meals/snack trays
  • Frozen entrees
  • Breaded or enrobed products
• Extensive experience managing audits, supplier quality, and co-packer relationships
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence executive leadership
• Strong understanding of product development and commercialization from a food safety and regulatory perspective
• Experience leading recalls, crisis management, and corrective action programs

Why This Opportunity Stands Out

• Stable, growing organization with expanding product lines
• Executive visibility and influence across the business
• Collaborative, team-oriented culture
• Company invests heavily in employees and leadership development
• Long-term growth potential within a fast-growing organization
• Family-oriented environment with strong leadership support
• Opportunity to make a major impact on company-wide food safety strategy and operational performance

For more information or immediate consideration contact Serena Rupert at View email address on click.appcast.io

All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, age, color, sex (including pregnancy), religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable laws or regulations. GPAC (Growing People and Companies) is an award-winning search firm specializing in placing quality professionals within multiple industries across the United States since 1990. We are extremely competitive, client-focused and realize that our value is in our ability to deliver the right solutions at the right time.