Plant Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance

The Plant Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) is directly responsible for leading all food safety and quality assurance policies / programs, USDA compliance and product quality initiatives through the use of strategic initiatives and execution excellence that provides compliance with all quality specifications, USDA/FDA regulations and International Regulatory laws that have jurisdiction over Seaboard Triumph Foods facilities and products. The Plant Director of FSQA will enjoy the satisfaction and challenge of developing and implementing breakthrough strategies and programs to achieve no food safety issues and high levels of customer satisfaction with low risk and high ethical standards. This position has direct supervisory responsibilities over the Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Sanitation Monitoring and Laboratory Staff.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: This list is not intended to be all-inclusive and other duties may be assigned.

• Develop and implement plant FSQA procedures, HACCP plan, and lab procedures; set up and maintain the FSQA software system and any other programs as needed.
• Develop a high performing team driven by solid talent identification, development and succession planning of employees engaged in food safety, quality assurance and laboratory activities. Coordination, development, oversight and enforcement of all plant FSQA compliance activities, including all regulatory label compliance, specification approvals, HACCP and USDA relationships.
• Proactively work and develop processes to prevent recalls, withdraws and loss of customers due to quality issues; research and recommend enhancements to food safety, product quality, production procedures, equipment, and management practices.
• Collaborate on all FSQA activities to add guidance and expertise in all areas where a subject matter expert, (ex. Lab, AMS, AW, data collections, etc.)
• Effectively partner with Operations, Maintenance, Sales, Supply Chain and other functional areas in the organization to teach, lead and guide all employees engaged in food production in food safety and quality initiatives.
• Manage written responses, customer inquiries and visits for food safety and product quality complaints or claims.
• Create and foster a culture that understands and recognizes food safety and quality as a top priority, ensure employees are trained on an on-going basis and in compliance with company

regulations to ensure quality and consistency of products; ensure high levels of engagement from all levels of employees within the facility through positive and effective employee relations

• Foster an environment of continuous process improvement to drive efficiencies, increased accuracy, and stronger decision making.
• Administer Plant FSQA department and create an environment of teamwork.

o May at times fill in for FSQA Manager and Regulatory Manager
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the work environment, knowledge, skill, and/or ability required or preferred. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s degree in meat, food science, microbiology or related discipline and 5-8years of progressively responsible positions in the meat/pork industry managing, developing and implementing food safety and quality assurance programs or equivalent combination of education and experience. Start-up experience a plus. Must have sufficient experience to demonstrate thorough knowledge of both commercial and technical aspects related to FSQA for the pork business. Must have comprehensive experience with USDA rules and regulations. Well-developed management skills utilizing sound team management principles in leading a large team of diverse employees.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, and/or governmental regulations. Ability to write effective reports and business correspondence. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from management, and employees at all levels of the organization. Must have the ability to influence and persuade others.
LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read and interpret documents in the English language such as food safety files, operating and maintenance instructions and procedure manuals. Must be able to effectively communicate with USDA, customers, sales, production and management personnel. Bilingual skills a plus.
MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to apply mathematical applications to practical situations. Demonstrated ability to understand advanced statistics and statistical analysis for process control, along with the ability to design experiments and use mathematical formulas and calculations to prepare or interpret routine statistical information. Ability to provide critical analysis to audits and other data collected on products, procedures and programs.
REASONING ABILITY: Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical, diagram, written and/or verbal form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables. Strong leadership skills and the ability to advise, champion and uphold regulatory, company and customer standards at all levels of the organization. Strong decision making, experiment design, planning and project management skills needed.
OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES: HACCP/Food Safety Certification and experience with GFSI/SQF (SQF Practitioner a plus). Must be well versed in current FSIS directives and regulatory requirements. Strong personal computer skills and understanding of Microsoft Office programs. Must hold a valid driver’s license and be able to travel up to 50% of the time.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS: While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to move about the facility in a normal production environment where temperatures and noise levels may vary. The employee is required to sit; use hands to finger; handle; or feel/hold objects; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; speak; hear taste and smell. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities are required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Generally the incumbent may stand and walk for extended periods of time and also must be able to sit and use a computer for extended periods of time.