Director, Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Job Summary

Oversees and provides strategic director for a function within Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA). Ensures brand protection through deriving data insights from root cause analysis, developing and implement corrective action practices, guiding the resolution of customer complaints, and guiding continuous improvement initiatives. Collaborates with cross-functional teams, maintains compliance with industry standards, and serves as the primary liaison with regulatory agencies, auditors, and customers to uphold the company's commitment to quality and food safety.

Key Responsibilities

1. Oversees a function typically through the oversight of managers. Provides strategic direction to the function. Responsible for providing guidance, coaching, and support to ensure department achieves business goals. Responsible for HR activities such as hiring, terminations, performance management, goal setting, team member development, scheduling, etc. Oversees the development of systems, policies, and procedures. Contributes to or is accountable for budget management for the function.

2. Develops, implements, and maintains programs and policies to meet customer and regulatory requirements, supporting quality, safety, and animal well-being standards.

3. Oversees the creation of practices and execution of the investigation, resolution, and reporting of customer and consumer complaints. Enforces timely communication with all relevant parties.

4. Approves and monitors vendors/co-packers by reviewing prerequisite programs and performance, maintaining documentation, and promoting ongoing compliance with quality and safety standards.

5. Ensures adherence to federal, state/provincial, and local regulations, maintaining updated regulatory documentation and site registrations while communicating changes to relevant parties.

6. Conducts and guides internal and external audits, develops audit schedules, and coordinates documentation for third-party reviews, maintaining comprehensive records.

7. Guarantees compliance with export requirements, staying informed of regulatory changes and communicating updates to necessary teams.

8. Oversees external requests for documentation including customer Letters of Guarantee and prerequisite program submissions through customer portals.

9. Collaborates cross-functionally to maintain accurate product information and food safety program details for consumer inquiries.

10. Oversees the regulatory label approval process, validating documentation accuracy, submission, and validation of label claims.

11. Provides effective communication and acts as a liaison with internal teams, customers, and regulatory agencies.

12. Directs departmental budgets, including facilitating customer product approvals and overseeing quality improvement and cost-reduction initiatives across facilities.

Minimum Qualifications (Educations & Experience)

• Bachelor's degree in related field or equivalent (i.e., Food Science, Quality Management, Biology, Microbiology, Food Safety, etc.)
• 12+ years of relevant experience or the knowledge, skills, and abilities to succeed in the role
• 5+ years of leadership experience or the knowledge, skills, and abilities to succeed in the role

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Butterball Core Competencies

Caring about people, valuing contributions, and empowering to succeed is the Butterball Way. We recognize the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to Butterball and seek to create an environment where everyone can thrive. Everyone has a seat at the table and is expected to embody our core competencies:

* Safety First: We put safety first. The health, safety, and well-being of our people, products, and turkeys is everyone's responsibility and everyone's jobs.

* Integrity: We trust each other to do the right thing. We act with integrity and gain the confidence and trust of others through honesty, respect, and authenticity.

* Stewardship: We take care of what matters. We are accountable to our commitments and take responsibility for the well-being of our teams, our quality, our customers, our business, our brand, and our communities. We are always answerable for our actions and those we lead.

* Enthusiastic Attitudes: We create a climate where everyone feels they belong and can be engaged, every day. Where our people are enthusiastic and motivated to do their best and work together to make great things happen.

* Continuous Improvement: We are committed to continuous improvement. We challenge ourselves and our company to constantly learn, develop, grow, improve, and innovate.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

1. Significant industry experience within in food safety, scientific affairs, or live animal production

2. Ample experience overseeing large multifaceted teams

3. Expert understanding of food safety regulations (i.e., USDA, FDA, HACCP, FSMA)

4. Familiarity with poultry food production processes, microbiology, and sanitation practices

5. Top-notch leadership skills with the ability to motivate, support, mentor, coach, and develop a large cross-functional team of people leaders

6. Excellent communication, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills with the proven ability to impact results at all levels

7. Accomplished at innovating, strategic thinking, and overseeing organization wide initiatives including food safety and quality programs

8. Advanced business acumen with the proven ability to identify and mitigate long term risk through root cause analysis

9. Ability to foster relationships and ensure compliance with external agencies including government regulations and regulatory affairs

10. Adeptness in creating impactful continuous improvement and owning change initiatives in a manufacturing environment

11. Proficient with Microsoft Suites (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, etc.), Power BI, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems such as SAP, and quality management systems

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

* Certifications such as Quality Leadership, Continuous Improvement, HACCP, SQF, and/or Lean Six Sigma

Physical Demands

* While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, reach, stoop, kneel, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer, telephone, keyboard, and occasionally lift up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, color vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Working Conditions

* Work will be performed in a variety of conditions including a climate-controlled office environment(s) and in a manufacturing plant environment with varying conditions, such as cold areas, wet areas, warm areas, chemicals, and other site conditions. This position requires the individual to wear and work in personal protective equipment while in the manufacturing environment.

* The noise level of the office environment is usually moderate; the noise level in the manufacturing environment may exceed 85 DBA and require hearing protection.

* Travel may be required up to 40% of the time.

Disclaimer

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of what is required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not imply or establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer. Butterball, LLC is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the fair and impartial treatment of all employees and applicants for employment without regard to gender, age, race, religion, color, national origin, physical or mental disability, military/veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, or any other status protected by law. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.