Food Safety & Quality Manager

CRUSH IT HERE!
We're not just about grapes. Our bold ambition is to be the leading company of convenient, good for you, fruit-based food and beverage globally. To make this happen, we need talented, agile and innovative people who want to help us grow something special together.

Our culture is authentic, and we are building an inclusive environment where you belong and can be the best version of yourself. If you're passionate about achieving goals, trying new things and making an impact every day, we want to hear from you!

Position Summary:

We're looking for an experienced Operational Quality Leader as our Food Safety & Quality Manager to join our team with the focus of working with internal and external manufacturing locations to ensure Food Safety and Quality Assurance and that our products are safe, consistently delight consumers, and fully comply with all regulatory and food safety expectations.

What You'll Do:
• Create, improve, and maintain the Quality Assurance and Food Safety programs for the Lawton, MI manufacturing location, including support of associated distribution and storage locations.
• Upholding company standards and meeting all applicable food safety/regulatory requirements, make decisions and drive solutions balancing cost and risk supporting the business.
• Establish clear goals and objectives for the plant food safety & quality team in alignment with corporate initiatives that ensures food safety, regulatory compliance, consistent product quality driving consumer satisfaction.
• Lead ongoing Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification (SQF) of Lawton plant, as measured by internal, corporate, SQF, customer and regulatory audits.
• Lead continuous improvement projects driving reduced consumer complaints while minimizing product and ingredient out of spec waste.
• Manage on-site laboratories and Food Safety & Quality team to ensure positive and cohesive teamwork, execution of all assigned duties, and accuracy of analytical methods.
• Lead the safety for FSQ teams to assure all team members are safe and there are no injuries.
• Assure sanitation programs are monitored and provide technical leadership to facility to set plan for execution and monitoring. Work with operations team to assure execution of sanitation.
• Actively participate and provide leadership to plant leadership teams.
• Actively support development and implementation of food safety and quality policies and procedures to assure compliance to regulatory standards, alignment with industry best practices, and integrated with overall Welch's food safety and quality policies and procedures. Actively participate on Corporate team developing / revising these policies. Lead training and verification of policies and procedures.

Who You Are:

• A driver of change who can lead and influence others within and outside of the organization
• A person with strong written and verbal communicator who is comfortable in individual, small group, and presentation settings.
• A person with strong project manager and organizational skills who delivers results under tight timelines and multiple projects and priorities.
• Someone who is technically curious with the ability to translate insights into plans and actions.

What You'll Need:
• B.S. required in Food Science, Engineering, Chemistry, Microbiology or related science.
• 5-8 years combined experience in Food Safety or Quality Assurance, Plant Quality Assurance, and Plant Operations.
• Comprehensive understanding of plant operations as it relates to food safety and quality with experience in plant quality and food safety management.
• Demonstrated hands on capabilities applying microbiological, thermal processing, sanitation methodology, HACCP and FSMA Preventative Control program management, and pest control expertise.
• Ability to travel 10 - 15%

What You'll Enjoy:
• Organization with a bold, clear purpose.
• Authentic culture that supports working together to deliver results.
• Workplace where teams care about each other and your voice is heard.

• 40 hours paid time off for volunteerism for all non-union employees
• Core and voluntary benefits so you can choose the right recipe for you.
• Generous 401(k) plan with annual company match.
• Learning and development opportunities with coaching.

Welch's believes that our differences make the difference, and we take pride in being an Equal Opportunity Employer Disability/Vets.