Food Manufacturing - Quality Assurance Supervisor
Agawam, MA
Full Time
Manager/Supervisor
SUMMARY:
The Quality Assurance Supervisor is responsible for providing supervision, direction, correction and verification of the Food Safety Plan, Food Quality Plan and all related company initiatives. Oversight responsibility includes assuring that all company departments’ policies and procedures adhere to the SQF Food Safety Code, FSMA, USDA, Kosher Parve, RSPO and FDA, while complying with all Federal, State, and Local Regulatory agencies. In addition, the QAM verifies that the company achieves Customer Expectations, adheres to established Finished Goods Specifications, oversight and verification of SQF Certification, and provides for Continual Process Improvement and involvement with Research and Development projects.
The QA Supervisor is the primary liaison between the company and USDA, FDA and Third Party Auditors. Back-up is the QA team members.
The QA Supervisor has the responsibility and authority to stop any operation that threatens Employee Safety, Food Safety or Food Quality.
The QA Supervisor works in concert with the Chief Operating Officer the Operations to achieve a balance between maximizing production optimization, while maintaining quality, consistency and assuring that safe, wholesome and unadulterated food enters commerce.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
BACKUP RESPONSIBILITIES:
QUALIFICATIONS:
COMPETENCIES:
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The Quality Assurance Supervisor is responsible for providing supervision, direction, correction and verification of the Food Safety Plan, Food Quality Plan and all related company initiatives. Oversight responsibility includes assuring that all company departments’ policies and procedures adhere to the SQF Food Safety Code, FSMA, USDA, Kosher Parve, RSPO and FDA, while complying with all Federal, State, and Local Regulatory agencies. In addition, the QAM verifies that the company achieves Customer Expectations, adheres to established Finished Goods Specifications, oversight and verification of SQF Certification, and provides for Continual Process Improvement and involvement with Research and Development projects.
The QA Supervisor is the primary liaison between the company and USDA, FDA and Third Party Auditors. Back-up is the QA team members.
The QA Supervisor has the responsibility and authority to stop any operation that threatens Employee Safety, Food Safety or Food Quality.
The QA Supervisor works in concert with the Chief Operating Officer the Operations to achieve a balance between maximizing production optimization, while maintaining quality, consistency and assuring that safe, wholesome and unadulterated food enters commerce.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Oversees the Quality Assurance team members, while ensuring enforcement of and certification to the company’s Quality Mission Statement objective & standard; The Global Food Safety Initiative, (GFSI) - Safe Quality Food, SQF.
- Communicates the SQF Quality Policy Statement to Senior Management and all employees to assure company awareness of and compliance to all Federal, State, Local, Third Party and SQF Regulatory Requirements.
- Verifies vendor compliance with inbound Ingredients, Raw Materials, Food Contact Packaging Specifications and organizational adherence to outbound Finished Goods Sensory Evaluations, and Customer Specifications.
- Enforces SQF required compliance document control and communicates Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), HACCP – Critical Control Points, (CCP) and all other applicable official SQF document responsibilities and obligations to Managers, Line Leaders and Employees.
- Directs the investigation and analysis of customer complaints and # 2, (non-conforming product), to determine the root cause, identify trends, initiate corrective action, and implement preventive action to prevent reoccurrence.
- The Quality Assurance Supervisor is the Food Safety and Food Quality Team Leader and conveys the SQF benchmark Food Safety and Food Quality job requirement responsibilities, obligations and required. Consults with applicable departments on inspection findings delegates’ corrective action, and reports progress to the CEO and the COO.
- Maintains OSHA Safety regulations in all company processes and at all locations.
- Assures Senior Management Level engagement in and support of the company Policy Statement, the Food Safety Plan, the Food Quality Plan and the SQF Code.
- Instills Food Safety and Food Quality duty and responsibility in all managers, line leaders and employees, by deputizing all employees to be Food Safety Inspectors and report Food Safety and Food Quality defects to line leaders and managers.
- Answers all USDA, FSIS, FDA and other Regulatory Non-Compliance Reports and delegates and coordinates interdepartmental corrective action for the company.
- Works in harmony with all other departments to identify systematic operational problems affecting safety or quality and orchestrates process improvements or system changes and corrective actions to resolve problems and improve operations.
- Develops, submits and adheres to the Quality Department fiscal budget to ensure adequate resources for the SQF system to operate efficiently and effectively.
- Guarantees achievement of company safety targets and quality metrics through internal SQF self-audit, trend analysis and revision and reports the findings to the President.
- Participates in the planning and execution of new product start-ups and the implementation of product improvements and/or reformulations.
- Ensures plant adherence to all Customer, Safety, Quality, Kosher and Regulatory
- Expectations to all employees, line leaders and managers through the Continuing Education Training Program.
- Monitors SQF internal audit reports to track and trend errors, review and analyze data and determine if modifications or additions to the production process or quality program are
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Directly supervises 3 employees within the QA and PD departments.
- Indirectly supervises all plant employees within the operations departments.
- Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws.
BACKUP RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Covers in the absence of the Quality Assurance Technician and Quality Assurance Specialist.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's Degree (BA) from four-year college or university, or one to two years of related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Computer skills required: Microsoft Office
- Other skills required: HACCP, SQF, Practitioner, FSMA-PCQi Certified, RSO, RSPO
COMPETENCIES:
- Adaptability - Adapts to changes in the work environment; Manages competing demands; Changes approach or method to best fit the situation; Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
- Business Acumen - Understands business implications of decisions; Displays orientation to profitability; Demonstrates knowledge of market and competition; Aligns work with strategic goals.
- Change Management - Develops workable implementation plans; Communicates changes effectively; Builds commitment and overcomes resistance; Prepares and supports those affected by change; Monitors transition and evaluates results
- Interpersonal Skills - Focuses on solving conflict, not blaming; Maintains confidentiality; Listens to others without interrupting; Keeps emotions under control; Remains open to others' ideas and tries new things.
- Quality Management - Looks for ways to improve and promote quality; Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness.
- Technical Skills - Assesses own strengths and weaknesses; Pursues training and development opportunities; Strives to continuously build knowledge and skills; Shares expertise with others.
- Written Communication - Writes clearly and informatively; Edits work for spelling and grammar; Varies writing style to meet needs; Presents numerical data effectively; Able to read and interpret written information.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:
- Occasionally required to stand
- Occasionally required to walk
- Occasionally required to sit
- Frequently required to utilize hand and finger dexterity
- Occasionally required to climb, balance, bend, stoop, kneel or crawl
- Frequently required to talk or hear
- Continually utilize visual acuity to operate equipment, read technical information, and/or use a keyboard
- Occasionally required to lift/push/carry items up to 50 pounds
- Frequently exposure to wet and/or humid conditions (non-weather)
- Occasionally work near moving mechanical parts
- Occasionally work around fumes, airborne particles, or toxic chemicals
- Occasionally exposure to extreme heat or cold (non-weather) – freezer/oven areas
- Additional remarks regarding work environment
- Specialized equipment, machines, or vehicles used
- While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
- The employee must occasionally lift and /or move more than 25 pounds.
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include: Close vision; Color vision; Peripheral vision; and Depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
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