OVERVIEW:  

The Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance is responsible for leading Maglio Companies’ food safety, quality assurance, sanitation, and occupational health and safety programs. This position ensures regulatory and customer compliance, maintains effective food safety and quality systems, and develops assigned employees through training coaching, and performance management.  

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES/FUNCTIONS:

• Ensures compliance with local, state, and federal food safety regulations.
• Ensures compliance with third-party audit requirements and customer food safety and quality standards.
• Assists with company competence regarding production of consistent and measurably higher quality products. 
• Facilitates and coordinates efficient and effective quality standards within customer expectations.
• Develops employees through training, annual review, monitoring, and mentoring.
• Maintains a team environment among department and supervisory staff.
• Promotes and maintains a safe work environment.
• Analyzes process control charts, develops quality cost analysis and inspects system design annually.
• Partners with Sales, Operations, Maintenance, and other departments on quality programs, inspections, testing, and customer requirements. 
• Implements necessary internal quality assurance systems and infrastructure to support company growth.
• Maintains current knowledge of trends and changes affecting food safety and develops and recommends appropriate program changes to ensure food safety and governmental compliance.
• Oversee company’s environmental monitoring program, including testing results review, corrective actions, and reporting.
• Advises Senior Management of any quality and food safety issues in addition to presenting plausible solutions.
• Complete monthly, quarterly, and annual audits and associated reporting as required.
• Oversee the company’s sanitation team, including staffing, training, scheduling, performance management, and employee development.  
• Promote teamwork through training, coaching, performance reviews, and ongoing development. 
• Assists with the company’s Occupational Health and Safety programs.
• Designs and implements test protocols as part of company’s research and development efforts.
• Evaluates, develops, and implements food safety software solutions.

COMPETENCIES:

• Strong leadership skills.
• Strong verbal and written English communication skills.
• Strong implementation and execution skills.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Good organizational and planning skills.
• Ability to be relatable, personable, and productive within a team environment.

REASONING AND COGNITIVE ABILITY:

The person assigned to this role must be able to think independently. Must be able to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Must be able to interpret and analyze a variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

While performing duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to moving mechanical parts. The employee is frequently exposed to extreme cold, extreme heat, risk of electrical shock, and vibration. The employee is occasionally exposed to high, precarious places; fumes or airborne partides; toxic or caustic chemicals; and outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle or feel; talk or hear; and taste or smell. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, sit, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to dump or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and color vision.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Quality Assurance, Food Science, Biology, Microbiology, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Technical knowledge of food safety and quality.
• Knowledge of GFSI audit schemes and the GFSI audit process.
• Experience dealing with regulatory agencies (i.e. USDA, FDA) and working knowledge of local, state, and federal regulations.
• 5-7 years experience in Quality Assurance or Food Safety Leadership.
• 3-5 years experience in management handling: hire, termination, discipline, training/development, employee relations, mediation, and retention.
• Experience in:
• Developing, maintaining and enforcing employee schedules.
• Good Manufacturing Practices Audits (GMP Audits).
• Food quality and safety documentation and reporting, including the preparation of written SOPs, SSOPs, policies, and training materials.
• Submitting and implementing corrective action plans.
• Product and environmental sample collection.
• Evaluation, development, and implementation of food safety software systems.
• Previous experience in produce preferred.
• Previous HACCP and PCQI certification preferred.
• Bilingual (English & Spanish) preferred.