Director of Quality

Director of Quality

The Director of Quality is an enterprise-wide leadership role responsible for designing, implementing, and continuously improving Church Brothers' Quality programs across field, harvesting, cooler, and supplier operations. This role owns the Quality strategy and execution, serves as the primary decision-maker for Quality matters, and acts as the central point of escalation for quality-related risks impacting customers, product integrity, and brand reputation.

Full authority to place product on Quality Hold, approve disposition, and require corrective and preventive actions.

Authority to reject raw product based on quality specifications and inspection results.

Final decision-making authority when Quality conflicts with production, in coordination with Operations leadership.

Independent authority for day-to-day quality and process improvements that do not require significant capital expenditure.

Ownership of enterprise Quality programs, dashboards, metrics, and reporting.

Design, implement, and maintain companywide Quality programs, policies, manuals, and SOPs across field, harvesting, cooler, and supplier operations.

Lead the overhaul and standardization of Quality programs, including product evaluation (raw, WIP, finished), shelf-life evaluation, and leaker reduction initiatives.

Build and maintain Quality dashboards and KPI reporting, including claims reduction, leaker rates, seal integrity, customer scorecards, and shelf-life trends.

Serve as the primary Quality contact for customers, including onsite QA visits, audits, escalations, and ongoing quality discussions (e.g., Sysco, Peak, Markon).

Directly interface with Commodity Managers and Agricultural Operations on incoming raw quality assessments and corrective actions.

Oversee implementation of Quality programs by facility and field teams; ensure consistent execution and verification.

Lead root cause analysis for quality complaints and ensure corrective actions are implemented and sustained.

Prepare and present technical quality reports, trend analyses, and executive-level summaries.

Ensure data integrity and accuracy within Quality systems (e.g., SafetyChain, Famous) and related reporting tools.

Identify quality risks proactively, including incoming raw defects, leaker trends, moisture control, and process variability.

Ensure Quality specifications are current, documented, and adhered to for Church Brothers and private-label products.

Oversee training and calibration of Quality teams, including SOP alignment and defect evaluation consistency.

Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Sales, R&D, Cooling, Scheduling, and Shipping to resolve quality issues and improve outcomes.

This role is primarily responsible for Quality programs and outcomes. Ownership of Food Safety programs, including FSMA, HACCP, and PCQI requirements, remains with Food Safety leadership. The Director of Quality is expected to maintain strong working knowledge of Food Safety principles and to immediately escalate potential food safety risks to the appropriate Food Safety leaders. This position, while quality focused, will remain an active participant in Food Safety discussions/team meetings regarding current FSQA programs, program modifications/updates, root cause analysis or problem solving, regulatory inquiries/visits, etc.

Reports directly to the Vice President of Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory Compliance.

Provides enterprise-wide Quality leadership.

Leads Quality program direction while facility-level QA personnel management (hiring, discipline, performance management) remains with site leadership.

Maintains indirect (dotted-line) influence with supporting Quality team members.

Success in this role will be measured by:

Reduction in quality claims, particularly VA-related items.

Improvement in leaker and seal integrity rates.

Improved customer scorecards and audit outcomes.

Effective shelf-life reporting with actionable recommendations.

Consistent, accurate, and timely Quality reporting.

Bachelor's degree in food science, Agriculture, or related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.

Minimum of 7+ years of progressive experience in produce Quality or related disciplines.

Demonstrated leadership experience in multi-site or enterprise environments.

Strong working knowledge of fresh produce defects, processing, and quality systems.

Bilingual English/Spanish required.

Strong decision-making skills under time-sensitive conditions.

Strong analytical, reporting, and presentation skills.

Ability to influence across functions and leadership levels.

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).

Valid driver's license with acceptable driving record.