QA Manager

General Summary

Marathon Cheese Corp in Mountain Home, Idaho is searching for a Quality Assurance Manager. This is a high-profile position reporting directly to the Plant Manager with a functional reporting line to the Director-Quality Control & Assurance and effectively supporting the quality mission. This position will Lead, by example, and support the continuous improvement of food safety and food quality performance at the plant in every aspect of the business.

Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biology or similar scientific discipline, and one to three years of relevant experience; or a Bachelors Degree in a discipline described above, with three to five years of relevant experience.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of: Food Safety and Food Quality auditing, internal and external Preventive controls, including allergen and foreign material controls GMPs, sanitary design, pest control Federal and state food regulations Specifications, including ingredient and packaging, manufacturing and finished goods Analytical equipment and methods in processing quality control, microbiology, chemistry, and organoleptic assessments and evaluations; relevant software applications
• Relevant applications of food technologies
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills
• Ability to successfully interact with a wide variety of people, and provide excellent service to internal and external customers.
• Excellent problem solving skills including root cause , corrective action & preventive action
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Successful supervision of environmental and hygienic microbiological monitoring.

Responsibilities

• Direct and supervise the Quality team in the plant and laboratory.
• Ensure plant compliance with all Quality policies, programs and procedures.
• Manage HACCP and Food Safety Plan development, assessments and validations for new products and processes, including records and file maintenance.
• Ensure compliance of the audit programs for internal and external audits, i.e. FDA, WDATCP, IDA, GFSI/SQF, USDA, NOP, and customers.
• In close cooperation with corporate Quality, liaise with Customer Services and Sales and Marketing on complaint investigation and communication, trending and sustaining resolution.
• Promote Quality awareness and ownership throughout plant operations.
• Drive improvements and monitor Quality metrics/KPIs at the facility.
• Evaluate and assist in developing processes, specifications and critical control points in manufacturing for ongoing Quality Assurance of all finished goods.
• Monitor and assess performance of the quality systems, report its effectiveness to management and implement actions for improvement.
• Develop and execute training programs that support Food Safety and Food Quality objectives.
• Apply administrative and record-keeping processes to support the Quality policies, programs and procedures.
• Manage QA related projects from inception to final reports and implementations.
• Member of Plant Crisis Management Team, e.g. Recall Team
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Work Environment

Work environment involves moderate risk of discomforts which require special safety precautions, e.g. working around moving machinery in the production facility, handling of hazardous materials and sanitation chemicals. Protective clothing or gear such as goggles, gloves and shoes many be required.

Physical Demands

Work requires some physical strain such as standing and walking in production facility, lifting of moderately heavy items such as test equipment and product cases. Other physical demands include climbing, crouching, and reaching.