Quality and Food Safety Manager

Shearer's Foods•Brewster, OH

About The Position

The Quality and Food Safety Manager leads the facility’s Quality Assurance and Food Safety programs, ensuring compliance with company, customer, regulatory, SQF, and AIB standards. The role serves as the facility’s SQF Practitioner and Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI), and manages the Food Safety Plan, prerequisite programs, GMPs, SOPs, and related quality systems, including verification and validation activities. The manager maintains audit readiness and supports SQF, AIB, customer, internal, and regulatory audits and inspections. The role partners with Operations to uphold quality and food safety standards on the production floor, leads and develops the QA team, investigates customer complaints and quality concerns, and uses metrics and data to support continuous improvement. The position also coordinates mock recalls, traceability exercises, and food safety inspections and provides technical guidance to plant leadership, Operations, customers, and cross-functional partners.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in food science, animal science, microbiology, biology, or another science-related field.
At least 10 years of overall professional experience in Quality Assurance, Food Safety, and Sanitation.
At least 5 years in a supervisory or management position in a plant of similar complexity and size.
Broad knowledge and experience in quality and food safety management gained through successive levels of responsibility in a plant environment.
Required certifications: Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI), SQF Practitioner or another GFSI standard, and HACCP.
Knowledge of FDA standards and FSMA regulations.
Ability to direct, coach, and train associates, as well as plan, monitor, and schedule work.
Ability to lead and demonstrate “Best in Class” behaviors focused on food safety, quality assurance, and plant regulatory compliance.
Experience working directly with customers and suppliers.
Demonstrated ability to use statistical process control for quality monitoring, improvement, and problem-solving.
Leader of change with strategic thinking.

Responsibilities

Lead the plant’s Quality Assurance and Food Safety programs, driving a culture of quality, compliance, and continuous improvement.
Serve as the facility’s SQF Practitioner and Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI).
Manage the Food Safety Plan, prerequisite programs, GMPs, SOPs, and related quality systems, including verification and validation activities.
Maintain audit readiness and support SQF, AIB, customer, internal, and regulatory audits and inspections.
Partner with Operations to ensure quality and food safety standards are consistently followed and address production-floor issues promptly.
Lead, coach, and develop the QA team, strengthening technical expertise, accountability, and problem-solving capabilities.
Investigate customer complaints and quality concerns; lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions; and identify trends and improvement opportunities.
Monitor quality metrics and data to drive continuous improvement, product quality, food safety, and operational performance.
Coordinate mock recalls, traceability exercises, and food safety inspections.
Provide technical support and guidance to plant leadership, Operations, customers, and cross-functional partners.