Job Description

Director of Food Safety

Champion Foods, a pizza trailblazer, is expanding, and we're looking for dynamic talents to enhance our innovative and quality-driven team. We produce products cherished by families nationwide and pride ourselves on our entrepreneurial spirit, commitment to quality, and a warm workplace culture that feels like family. If you're passionate, eager to grow, and want to work for a company that values each voice and champions personal development, your next career adventure starts here. Join us, and let's craft great things together, one delicious slice at a time.

Your Mission:

• Responsible and accountable to lead the company’s Quality Assurance and Sanitation functions. Develops and implement proper quality and sanitation processes and systems required to achieve high quality products.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and technological changes that may affect the food industry, including FDA, USDA, AIB, BRCGS, FIDSMA and RSPO.
• Investigation of supplier, distribution and/or store caused customer food safety/ingredient quality complaint issues.
• Responsible to lead the company’s “Product Recall Committee” to efficiently execute any product recall and/or market withdrawal required and regularly lead and conduct proactive “mock recalls” to ensure high readiness.

What You’ll Do:

• Create, implement, enforce, and regularly update global QA/QC policies, protocols, procedures, training and testing/inspection/audit programs for the company’s suppliers and distributors that meet or exceed evolving governmental regulations, to ensure all company products comply with high safety and quality standards.
• Develop and implements strategic sanitation programs and procedures to ensure the highest levels of sanitary performance.
• Lead the “Product Recall Committee”. Identify and resolve supplier, distributor, and company food safety issues. Coordinate and lead the decision-making group in the event of a recall or market withdrawal of product and determine the long-term corrective and preventive actions as it pertains to suppliers, distributors and/or stores.
• Provide technical, scientific expertise to cross functional groups within the company to ensure product quality controls are accurately developed, executed, and maintained.
• Act in a liaison role and primary contact for all food regulatory agencies, subsidiaries including distribution centers, and auditors.
• Create, implement, and manage distributor and supplier auditing/procedure validation programs that are Food Safety Modernization Act compliant.
• Communicate with staff, other departments, suppliers, and distributors with product specification and program changes as appropriate.
• Work with Incident Management Team for product recalls and retrievals. Direct and maintain appropriate documentation as it pertains to supplier, distributor, and store level retrievals. Responsible for determining long term corrective and preventative actions as it pertains to suppliers and distributors.
• Provide leadership to Quality assurance and Sanitation team that includes selection, coaching, establishing goals and performance management. Mentor, guide, and inspire team to ensure growth and quality of work.
• Create, communicate, and ensure compliance with policies for suppliers, supplier evaluations, supplier audits and distributor audits.
• Work with health inspectors pertaining to high level compliance issues (i.e. alleged food borne illness incidences, contamination of food supply, etc.) as well as with local health inspectors to resolve store level issues.
• Develops an external network to benchmark and assess industry and regulatory trends that impact the business; develops plans to mitigate risks.
• Demonstrates commitment to the development, implementation, and effectiveness of applicable Quality Processes as per USDA, BRCGS, FDA, and other regulatory agencies.
• Cascading of goals for the workgroup, developing organizational capability and modeling how the organization works together.
• Mentor, guide, and inspire Quality assurance and Sanitation team to ensure personal growth, efficiency, and quality of work.
• Identify and communicate key responsibilities and practices to ensure the organization promotes a healthy attitude, confidence in leadership and teamwork to achieve business results. Successfully handles colleague coaching, development, and performance management.

Who You Are:

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Biology, Chemistry, or related discipline.
• Minimum of ten (10) years quality assurance experience in the food industry including but not limited to food safety programs for suppliers and distributors.
• Minimum of five (5) years’ experience leading cross-functional teams on a formal or informal basis, that includes hiring, training, development, and performance management.
• Minimum of five (5 years) leading a corporate Recall Committee.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the food industry and quick service restaurant store practices and familiar governmental regulations, including Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) lab standards and good manufacturing practices as defined by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). In depth understanding of the food distribution regulations and requirements and previous experience ensuring compliance.
• Must have a strategic perspective and be capable of synthesizing information and prior experience from multiple sources to build efficient and successful regulatory and quality strategies for the organization.
• Must have a record of accomplishment of successful interactions with regulatory bodies.
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers, distributors, suppliers, and other departments, often communicating complex technical data to a variety of audiences.
• Evidence of the ability to establish, document, analyze, update and track quality metrics, preferable through standardized and accepted process control procedures.
• Demonstrated experience in a previous position requiring discernment, accuracy, attention to detail and documentation of issues, resolutions, and policy changes.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills. Good interpersonal skills and ability to resolve conflicting points of view.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple, complex projects and initiatives simultaneously with a results-oriented approach.
• Computer proficiency (Microsoft Office, database, Internet, and documentation software required.
• Sensory abilities for product evaluation.

What You’ll Bring:

• Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification, USDA and FDA
• In depth knowledge of regulatory compliance (FDA, USDA, AIB, BRC and HAACP requirements.
• Master’s degree in a related area.
• Experience with lab analysis and testing on products used in the pizza business.
• Previous experience with purchasing.
• Ability to speak in a language other than English.

Where You’ll Work:

• Ability to travel domestically 30% of the time and adhere to company travel policies.
• Exposure to travel elements, plant environments, spice odors, higher or lower than average temperatures.

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