Job Description
Director of Quality - (Food Safety, Quality, Regulatory and Sanitation)Parry Sound, ONOn-siteFood & BeverageThe Company:Our client is a fast growing premium food manufacturing company selling to some of the largest Retail / Grocery customers across Canada and the USA. They continue to expand operations, production, and improve quality standards, striving to become a ‘best in class’ facility at what they do. The Opportunity:This opportunity offers a wide scope, to lead and improve all things Quality, Food Safety, Regulatory, and Sanitation practices. Leading a team that is motivated, in a great community away from the hustle and bustle of the GTAJReporting to the VP Operations, the Director of Quality you will be responsible for the integrity, design, and management of the Food Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Compliance programs including the Quality Management System and certifications. The role has overall management accountability for the QA department and is responsible for championing the effort to continuously improve the FSQMS as the advocate for the Business, it’s consumers, and customers. Job Duties & Responsibilities:Design, implement, and continuously improve the quality management system including establishing measurement methods, KPI’s and improvement priorities and plans that are aligned with Company’s and/or customer quality requirements and approved specifications.Design, implement, and continuously improve the food safety program including establishing measurement methods, KPI’s and improvement priorities and plans that ensure the achievement of GFSI certification through the SQF audit process. Responsible for leading the HACCP team and all Food Safety programs by working closely with all key stakeholders within other departments.Create, maintain, and execute cross functional Quality processes/solutions / support for new product introductions (NPD) and commercialization.Oversee the product complaint process including reporting, investigating, tracking and trending to ultimately reducing complaint rates with specific actions plans.Design, lead & maintain Company’s product recall process that forms part of the food safety program.Design and lead internal quality and food safety training and education programs that inform, motivate, and empower team members with the knowledge, competence, and confidence necessary to avoid, mitigate and manage food safety and quality risks across our plants, processes, and products. Monitor and improve the success and effectiveness of such programs.Lead customer specification compliance and assess, develop, and implement process and methodologies required to continuously reduce product variability and improve overall product quality through alignment and collaboration with operations teams at all Company’s facilities. Responsible for ensuring the Quality team, in conjunction with plant personnel, continually monitor and improve appropriate GMP’s and execute accurate and efficient quality testing within Company’s standards.Responsible for ensuring all inbound material sampling and testing methodologies as well as appropriate documentation are validated and ensure compliance with all written specifications.Proactively scans the quality/food safety/regulatory landscape to ensure that the Company’s FSQMS is built to ensure that our products comply with federal, state, provincial, and local regulations in the markets where our products are produced, distributed, and sold. Champion the continuous improvement (CI) journey through root cause analysis investigations, current process/SOP evaluation, data analysis, and definition of measurable KPI standards and documented process methodologies/standard operating procedure (SOP’s).Makes decisions with a natural bias for action while assuring food safety, regulatory, and quality requirements are met along with a balanced consideration for the needs of the business and cross functional stakeholders.Smoothly navigates and influences product safety and integrity decisions across all departments and stakeholders, while delivering functional objectives and product standards.Responsible for the structure, training and education, and strategic vision for the Quality department and staff. Train and orient staff in the specific functions and tasks of their job, as well as all Health and Safety Practices and procedures.Responsible for the development and management of overall Quality budget within approved parameters.Promote and comply with Crofter’s Health and Safety policies and procedures including the wearing of PPE, Lockout/Tagout, WHMIS, etc. Other duties as may be assigned to the Employee as required. Key Qualifications & Competencies:Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Food Science, Engineering, or related technical field. Master’s Degree within a related discipline is considered an asset.10+ years’ experience in a quality/food safety role managing technical disciplines such as food safety, laboratory management, quality management systems, food process engineering, product commercialization, and commodity specification within a fast-paced food manufacturing environment.10+ years’ experience managing/developing succession ready Quality teamsProven experience elevating a company from a small scale entrepreneurial driven company to medium sized structured organizationDemonstrated successful delivery of HACCP/GFSI (SQF) /PCQI/BRC compliance and Audit experience. Clear passion for food safety.Demonstrated success delivering Quality requirements via new product/innovation/commercialization teams cross functionally.Proven Continuous improvement CI methodology experience (Root Cause Analysis, Lean/CI tools, TPM)Practical knowledge and detailed understanding of food law in both Canada and the USA.Integrated sanitation and pest control management experience.Capable communicator across and within disciplines. Proven collaborator, influencer, coach, educator, decision maker, and conflict mediator.Comfortable influencing and building collaborative relationships at all levels of the organization from the shop floor to the boardroom internally, and with regulators, suppliers, and customers externally.Appetite for pushing the status quo on quality and food safety standards through analytics, measurement, and critical thinking. Capable project and change manager who enjoys building just the right amount of process and structure.This role is required to be 100% onsite