Manager, Quality Assurance

Your Opportunity as the Quality Assurance Manager

TheQuality Assurance Managerwill provide strategic leadership and execution of Food Safety and Quality programs and risk management at our Lexington, KY manufacturing facility. This role is responsible for coaching, development, and management of salaried QA and Food Safety personnel, ensuring adherence to company standards and regulatory requirements, and driving excellence in product quality and food safety. This role is also accountable to lead and influence operations team leaders and technicians to drive full implementation to JMS Quality Assurance standards and requirements.

Location: Lexington, KY manufacturing plant

Reports to: Plant Manager and member of the site leadership team, with indirect reporting to Corporate QA

Work Arrangements: 100% on-site

• Typically requires working 45+ hours per week, including on call

In this role you will:

• Lead and develop the QA and Food Safety team, including performance management, coaching, and employee and organizational development
• Assure compliance with JMS quality and food safety policies and standards, and all Federal, State, and local regulatory requirements pertaining to the manufacture of safe and wholesome food products; this includes Smucker's quality policies manual, ingredient specifications, process control specifications, and finish product specifications
• Lead Quality Pillar implementation and engagement for the site
• Monitor and assure conformance of ingredients to Smucker standards and plant expectations including analytical and sensory testing
• Drive continuous improvement in quality and food safety systems, measured by internal/external audits and plant KPIs including but not limited to first-pass quality and reduction of consumer complaints.
• Support and contribute to the achievement of plant goals
• Coordinate and support all commissioning of new products and processes and issue final sign off for the plant ensuring Food Safety and QA requirements are met
• Provide technical support to plant operations including trouble shooting and solution generation, Plant Run Request, and plant projects
• Manage the Quality Assurance budgets and ensure efficient resource allocation

The Right Place for You

We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.

What we are looking for:

Minimum Requirements:

• A Bachelor's degree
• At least 5 years of management experience in a food processing facility is required
• At least 8 years of progressive food safety and QA experience is required
• Demonstrated experience leading, managing, supervising, and / or developing a team
• Working knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), and HACCP/PCQI

Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:

• A degree in Food Science, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, or related field
• Leadership experience in large, complex manufacturing site is preferred
• Prior experience in Low Moisture Ready-to-Eat foods is strongly preferred; for example nut butter, roasting, or baking (bars, cereal, crackers, etc.)
• Working knowledge of FDA and USDA regulations, food plant production and best practices, environmental regulations, food safety and sanitation methods and best practices, and SPC
• Proven relationship development with FDA or FSIS regulatory personnel with positive outcomes
• Continuing education within quality and food safety
• Experience using Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), continuous improvement, Operational Excellence, and / or High-Performance Organization (HPO) tools to deliver business results

Learn more about working at Smucker:

• Helping our Employees Thrive
• Delivering on Our Purpose
• Our Continued Commitment to Ensuring a Workplace for All

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