Plant Quality and Technology Manager - Ames, IA

Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A • Ames, IA

504d

About The Position

The Plant Quality and Technology Manager is responsible for ensuring the correct application of Barilla's Quality & Food Safety and Technology management systems. This role is crucial in delivering products that meet customer requirements, internal specifications, regulatory requirements, and corporate procedures. The manager will design and implement policies and procedures to ensure that quality standards and process procedures are met. This includes overseeing laboratory analyses to ensure that quality standards are maintained, intervening in case of anomalies, and promoting the adoption of product quality control methods and equipment management among all personnel. Additionally, the manager will oversee process technology and all related systems and work processes. Key responsibilities include building the strategy for deploying all quality and food safety systems for the product portfolio, managing the Processing Technologist and Quality Specialist, and serving as the Food Safety Team Leader and Food Defence Officer. The manager will ensure adherence to current laws and regulations, customer requirements, GFSI certification, and company procedures for raw materials, packaging materials, semi-finished, and finished products by respecting sampling and control plans. They will also manage non-conformities, consumer complaints, and process deviations, ensuring proper recognition and setting up corrective and preventative actions. The role requires ensuring the reliability of the Quality Department through the application of defined KPIs, measurement methods, and calibration procedures, while keeping lab and plant employees aligned in performing analyses. The manager will support and apply vendor assurance tools for raw materials, packaging materials, finished products, and logistic providers from approval to performance evaluation. They will ensure adherence to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and effective implementation of company policies regarding hygiene and safety, including HACCP and Integrated Pest Management. Furthermore, the manager will develop the processing technologist through projects and activities, establishing priorities in cooperation with Industrialization to guarantee plant needs and support for Industrialization trials and projects. Promoting a culture of Quality and Technology through training plans for plant employees is also a key responsibility. The manager will ensure internal and external plant auditing of the Quality Management System (QMS) and Technology by coordinating periodic inspections and executing subsequent corrections, corrective actions, and root cause analysis. They will oversee cleaning, sanitation, and integrated pest management, support the Industrialization team in product scale-up and start-up activities, and conduct capability studies while managing product standards. The manager will act as the Quality and Technology lead for facility design changes and new product introductions, serving as the facility contact person for audits and inspections related to quality and food safety. Finally, they will define the budget and capital expenditures for Quality & Technology in agreement with the plant manager and work effectively with cross-functional teams to contribute to the working relationship with Barilla America.