Director, Food Safety and Quality

Director of Quality & Food Safety(Regulatory, Sanitation, Food Safety Systems) Muskoka Region, Ontario

• Relocation package assistance may be available. 100% on-site (5 days / wk)The Company : Our client is a fast-growing, premium Food / Beverage Manufacturer. The Opportunity : Our client is looking for an experienced Director of Quality and Food Safety. This role will lead all areas for Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Regulatory, and Sanitation protocols. Leading a motivated team of professionals and part of the Senior Leadership Team, this is a great opportunity for someone looking to live in a beautiful part of Ontario, and be part of a dynamic team, within a stable, growing employer. Job Duties & Responsibilities : Champion, lead, design and improve all Food Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Compliance programs including the Quality Management Systems and certifications. Overall accountability and management of the QA departmentContinuous Improvement approach to all quality management systems, including establishing measurement methods, KPI’s and improvement priorities and plans that are aligned customer quality requirements and approved specifications.Lead the HACCP team and all Food Safety programs by working closely with all key stakeholders within other departments.Create and execute Quality processes for new product introductions and commercialization.Lead product recall process that forms part of the food safety program.Inform, motivate, and empower team members with the knowledge, competence, and confidence necessary to avoid, mitigate and manage food safety and quality risks across our plants, processes, and products. Train and employer Quality Team to lead and train plant personnel to continually monitor and improve appropriate GMP’s and execute accurate and efficient quality testing within Company standards.Oversee all inbound material sampling and testing methodologies as well as appropriate documentation are validated and ensure compliance with all written specifications.Champion Continuous Improvement projects through root cause analysis investigations, current process and SOP evaluation, data analysis, and definition of measurable KPI standards.Other duties as may be assigned to the Employee as required. Ideal Experience, Qualifications & Competencies : Bachelor’s degree in Science, Food Science, Engineering, or related technical field. Master’s Degree within a related discipline is considered an asset.7+ years experience in a quality / food safety role managing technical disciplines such as food safety, laboratory management, quality management systems, food process engineering, product commercialization, and commodity specification within a fast-paced food manufacturing environment.7+ years’ experience managing / developing succession ready Quality teamsHave a natural bias for action while assuring food safety, regulatory, and quality requirements are met along with a balanced consideration for the needs of the business and cross functional stakeholders.Demonstrated successful delivery of HACCP / GFSI (SQF) / PCQI / BRC compliance and Audit experience. Clear passion for food safety.Success of delivering Quality requirements via new product / innovation / commercialization teams cross functionally.CI methodology experience (Root Cause Analysis, Lean / CI tools, TPM)Detailed understanding of food law in both Canada and the USA.Sanitation and pest control management experience.Proven collaborator, influencer, coach, educator, decision maker, and conflict mediator.Comfortable influencing and building collaborative relationships at all levels of the organization from the shop floor to the boardroom internally, and with regulators, suppliers, and customers externally.Appetite for pushing the status quo on quality and food safety standards through analytics, measurement, and critical thinking. Capable project and change manager who enjoys building just the right amount of process and structure.