Who we are
We are the leaders in the fresh prepared food manufacturing industry. We are fast developing a strong presence in the US as we continue to disrupt the eating habits of US consumers. We are passionate about the food we make and demand for our products is high. You may not know our Bakkavor name but our customers are some of the best-known grocery chains across the globe.
In total, we have 19,000 employees worldwide. Here in the US we are playing an instrumental part in driving change in fresh prepared foods to some of the major retailer chains and in the UK we are the market leader in all categories we serve.
Our mission is: to develop and produce innovative, commercially successful, great-tasting food that offers choice, convenience and freshness to people around the world.
Our values are:
- Respect & Trust Each Other
- Be Proud Of What We Do
- Keep The Customer At The Heart Of What We Do
- Get It Right, Keep It Right
SUMMARY
The Sr. FSQA Manager is responsible for managing the Food Safety Quality Assurance Department. They provide leadership and direction to their team to obtain safe, quality food products under a safe environment, cost control, and customer orientation. The position manages the daily quality and food safety function at the Bakkavor site, assuring compliance with food safety programs, internal/external quality and in alignment with our customer’s requirements, regulatory agencies (USDA, FDA, and Local Health Department) and Company’s strategy. The Sr. FSQA Manager oversees plant-level and Food Safety Quality Assurance training of personnel, and cross-functionally interacts with the Production, Sanitation, Maintenance, and Warehousing departments. The employee’s leadership role is to promote a culture of safety, food safety, quality and execution excellence. This position assures that policies/procedures are documented, implemented, and that the facility staff is appropriately trained and has the proper tools to conduct daily food safety and quality assurance tasks successfully.
COMPETENCIES
- Technical Expertise (Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory)
- Leadership ( Vision, Organizational Savvy, Team Builder, Action-Results-Value Driven)
- Customer Focus (Balanced Customer- Business/Science Oriented Decision-Making)
- Positive Behavior (Attention to Detail, Can do attitude, Flexible, adaptable, Multitasker)
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following, but are not limited to:
- Ensures strict product food safety and quality specifications, based on customer’s requirements and regulatory agencies, and takes the lead to work with other plant departments to enforce such specifications.
- Works with New Product Development to implement food safety and quality requirements for each new product, including visual standards.
- Assures the proper handling and disposition of non-conforming products. Leads cross-functional team to identify the root cause of deviations and develop corrective/preventive actions.
- Conducts ongoing product review/ documentation review to assure analytical, sensory, and microbiological compliance to specifications.
- Assure all HACCP/Food Safety Plan deviations are appropriately documented and corrective/preventive actions are successfully implemented.
- Reviews, communicates, and leads the site cross-functional teams on internal product failures, environmental issues, and customer/consumer feedback investigations. Assures that corrective and preventive actions are successfully implemented.
- Assures food safety, quality, and process activities are achieved to deliver on-time product launches and continuous improvement projects (materials, packaging, efficiencies, and cost reduction).
- Implements and monitors environmental monitoring program and sanitation cleaning validation. Reviews result and implement programs to improve. Conducts thorough investigations and documents findings.
- Participates in customer visits and 3rd party audits representing the FSQA group while maintaining GFSI certification.
- Works with regulatory agencies to resolve issues and point of contact for USDA inspectors.
- Maintains and monitors quality and food safety KPIs and works cross-functionally to escalate any issues directly with the appropriate manager and Senior Leadership Team.
- Validates food safety and quality systems by establishing validation and verification programs to demonstrate the effectiveness of programs.
- Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
- Acting as a coach, mentor and role model for his or her direct reports as well as the company’s ethics and values; maintaining the highest corporate governing principles.
- Inspire, motivate and develop the team to ensure they meet their own potential, needs and standards of the business and succession planning requirements of the business and US group. Ensure personal development plans are in place and regularly reviewed to confirm progress is aligned with business and individual needs.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
This position manages a department of 5-10. This position carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
QUALIFICATIONS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
EDUCATION
- Strong Academic credentials, including a bachelor’s degree in food science or other related degree.
- HACCP and PCQI Certification Required.
- SQF Practitioner preferred.
EXPERIENCE
- Minimum of 7 years' experience in the ready to eat food industry
- GFSI Experience required.
- 5 years working at an FSQA Manager level is preferred
- A proven record of accomplishment in leading FSQA operations through significant change and growth.
- Experience working in industry regulated by FDA, USDA required with ready to eat experience preferred.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Strong communication skills (verbal and written). Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.
- Ability to read, analyzes, and interprets professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
- Has the ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
- Has the ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and production employees.
FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsible for oversight of their areas of responsibility of the plant’s Food Safety & Quality Management Systems. This position provides oversight and guidance to staff members to ensure the manufacturing of safe and quality food and is responsible for identifying product that does not meet the food safety and quality requirements of the company and preventing its distribution.
