QA Manager

Policy:           NRI shall identify necessary competencies for employees whose activities impact food safety. 

Purpose:       To outline duties of the Quality Assurance Manager.

Scope:           Responsible for all phases of Quality management and all activities that are required to safely produce quality products with the most efficient use of labor and materials on a scheduled shift and line(s).

Abbreviations:          NRI – Nutritional Resources, Inc.

Responsibilities:        Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provide leadership to the plant in areas of food safety and product quality.
• Serve as liaison for governmental inspections.
• Assure that Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) are consistently and effectively followed and ensure pest control program compliance.
• Support quality initiatives by participating in routine Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) walk-throughs and participating in or leading any food safety or quality initiatives.
• Assure that Quality Assurance staff is properly trained and resourced.
• Ensure thorough and effective annual training to include the quality codes of Safe Quality Foods (SQF3), Good Manufacturing Practices GMPs and Food Safety Programs.
• Assure that Quality Department record keeping is accurate and meets Safe Quality Foods (SQF) and government regulations.
• Verify that receiving procedures for incoming and outgoing ingredients are in compliance with quality and safety standards.
• Investigate customer complaints and collaborate with production on resulting action plans.
• Provide support to production in continuous improvement effort.
• Provide feedback to suppliers to improve relationships and resolve quality issues.
• Assist the staff management team in all Safe Quality Food (SQF) policies and requirements.
• Support the development, implementation, maintenance and ongoing improvement of the SQF Systems.
• Supervise, coach, and direct reports in the performance of employee duties; complete performance reviews and provide feedback to direct reports.
• Supervise maintenance of NRI Document Control System of quality records and ensure staff has access to current documents.
• Direct monitoring activities, verifying, maintaining and retaining records that they are documented and implemented.
• Verify all agreements relating to food safety and customers product requirements.
• Lead the investigation for root cause and resolution of complaints from customers and authorities.
• Ensure correction and corrective action of deficiencies identified during internal audits. Communicate audit results to relevant management personnel and staff after identifying corrective actions.
• Facilitate the process of handling of non-conforming product, raw material, ingredient, work-in-progress, packaging or equipment detected during receipt, storage, processing, or delivery are documented.
• Inform relevant staff of the organization's quarantine and release requirements applicable to equipment or product placed under quarantine status.
• Verify that product that is reworked (recycled or recouped) conforms to applicable SQF elements.
• Document product release methods. Ensure that product is released by authorized personnel, once all inspections and analyses are successfully completed and legislative and other established food safety controls have been met.
• Document the investigation, resolution, management and control of corrections and corrective actions, to include the identification of the root cause and resolution of non-compliance of critical food safety limits and deviations from food safety requirements.  Serve as the Recall Coordinator.
• Implement and document methods used to withdraw or recall product.
• Implement and document product traceability to ensure finished product is identified to the customer.  Provide traceability through the process to the raw material supplier and date of receipt, food contact packaging and/or materials.
• Responsible for informing SQFI and the certification body in instances of a food safety incident of a public nature or product recall for any reason.
• Responsible for coordinating the calibration and re-calibration of measuring test and inspection equipment used for monitoring activities.
• Participate in the development and approval of detailed raw material, ingredient and packaging specifications.
• Participate in evaluation, approval and monitoring of approved suppliers.
• Responsible for coordinating the sampling, inspecting and/or analyzing of raw materials, finished product and work in progress and documentation.
• Responsible for selecting external laboratories with input from the Microbiologist.
• Responsible for training of the Quality Department.

Food Safety Responsibilities

• Member of the Recall Team with responsibilities described in NRI 2.1 Product Recall.
• Member of the Food Defense Team with responsibilities described in NRI 12.8.1 Food Defense Plan.
• Monitor to ensure that Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, Quality Standard Operating Procedures, allergen programs, formulations and finished product consistently meet specification.
• Audit plant sanitation process through environmental testing, product testing and physical inspections.
• Schedule, conduct and document, internal audits to verify the effectiveness of the SQF System including facility and equipment inspections, pre-requisite programs, food safety plans and legislative controls.
• Responsible for implementation and documentation to prevent foreign matter contamination of the product and communicate to all staff.
• Establish criteria for ensuring and verifying the effectiveness of pre-requisite programs and validating critical food safety limits to ensure they achieve their intended purpose; responsible for the criteria being documented and implemented.  Ensuring that critical food safety limits are re-validated at least annually.
• Coordinate methods to verify the effectiveness of the cleaning and sanitation program.
• Implement and document the cleaning of the food handling, processing equipment, environment, storage areas, staff amenities and toilet facilities.
• Oversee that dry, wet and liquid waste handling poses no risk to food production and storage and complies with regulations
• Implement and document the pest and vermin management program.   Monitor the effectiveness of integrated pest management. Maintain staff awareness and training in the use of pest and vermin control chemicals and baits as appropriate.

Organizational Relationships

• This position reports to the Chief Operating Officer. 
• Reporting to the QA Manager are the QA Supervisor, Microbiologist, SQF Practitioner, Document Control Administrator, QA Tech(s), Sanitation Tech(s) and X-Ray Technician.
• This position covers or arranges coverage of the QA Supervisor in event of temporary absence or position vacancy.
• In the event of absence, this position is covered by the QA Supervisor.

Minimum Qualifications

• Must possess and maintain a valid driver’s license.

Physical Demands

• Must be able to perform the essential functions of this position with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Walking and standing on concrete during work schedule.  Required to climb stairs, kneel, crouch, carry containers in hands, handle cleaning chemicals and lift 50-pound containers. 

Work Environment

• This is an indoor food processing environment that may have wet floors, humid and/or dusty conditions. The ambient noise level does not currently require the use of ear plugs, although these are available.  Facility regularly processes known food allergens.

Salary : $65,000 - $75,000