Food Safety Quality Manager

About the role

We are hiring a Food Safety & Quality Manager at the largest pizza plant in the world, home to our famous Red Baron and Tony’s brand frozen pizzas, located in Salina, KS. This position is responsible for managing the Food Safety and Quality (FSQ) and Sanitation functions for a manufacturing facility, ensuring compliance to the Company's food safety and quality objectives.

Responsibilities

• Directs activities necessary for the cleaning and sanitizing of production, packaging, dry storage areas, and production equipment in accordance with USDA (US Dept of Ag), SSOP (Standard Sanitation Operating Procedures), HACCP (Hazardous Analysis Critical Control Points), Preventive Controls (FSMA compliance), FDA (Food & Drug Administration), and overall good manufacturing practices.
• Serves as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) coordinator and Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) for the facility. Also serves as the on-site recall coordinator.
• Assures execution of daily product cuttings, specification approval, and SPC program execution.
• Serves as key contact with regulatory agency personnel (FSIS, FDA, Military, State).
• Leads resolution and remediation, utilizing plant and corporate resources, of regulatory issues and requests.
• Leads resolution and remediation, utilizing plant and corporate resources, of customer, food safety, and product quality issues and requests.
• Maintains strong working relationship with appropriate personnel in each Schwan Business Unit and provides support and maintains involvement with follow-up regarding quality and/or food safety issues noted by customers.
• Responsible for the Food Safety of all products and processes (i.e., Hold management program, Corrective Action program, facility audits).
• Maintains identity preserved products.
• Responsible for specification compliance on ingredients, packaging, and finished goods.
• Responsible for maintenance of FSQ Documentation SharePoint site for facility.
• Coordinates annual employee training programs for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP's), HACCP, and other food safety/quality issues as necessary.
• Coordinates preparation for and corrective follow-up actions for third-party facility/program inspections.
• Directs, trains, and develops subordinates.
• Develops and implements food safety, regulatory, and quality strategic plan for site in concert with corporate strategic plan.
• Identifies areas of need to drive greatest improvement in food safety, quality, and product consistency for the facility, providing positive impact to plant-driven metrics. Utilizes and critically evaluates data from a variety of sources to identify root cause and lead teams toward resolution.
• Partners with key stakeholders to maintain active work on prioritized list of projects focused on improving product quality, consistency, food safety & regulatory compliance, with regular updates on progress. Effectively leads projects to completion in a timely manner with demonstrated results.
• Understands internal and external food safety & quality processes and reports to facility leadership on quality issues, trends, and opportunities with the purpose of driving continuous improvement.
• Applies continuous improvement tools (SPC, Lean, Six Sigma, etc.) in problem solving, data analysis, and implementation of process improvements to drive product consistency and reduce product defects (consumer complaints, foreign material, amount of held product, etc.).
• Designs and implements methods for process control, process improvement, testing, and inspection.
• Plans and conducts the analysis, inspection, design, test, and/or integration of processes to assure the quality of ingredients, packaging, work in progress (WIP), or finished product.
• Actively leads and supports continuous improvement activities and projects, delivering improved product consistency and increasing efficiency to impact the broader company and the FSQ team.
• Responsible to conduct yourself and ensure your subordinates (if applicable) conduct themselves in a manner consistent with company mission, values, code of ethics, policies, and other standards of conduct.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree (U.S. or foreign) in Microbiology, Chemistry, Food Science, Food Safety and Technology, or a closely related field OR master’s degree in (U.S. or foreign) in Microbiology, Chemistry, Food Science, Food Safety and Technology, or a closely related field.
• With qualifying bachelor’s degree, 5 years of experience as FSQ Manager for a facility manufacturing food subject to USDA or FDA inspection.
• With qualifying master’s degree, 2 years of experience as an FSQ Manager for a facility manufacturing food subject to USDA or FDA inspection.
• Strong technical skills in area of focus (microbiology and/or chemistry) with ability to interpret general technical and scientific results and perform analytical tests.
• Sound mathematical and basic food science understanding.
• Strong understanding of food safety, HACCP, and basic food regulatory requirements.
• Working knowledge of basic quality control and quality assurance programs and concepts.
• Good knowledge of statistics and interpretation of experimental data.
• Basic understanding of the manufacturing environment and production operation.
• Basic knowledge of Statistical Process Control (SPC) applications.
• Strong analytic and project management skills.
• Strong computer skills and ability to learn technical software.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite of programs with strong Excel skills.
• Proven people management and delegation skills.
• Ability to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing with demonstrated influence management skills.
• Strong technical and business writing skills.
• Strong presentation and leadership skills.
• Comfortable in small group and large group settings.
• Detail-oriented, takes initiative, and ability to work with a sense of urgency in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to develop positive relationships and work cross-functionally.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $93,000 to $154,000 annually with eligibility for a 15% annual incentive bonus, which is based on organizational performance. The range reflects factors such as experience, skills, education, certifications, and location, and starting salary may fall anywhere within the stated range.

Benefits

Beyond base salary, we offer a competitive Total Rewards package designed to support your overall well-being, including comprehensive health benefits, time off programs, and retirement and financial offerings.