Food Safety Specialist

Volm Companies•Antigo, WI

11h•$56,784 - $68,141•Hybrid

About The Position

The Food Safety Specialist is responsible for supporting and advancing Volm’s food safety and food-contact packaging compliance programs, ensuring that all products, processes, facilities, and documentation meet FDA requirements and current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) across manufacturing, transportation, and distribution operations. This position serves as a subject matter expert by conducting compliance assessments, supporting audit readiness, maintaining traceability systems, investigating customer complaints, facilitating corrective and preventive actions, and supporting food defense initiatives. The Food Safety Specialist collaborates with cross-functional teams to reduce risk, protect customers, support certification and inspection outcomes, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement across all sites.

Requirements

Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to communicate effectively in English to ensure safe and efficient job performance.
Strong interpersonal, listening, negotiation, and customer service skills.
Able to work collaboratively with employees, customers, and vendors at all levels.
Ability to understand and follow verbal instructions and perform effectively in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.
Ability to build standardized programs, procedures, and training materials across multiple facilities while influencing teams without direct supervisory authority.
Proven ability to plan, organize, and manage multiple tasks, projects, and deadlines efficiently.
Strong analytical, critical thinking, and decision-making skills.
Able to interpret and act on data accurately.
Commitment to safety, compliance, and customer satisfaction.
Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Packaging, Quality, Operations, or a related field is preferred; equivalent relevant experience in food-contact packaging manufacturing, food safety, or quality systems will be considered.
Minimum 5 years' experience of food safety principles within food-contact packaging manufacturing and distribution environments, including GMPs, sanitation, traceability, and documentation control.
Understanding of purchasing, manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing best practices and standards.
Working knowledge of lean, continuous improvement, and quality methodologies.
Experience supporting or leading AIB, SQF, customer, or regulatory audits and inspections, including preparation, response coordination, corrective action tracking, and verification of effectiveness.
HACCP Certification, Internal auditor certification, and Food Defense training required.

Nice To Haves

Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) related certifications preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide functional support and daily coordination for Food Safety activities across assigned operations and business areas.
Serve as a key business resource by reinforcing standards, supporting team capability, escalating risks, and driving follow-through on corrective actions.
Coordinate and execute activities supporting the implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the food-contact packaging compliance program across manufacturing plants, warehouses, and distribution operations.
Ensure site compliance with applicable FDA requirements, internal quality and food safety standards, current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), sanitation expectations, and applicable customer or certification requirements.
Serve as the primary corporate resource for AIB inspections and support SQF program implementation and readiness activities where applicable.
Coordinate, prepare for, and support internal, customer, certification, and regulatory audits and inspections; track findings through closure and verify the effectiveness of corrective and preventive actions.
Serve as a subject matter expert for the Company’s Food Defense program and support facility-level hazard analysis activities, including HACCP- or risk-based assessments, as applicable to food-contact packaging operations.
Conduct and support complaint investigations, nonconforming product investigations, returned goods reviews, deviations, and product safety incidents using structured root cause analysis and corrective and preventive action (CAPA) methodologies.
Monitor compliance trends, recurring nonconformances, audit scores, complaint data, and other performance indicators to identify systemic risks and recommend corrective or preventive action.
Manage traceability, mock recall, and product disposition activities to verify material identification, lot control, record accuracy, and timely response capability across manufacturing and distribution processes.
Partner with operations, warehouse, maintenance, procurement, quality, and site leadership teams to identify and resolve food safety risks and drive sustainable improvements in preventive controls, housekeeping, material handling, and process discipline.
Provide training, coaching, and guidance to site personnel on GMPs, hygiene, food safety, food defense, traceability, documentation practices, and investigation/corrective action expectations.
Review regulatory, customer, and industry standard changes affecting food-contact packaging manufacturing and distribution, and update programs, procedures, and training accordingly.