The Manager of Quality oversees the execution and coordination of in-plant quality systems and personnel. This position provides leadership and assistance to numerous other departments, contributes independent thoughts and proposals for improvement within the organization, and provides technical support to the organization. This position is the Deputy SQF practitioner for the plant. In their absence, the Food Safety & Sensory Manager can cover their duties and responsibilities to Food Safety & Sensory.

• Management of staff responsible for environmental management, quality verifications, technical support services, and food safety and sensory oversight.
• Interpretation and implementation of FDA regulatory compliance including Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) as related to manufacturing, storage, and distribution.
• Establish and maintain programs and procedures that ensure the safety of food products manufactured within the facility.
• Oversight of the Positive Release and Hold programs.
• Verify process and product compliance with National Organics Program requirements.
• Participation and initiation of continuous improvement activities to include root cause analysis and corrective action.
• Management and Analysis of Quality key performance indicators.
• Participation in MOS process, reporting on food safety and sensory topics, audit results and other key metrics.
• Respond to Customer Service questions concerning quality issues.
• Responsible for the investigations and corrective actions for escalated consumer complaints.
• Create, develop, or devise procedures and specifications.
• Responsible for management and follow up on outside audits by third party auditors, and regulatory food safety inspection agencies. Acts as Deputy SQF practitioner for plant/campus.
• Work closely with personnel to ensure that a "world class" level of cleanliness is maintained throughout all production and warehouse facilities.
• Other duties and projects as assigned

It is the responsibility of all employees to uphold the mission of the Amy’s Food Safety and Quality Policy. This includes following all Food Safety and Sustainability programs and participating in all required training.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

This position will supervise two FSS Supervisors, Sr. Technologist of Food Safety & Sensory, and Food Safety & Sensory Manager.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science and Technology or a degree in a related Life Science from a four-year college or university.

EXPERIENCE

• Seven years of experience in Quality and Food Safety; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

SKILLS

Required:

• Exceptional interpersonal and assertiveness skills, necessary to maintain effective and cordial working relationships while driving continuous improvement of Food Safety Programs within the plant
• Excellent communication skills: ability to relate to all internal levels as well as interface with suppliers and government on a technical level.
• Team player with the ability to lead others in both technical and personal development areas.
• Computer literate; Windows experience necessary, ERP and quality systems software exposure.
• Detail oriented.
• Reliable/Dependable.

Preferred:

• Product formulation and food production scale-up experience in a technical capacity.
• Frozen foods experience
• Low-acid canned foods experience.
• GFSI experience
• Membership of IFT, ASQ.
• Project Management experience.

COMPETENCIES

• Change and Learning Agility
• Conflict Management/ Composure
• Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Leader Identification
• Influence
• Initiative
• Mission Focus
• Relationship Building
• Results Orientation
• Team Management
• Talent Development
• Written and Informal Communication
• Technology Savvy
• Functional/Technical Expertise
• Sensitivity

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Ability to interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents.
• Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers and regulatory agencies.
• Ability to effectively present information to the management team and hourly employees.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

• Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference.
• Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to work with Spreadsheets such as Excel to collect and interpret data.

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 or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

• SQF, PCQI, HACCP, FDQI, and Better Process Control School Certification or willingness to gain any/all certifications as required.
• Training in Continuous Improvement and Lean Manufacturing is a plus.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

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.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk or hear; and taste or smell. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

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.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, cold (coolers and freezers) and hot (processing equipment) conditions and moving mechanical parts. The noise level in the work environment can be loud.

TRAVEL

• Estimated travel requirement is approximately 5% - 15%.