Quality Assurance and Food Safety Manager

West Pak Avocado is a fantastic place to work, offering a variety of perks that enhance employee satisfaction and well-being. In addition to a collaborative and innovative work culture, employees benefit from profit sharing and bonus potential, which rewards hard work and dedication.

The company hosts fun initiatives like Free Avocado Fridays, creating a lighthearted atmosphere, while discounts to local theme parks and events add excitement to life outside of work. Employees also enjoy gym membership discounts and wellness events that promote a healthy lifestyle. With these benefits and a commitment to career development, West Pak Avocado truly invests in its team members! #jointhepak

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

• Partners with facility management team to ensure food safety best practices and processes are implemented and maintained
• Manages the Plant Quality System and team. Works directly with the plant management team to maintain, modify and improve the Quality System
• Ensures regulatory food safety compliance. Anticipates and responds to any regulatory agency requirements and reports related to food safety. Prevents, responds (corrective/preventive actions) and follows up to Government (Federal – USDA / FDA / etc., State, County and City) violations
• Makes collaborative food safety and quality decisions regarding ingredient, raw product, in-process product and finished product conformance
• Manages the HACCP and Preventive Controls plans. Responsible for leading the facility Food Safety Team, developing Hazard Analyses, HACCP plans, Preventive Controls and compliance with HACCP FSMA and all regulatory requirements
• Reviews documents and verifies plant recipes/specifications, labeling, etc. Manages internal audit functions and activities in order to be audit ready
• Coordinates and leads recall efforts related to the facility as directed by Corporate Food Safety and Quality Leads and manages third-party audits
• Follows up on internal and external food quality/safety audits and leads tracking of corrective actions. Participates in sample retention and evaluations
• Customer/consumer Complaints: Manages complaint response, tracking and prevention
• Service Supplier Control: Creates and updates service supplier program compliance and performance tracking program
• Product quality: Provides support in the creation and management of product specifications.
• Provides support to Product Development for the development of new products
• Manages environmental and regulatory sampling program
• Manages department staff, trains, assigns responsibilities, coaches, and imposes disciplinary actions
• Develops team toward other leadership positions and provides coverage of Quality management positions as needed
• Creates and monitors business metrics to track compliance and process effectiveness
• Implements Root-Cause-Analysis and Corrective Action Plans related to food safety processes
• Creates ambitious goals and strives for better performance, ensuring that the company strives towards best practices and continuous improvement efforts
• Perform other duties as assigned

Education & Experience:

• College Degree in food science, food technology, Microbiology, or related field.
• HACCP certification and plan development experience (basic and/or advanced HACCP training)
• 7+ years of experience in a progressively responsible QA supervisory or QA management position
• Experience managing in a food manufacturing environment
• Primus GFS and Famous experience, a plus
• Experience interacting with the state and local regulators.
• Ready-to-eat and USDA-inspected operations experience strongly preferred

Skills:

• Strong statistics, quantitative, and analytical abilities
• Bilingual English/Spanish required
• Competency in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• Ability to analyze data using spreadsheets, formulas, statistical tools, etc.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented
• Ability to work within a high paced dynamic environment and multi-task effectively
• Demonstrates the ability to remain professional and diplomatic when working under pressure
• Ability to apply critical and logical thinking skills, and exercise sound judgment to arrive at appropriate business decisions. This includes a sense of balance between risks involved, timeliness, cost factors and other considerations

Certifications:

Preventive Controls Qualified Individual and HACCP certification a plus

Salary Range:

The base salary we reasonably expect to pay for this role is: $130,000 - $150,000.

The actual salary for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s skills and experience.

Please note that base pay is one important aspect of a compelling Total Rewards package. The base pay range indicated here does not include any additional benefits or cash bonuses that you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type.

Physical Requirements/Working Conditions:

The essential functions of this job require frequent standing, walking, and upper body movements. Specific vision acuity required by this job include close vision, the ability to adjust focus, and color vision when cleaning products. Physical demands include bending, stooping, reaching above and below shoulder level. Lifting and carrying are also essential. The employee will also be in contact with chemical products and machinery.

Additionally, the incumbent will work near moving mechanical parts, stacks, pallets and may be exposed in high places and surfaces. There is moderate noise in the work environment. The incumbent for this position may be on call for emergencies according to the business needs, only when required.

The noise level is frequently quiet or moderately quiet, at or below 70 decibels and in the product plant areas noise levels can exceed 80 decibels when machinery is operating.

The incumbent may be exposed to situations in which occasional lifting may be involved (up to 50 lbs.), with or without assistance. There will be exposure to situations of working in a hot or cold environment from 38°F-60°F and will frequently be exposed to hot or wet (humid) locations.