Quality Assurance Manager
Location: Fort Madison, IA
Responsible for upholding the safety and quality standards for all products manufactured in the Fort Madison, IA plant. Ensures clear communication and adherence to specifications. Conducts thorough inspections of processes, trains employees, and ensures compliance with relevant food laws and regulations, including the maintenance of plant HACCP plans. Develops and promotes best laboratory practices and provides guidance on quality policies. Actively participates in resolving customer complaints and is an integral part of the plant leadership team. Provides support to Sales, R&D, and Operations in addressing customer inquiries and concerns.
Position Responsibilities
- Enforces good manufacturing practices (GMP) among plant personnel, including waste disposal, personal hygiene, and practices.
- Creates and delivers a comprehensive orientation process for all employees, emphasizing the importance of Food Safety and Quality. Ensures annual training requirements are met.
- Works closely with Operations and Maintenance to instill a culture of Food Safety and Quality on the production floor.
- Trains and develops subordinates in their job duties.
- Manages Plant timelines and critical milestones for the Food Safety and Quality Improvement Plan, as well as other relevant metrics like complaint reduction and quality incident reduction.
- Interprets, analyzes, and communicates internal and external quality and food safety issues, taking appropriate corrective measures.
- Ensures compliance with all applicable regulatory agency requirements (USDA, FDA, CFIA, etc.).
- Serves as a liaison with local USDA and FDA inspectors, as well as other food regulatory officers who visit the plant.
- Provides leadership in complying with food safety and quality programs, such as HACCP, SQF certification, and comprehensive pest control program.
- Develops corrective actions when Food Safety or Quality deficiencies are identified. Acts as a liaison for technical and QC issues between operations, RQI, and sales/marketing departments.
- Assists Corporate in addressing quality assurance concerns with vendors, suggesting improvements and implementing corrective measures.
- Oversees product quality during new product implementation and introduction into the market. Ensures the use of relevant MOPD and CQV tools.