Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance at Yoakum, Texas

Job Title:         Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance                                   FLSA Status:  Exempt 

Reports To:      President, Eddy Packing Co. Inc.                                                        Grade Level:   TBA

Location:         Yoakum, TX

Number of Reports: 10

Position Summary:

Responsible for establishing a quality assurance system and team that ensures food safety and promotes customer satisfaction and that positively impacts the financial performance of Eddy Packing. Champion continuous improvement efforts and food safety initiatives to establish an effective Quality Management System (QMS); initiate and implement quality improvement activities as appropriate raise the performance of the company’s product lines. Educate and train employees as to their impact in the quality management system.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, manage and integrate a FQMS for the plant.
• Serve as the primary quality control resource for problem identification, resolution, loss reporting and continuous improvement.
• Manage quality assurance team on a day-to-day basis.
• Support concurrent efforts by participating in product development projects representing quality assurance and the customer.
•  Design, implement and document procedures for process control, process improvement, testing and inspection.
•  Establish and implement metrics (process capability, control charts, measurement quality) for monitoring system effectiveness and to enable managers to make sound product quality decisions. 
• Perform root-cause analysis and other problem solving activities to identify effective corrective actions and process improvements. 
• Establish collection and analysis systems of statistical data to predict trends that will affect improvement of product quality.
• Analyze customers’ product specifications to establish efficient, cost-effective requirements for ease of manufacture and reproducibility.
•  Develop quality planning methods for all product lines.
•  Develop BRC certification standards and assist in annual re-certification. 
• Monitor vendor performance and establish criteria and rating system for critical vendors and interact with customers to identify opportunities to improve quality and establish feedback with manufacturing and R&D t personnel.
• Oversee equipment calibration and testing programs. 
• Report to management on quality issues, trends and losses.
• Review suppliers purchase orders and establish supplier quality requirements.
• Participate in internal and external quality audits.
• Interface with supplier and customer quality representatives concerning problems with quality control and assure that effective corrective action is implemented.
• All other reasonable duties, as assigned.

Education / Skills / Experience/Competencies

• BS/BA in Business Administration
• 10+ years’ experience in Food Safety/QA systems implementation and management with 5 years as a FSQA in a medium-size food manufacturing environment, preferably in the protein environment with RTE processes/products.
• Experience with USDA Appendix A guidelines with a proven track record of business performance improvement.

Other Requirements:

 • Broad knowledge of theory and principles of food safety and statistical process control.

 • Experience in designing and implementing food quality systems.

 • Diverse knowledge of inspection and control methods, techniques and documentation.

 • Excellent communication skills (written and verbal).

 • Strong computer skills including quality control applications, word processing, spreadsheets and databases.

 • Training in foreign object damage awareness.

Titles Reporting to this Position:

• QA Supervisors
• HACCP Coordinator
• Food Scientist

Licensing and Certification:

• HACCP Certified

Scope (Revenue, number of employees, etc.):

• 140-150mm
• 3 SE, 2 IDL, 12DL

Physical Requirements:

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.

The employee is required to stand, sit, walk, push, pull, climb, reach overhead and bend to the floor.  Must be able to exert 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or exert up to 50 pounds of force occasionally.

Able to work in cold environments and stand/walk for long periods of time

Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.