Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager

The Quality Assurance Manager will provide leadership, direction, and day-to-day support to the organizations managing the processes that are critical to delivering unsurpassed quality to the North American Salads and Healthy Snacking businesses. This involves providing leadership, overall management, measurement, analysis, feedback, and business related reports on raw, intermediate, and finished product quality.The Quality Assurance Manager will provide leadership, direction, and day-to-day support to the organizations managing the processes that are critical to delivering unsurpassed quality to the North American Salads and Healthy Snacking businesses. This involves providing leadership, overall management, measurement, analysis, feedback, and business related reports on raw, intermediate, and finished product quality. In addition, this position will be accountable for the overall strategic quality leadership, directly integrating it into the business to drive revenue and growth, including quality system development & execution in support of business objectives.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Quality System Development / Implementation: Design, develop, and implement quality systems across the supply chain. This would include, but is not limited to, identification of critical quality parameters, appropriate monitoring and controls of same, working with R&D and the business to develop consumer relevant specifications, and designing and implementing appropriate verification / validation schemes and resulting business reporting capabilities.
• Process Control: Development, implementation, and maintenance of standardized product specifications, process SOP's and performance targets. Continual research and identification of new technologies and processes to improve quality, as well as the ability to apply SPC concepts to reduce process variation, improve quality, and optimize cost.
• Quality Reporting: Develop appropriate business related reports to drive quality improvement across the supply chain. This includes historical quality metrics and data to develop and track product quality and cost of quality failure. Ensure robust quality inspection processes. Manage systems that integrate product/process quality data to ensure delivery of the highest quality product to customers and consumers.
• Technical Consulting: Provide technical quality expertise and tools to help optimize resources and quality while minimizing cost.
• Strategic Consulting: Work closely with Ag Operations, procurement, manufacturing, and logistics to develop appropriate quality processes and procedures across the supply chain. Assess the impact of any market and/or supply chain process improvement to ensure quality is at the center of all final decisions. Support customer relations by providing support to sales team with information, audits, and customer support.
• Food Safety: execute against the organizations food safety requirements and continually improve to address changing market, regulatory, and company conditions.
• Organizational Development: Ensure the right resources are in place to adequately support quality and business needs. Responsible for the management and development of field and manufacturing quality resources supporting the North American business. This includes effective use of feedback, salary planning, reward and recognition programs, and development of individual development opportunities with integration of competency models.

Preferred Education / Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science or related field. Masters degree preferred.
• 4-7 years' experience in quality assurance or process control with 2 4 years as a manager.
• Agriculture or specific produce experience is preferred.
• Certification in Quality disciplines (i.e. ASQ CQE, CQA, etc.) preferred.

Desired Skills and Qualifications:

• Experience in agriculture (growing and/or protecting/auditing), as well as the processing of foods (floor, lab, and quality assurance management).
• Advanced knowledge of statistics, including fundamental analyses, SPC, DOE, and quality engineering tools.
• Proven analytical skills resulting in decision making that protects the customer, consumer and the brand.
• Demonstrated ability to develop people, teams, and oneself through innovative means.
• Demonstrated ability to both lead a team and work in a matrix organization.
• Ability to influence at all levels of the organization and across all functions.
• Ability to prioritize duties in a changing environment and still meet business objectives.
• Ability to communicate well in both written and verbal form, in both small team and large public venues.
• Effective presentation, and public speaking skills.
• Strong computer skills and proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to develop and adhere to department budget.

Other Information:

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed, as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.