Position Title
Quality Assurance Supervisor
Department
Quality
Reports to (Title)
VP of Food Safety & Quality Assurance
Type of Contributor (Individual, Supervisor or Manager)
Individual
FLSA Status
(HR use only)
Exempt (Salary)
Backup
QA Specialist
POSITION SUMMARY
Valley Fine Foods is a family-owned manufacturer of gourmet meals with a mission to create healthful, 100% natural, and convenient foods. Located near the renowned Napa Valley in California, we are inspired by the region’s rich history of fresh and local produce, gourmet cuisine, and fine wines. Our products can be found in retail and club locations nationwide.
Objective: The Quality Assurance Supervisor will ensure the Yuba City, CA plant’s Quality Assurance department functions efficiently, accurately, safely and within local, state and federal food safety and health regulations. Lead the Quality Assurance team and interact closely with Quality Assurance Specialists in satisfying the needs of Customers (both internal and external), Sales, Marketing and R&D, Regulatory, and external auditors. Continually improve the quality and service level of the Department through internal audits and records review. Train, review and revise Quality policies and procedures as they pertain to the plant Quality Assurance Department under the direction of the Company's Vice President of Quality Assurance, as necessary. Motivate, train, and develop direct reports to achieve these goals. This position will lead Food Safety and Quality programs at the Benicia, CA manufacturing facility. This includes leading implementation and daily program oversight of HACCP including USDA as well as FDA Food Safety Plans under FSMA including SQF certification and compliance to Food Safety requirements and other related customer initiatives.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
· Lead integration of the current quality assurance and food safety processes into one integrated process on the production floor as directed by VP of Food Safety and Quality Assurance. This includes applicable HACCP (USDA) and FSMA (Preventive Controls for Human Foods) regulations including regulatory audits and customer audits, standard operating procedures (SOP's), incoming ingredient inspections, field complaints and standardized work instructions.
o Maintain systems to assure compliance to all applicable Regulatory requirements as well as GFSI – (SQF) and customer requirements.
o Oversee plant compliance and be responsible for assessing, problem-solving and preventing food safety and quality issues within the facility.
o Reports change to program, processes, procedures, ingredients, equipment, etc. for SQF reassessment.
o Communicate non-conformances (product quality or regulatory) to FSQA and operations senior management in a timely manner. Oversee corrective action process when non-conformances occur.
o Maintain control functions of incoming raw material, in-process and final product inspections. Involved with review of process control points to ensure product meet specifications. Recommend measures to improve quality of product and quality systems.
o Conduct internal audits against VFF company programs, customer and governmental standards.
o Oversee the Company Environmental Monitoring Program at the plant interacting with the QA Specialist and Sanitation Supervisor on a routine basis regarding pre-op activities and environmental swabbing result trends.
o Conduct an annual review and evaluation of company Food Safety and Sanitation SOP’s, SSOP, and Sanitation Schedules.
o Oversee the Company Pest Control program at the plant to ensure the third party PCO carries out the Scope of Service on an ongoing basis.
o Identify and ensure all applicable training is conducted with provisions for maintenance of all training records for critical food safety and quality requirements, as well as Federal, State, and Local regulations. Document and maintain training registry for all employees at the manufacturing site.
· Directly supervises and guides FSQA team members at the processing plant.
o Hire, supervise, and train FSQA Specialists in the verification and validation of food safety programs such as HACCP, SSOP, and pre-requisites.
o Responsible for conducting performance evaluation, coaching, and counseling of the facility FSQA team.
· Interact with the management team to communicate functional department needs and provide recommendations for addressing non-conformances.
· Ensure established Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) for Food Safety and Quality are accurately monitored and trended to provide monthly reports to VP of Food Safety and Quality Assurance that measure reportable incidents, product complaints, returned goods and quality deviations for continuous improvement.
· Interface with USDA/FSIS personnel for regulatory non-compliance resolution and information requests.
· Actively participate in projects (FSQA or operations) and activities to modify, retrofit and improve performance from a food safety and/or quality perspective.
· Other duties assigned by VP of Quality Assurance
REQUIREMENTS
Education:
· Bachelor's degree in Science, microbiology, food science, etc.
Experience:
· A minimum of 3 years quality management experience preferably in a manufacturing environment with proven leadership skills and strong organizational skills
· Firm knowledge and understanding of manufacturing plant processes and sanitation practices preferably with USDA and FDA experience. Firm grasp of microbiological concerns in a food plant environment. Good written and oral communication skills as this position will interact heavily with customers, both internal and external to Valley Find Foods. Ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment and extrapolate information to different aspects of the job. Prior management of people required.
· Will oversee and supervisor a staff of up to three manufacturing plant Quality Assurance Soecialist and their direct reports. Develop programs/policies and procedures (SOP's) and disseminate information (documents, data, paperwork, database, policies and procedures) internally (R&D, QA, Marketing, Sales) and externally (customers).
· Training Certificates from an International HACCP Alliance based training course, Seafood Alliance Training course and FSPCA Preventive Controls Qualified Individual Training Course preferable.
· Competent to implement and maintain HACCP-based food safety plans, have an understanding of the most recent Edition of the SQF Code and the requirements to implement and maintain SQF Systems relevant to the supplier scope of certification.
· Ability to analyze processes for Biological, Chemical, and Physical hazards with a thorough understanding of the science and support behind each type of hazard and each step within a production process.
· Demonstrate leadership in the areas of food safety, plant regulatory and Quality Assurance.
· Must have strong organizational, leadership, communication and critiquing skills. Bilingual in Spanish is beneficial.
· Able to work with cross functional departments within the organization.
· Excellent problem solving and corrective action/resolution skills.
· Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form
Disclaimer:
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed. Equal Employment Opportunity, M/F/D/V
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $65,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
- 10 hour shift
- 8 hour shift
- Monday to Friday
- Weekends as needed
Experience:
- ISO 9001: 1 year (Preferred)
Ability to Commute:
- Yuba City, CA 95991 (Preferred)
Ability to Relocate:
- Yuba City, CA 95991: Relocate before starting work (Required)
Work Location: In person