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Novus Foods · 21 hours ago

Quality Assurance Manager

Delphos, OH

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level

5+ years exp

Novus Foods is seeking a Quality Assurance Manager responsible for ensuring food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance at their manufacturing facility. The role involves leading the QA department, managing food safety programs, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to maintain high standards of quality and safety.

Food and Beverage

Hiring Manager

Troy Tabler

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, develop, and performance manage a high-performing Food Safety & Quality team, cultivating a passionate food safety culture that encourages team collaboration, growth, and continuous improvement

Own and drive overall FSQA performance, ensuring alignment with corporate goals, strategy, and regulatory standards

Lead the team in food safety audits, inspections, and assessments, both internal and external, to ensure ongoing compliance and readiness

Serve as authority for onsite food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance decisions and keep up to date with latest food safety news and trends

Represent food safety and quality in cross functional initiatives and ensure appropriate FSQA requirements are met for any construction, new equipment, or new process in the site

Maintain necessary skills matrices and associated development programs to ensure clear career paths for all QA team associates

Implement, and continuously improve FSQA programs and procedures as well as support the SQF practitioner and serve as a back up SQF practitioner for the site

Partner with Operations and Sanitation to ensure food safety requirements are met when it comes to Master Sanitation Schedule, Environmental Monitoring performance, and critical to quality processes

Evaluate and approve specifications for new products and processes understanding the impact that proposed changes may have on nutritional panels, sensory, and regulatory compliance with necessary feedback for any changes required

Responsible for understanding, driving, and delivering KPIs and FSQA Metrics as well as preparing and presenting as needed regular reports to the site leadership team

Ensure the verification and validation activities associated with FSQA plans and SQF system elements are completed

Analyze trends and data to identify risks, opportunities, and areas for improvement

Investigate, provide response, and trend complaints utilizing proper root cause analysis tools to prevent recurrence

Execute and communicate necessary environmental monitoring and finished goods testing as required by FSQA programs

Escalate serious incidents to senior leaders in accordance with escalation protocols and provide necessary updates until the issue is resolved

Mentor Operations on ownership of quality processes that lead to improvements that enhance product quality, consistency, and safety while optimizing costs

Collaborate closely with Plant Operations leadership to embed FSQA culture into daily plant activities, fostering a proactive, quality-first mindset

Serve as a facilitator for the execution of robust root cause analysis (RCA) and effective corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) when required

Participate in Operational Excellence programs as an extension of the plant teams

Support plant teams in troubleshooting events in sanitation, product performance, and quality or food safety issues

Act as a key site leader and partner to the Site Leader, contributing to Delphos site FSQA strategy and organizational direction

Champion food safety culture, influencing cross-functional teams and site leadership

Foster strong relationships with customers, ensuring adherence to quality standards through active feedback ongoing communication both in written and oral capacities

Recommend new technologies and best practices which will support key objectives

Qualification

Food Safety RegulationsQuality Management SystemsHACCP CertificationAnalytical SkillsRoot Cause AnalysisLeadership SkillsCommunication SkillsInterpersonal SkillsProject Management

Required

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or a related field

5 years of progressive experience in food safety and quality assurance, within the food manufacturing industry, with at least 2 years in a supervisor type of role with direct report oversight

In-depth knowledge of food safety regulations (FDA, USDA, FSMA, GFSI, SQF) and quality management systems

Knowledge & certification of seafood HACCP

Dairy experience (PMO, Appendix N antibiotics, culturing, and butterfat)

Experience with Ready-To-Eat refrigerated foods and associated risks

Experience working with complex allergen handling and controls

Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously as required by the needs of the business

Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret data and drive data-driven decisions

Good understanding of root cause analysis and basic lean problem-solving tools

Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate across functions

Ability to travel as necessary to support operations and FSQA initiatives