Plant Quality & Food Safety Manager

High Liner Foods•Lunenburg, NS

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Plant Quality & Food Safety Manager is responsible for the overall execution, leadership, and continuous improvement of the site’s food safety and quality systems. Reporting directly to the Director, Corporate Food Safety & Quality, this role oversees all Quality Assurance and Sanitation functions, ensuring employee safety, regulatory compliance, and consistent production of safe, high‑quality, and fully compliant products. The Plant Quality & Food Safety Manager serves as the site’s food safety and quality champion, leading a culture of audit‑readiness every day, coaching and developing team members, and partnering with cross‑functional leaders to drive operational excellence. This position supports Production, Procurement, R&D, Sales, Marketing, and Corporate Food Safety while fostering a strong, proactive food safety and quality culture throughout the organization.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Nutrition, or related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
Minimum 7 years of progressive experience in food manufacturing quality and food safety, including supervisory leadership.
Strong working knowledge of HACCP, SQF or other GFSI schemes, FSMA, and regulatory requirements (FDA, USDA, CFIA, etc.).
Experience managing sanitation programs and understanding sanitation chemistry, validation, and verification.
Demonstrated leadership ability with experience managing unionized employees preferred.
Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to simplify complex concepts.
High attention to detail, accuracy, and organizational skills.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively across all levels of the organization.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and familiarity with quality systems, databases, and specification management tools.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing unionized employees preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the day‑to‑day operations of the Quality Assurance and Sanitation Departments, including QA Supervisors, QA Technicians (unionized), Sanitation leadership, and hourly sanitation employees.
Ensure full implementation, execution, and verification of all food safety and quality programs, including HACCP, GMPs, SOPs, SSOPs, allergen control, environmental monitoring, and traceability.
Serve as the site HACCP Team Coordinator; partner with Corporate Food Safety to maintain and improve corporate policies, procedures, and guidelines.
Champion a strong food safety and quality culture, ensuring all employees understand and uphold their responsibilities.
Ensure the plant sanitation program is effective, validated, and consistently executed; oversee sanitation performance, chemical management, and compliance with the Master Sanitation Schedule.
Lead all regulatory, customer, and third‑party audits, ensuring the facility is audit‑ready every day.
Ensure compliance with all federal, state, provincial, and local regulations, SQF requirements, FSMA, and customer expectations.
Manage the non‑conformance process, ensuring robust investigations, timely disposition, and strong corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
Investigate and respond to consumer and customer complaints, identifying root causes and implementing sustainable solutions.
Validate changes to manufacturing processes, equipment, ingredients, and sanitation procedures to ensure ongoing food safety and quality compliance.
Serve as a key member of the Plant Leadership Team, collaborating with Operations, Maintenance, HR, and Corporate partners to ensure alignment and execution of business objectives.
Support new product development, process trials, and product launches in partnership with Corporate R&D.
Provide technical guidance to internal stakeholders regarding specifications, regulatory requirements, and quality standards.
Oversee pest control program performance and vendor relationships as required.
Manage departmental budgets for labor, lab supplies, sanitation chemicals, pest control, and external services.
Coach, mentor, and develop QA and Sanitation team members to support growth, engagement, and high performance.
Set clear expectations, conduct performance reviews, and manage daily accountability.
Ensure adequate staffing, training, and coverage for all QA and Sanitation functions.
Foster a positive working environment aligned with company values and Code of Conduct.
Analyze key performance metrics and lead the development and execution of the site’s quality improvement plan.
Identify and implement process improvements that enhance food safety, quality, efficiency, and cost effectiveness without compromising compliance.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives using data from complaints, audits, environmental monitoring, and internal non‑conformances.
Support the implementation of corporate initiatives, including the High Liner Operating System or equivalent operational excellence frameworks.
Continuously evaluate departmental processes, competencies, and systems to ensure ongoing improvement and sustainability.