Job Description:
Lakeside Organic Gardens, the States’ largest family owned organic grower, packer, and shipper, seeks applicants for a Food Safety Assistant assists and works under the direction of the Food Safety Manager at Lakeside Organic Gardens. This position is responsible for assisting with designing, development, and implementation of company food safety policies in central and Southern California.
Compensation/Salary:
DOE
Requirements:
- An attention to detail in all activities is imperative.
- Bi-lingual. English / Spanish speak and read.
- Clean DMV driving history / insurable.
- Candidate must be reliable and punctual.
- A strong work ethic and job dedication is essential to be successful in this position.
- Strong communication skills are essential.
- Must have the ability to speak to large groups of employees or visitors. Good math and written communication skills are required.
- Computer literacy with familiarity with MS Outlook, Word, and Excel is required.
- Candidates must be well organized and comfortable working independently.
- Food safety knowledge is preferred.
Responsibilities & Duties:
- Assist Food Safety Manager in all areas of food safety compliance
- Enforce policies related to food safety.
- Coordinate and assist in third party audits, as well as “in-house” inspections of fields, crews, and facilities.
- Perform multiple types of employee food safety trainings as needed.
- Perform monthly water sampling, and document 7 day field inspections.
- Monitor and assist with all elements of field sanitation.
- Ability to interact effectively with all levels of company staff and to work independently as needed.
- Assist in trouble shooting food safety problems, and implementing improvements.
- Facilitate in communication of food safety information to employees, customers, and suppliers.
- Assist in maintaining the food safety database.
- Conduct detailed and documented risk assessments.
- Other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule:
- This position requires that the candidate work Monday through Friday up to 10 hours a day, and including many Saturdays and holidays.
- Ability to relocate for four months a year to southern California for winter harvest
Education:
- Bachelors’ Degree preferred; will consider Associates Degree or comparable experience in food safety, or quality assurance
Skills:
The physical demands and work environment 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.
- May require walking for long periods of time on wet and uneven terrain as part of field audits.
- Ability to travel independently and work in remote areas.
- Often standing, walking, sitting, reaching, turning, and climbing stairs for long periods of time.
- Ability to work in an office and cooler environment with a temperature range between 34 – 70 plus degrees Fahrenheit.
- Ability to work in a field environment with a temperature ranging from 34 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Ability to lift fifty pounds without undue physical exertion and ability to stoop, reach, walk, and other physical activities associated with an office and field environment.
- Ability to communicate verbally and comprehend verbal instructions in English and Spanish and requires sufficient sight and hearing to perform all job functions.
- Positive attitude with willingness to pro-actively solve issues.
- Ability to carry out defined procedures with specific instructions and abilities to learn new duties with minimal repetition.
- Strong interpersonal skills, including strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Must be a self starter, ability to work independently, and manage a project from its initiation to completion with minimal supervision.
- Ability to maintain effective working relationships with employees, supervisors, vendors, and peers.
