Quality Assurance Manager

Sunrise Farms • Lethbridge, AB

25d • Onsite

About The Position

Responsible for strict adherence to FSQA, HACCP and Animal Welfare Program, customer requirements, and all regulatory framework for the entire facility. Establishing, implementing and directing the quality assurance and food safety efforts to ensure those requirements for processing components and other materials into finished goods and products conform to food safety, quality, and legal standards. Together with direct reports establish and maintain quality assurance and animal welfare standards, procedures, and controls. Work directly with processing to schedule and control inspection activities and to enforce requirements as specified by raw materials, ingredients, products and package specifications, and regulatory agencies. Initiate corrective action for procedural product or process deficiencies.

Requirements

• Proven leadership, team building, and interpersonal skills; success driven with a “can do†attitude.
• Ability to interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, procedure manuals, etc.
• Computer experience with Microsoft Office Applications (Excel, Word, etc.).
• Ability to effectively communicate with internal and external partners.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Fair, firm, professional and personable in dealing with a multi-ethnic workforce, and in managing QA team.
• Requires a bachelor’s degree in a related field (Food Science, Microbiology, etc.)
• 3-5 years supervisory or managerial experience in Quality Assurance with a food manufacturing facility, preferably raw material and poultry.
• 2-5 years of experience in quality control lab analysis, food processing, Food Industry HACCP and BRC programs, and quality management.
• Broad knowledge of quality control, manufacturing operations, humane handling, animal welfare.
• Understanding of the plant floor and the interdependencies of the operating groups.
• Extensive practical and technical knowledge of plant processing operations.
• Good knowledge of and experience with meat hygiene regulations and CFIA manual of procedures.
• Ability to professionally and confidently represent the company in dealing with CFIA personnel, auditors as well as customer and supplier issues.
• HACCP Plant Development and Implementation required.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced HACCP-Verification.
• Validation and Auditing of a HACCP System preferred.
• GFSI training

Responsibilities

• Manage, plan, coordinate, and direct quality assurance, food safety and animal welfare programs designed to ensure continuous production/service consistent with established regulatory and internal standards.
• Maintain various policies and standard operating procedures including HACCP, Animal welfare, GMP, CFIA regulations, food safety, pest control, internal audit procedures, etc.
• Manage the development and analysis of statistical data and specifications to determine present standards and to establish proposed quality and reliability expectancy.
• Recommend corrective action necessary to ensure conformity with Food safety, Animal welfare, quality specifications and standards.
• Formulate and maintain quality control objectives and coordinate objectives with the production procedures in cooperation with other managers to maximize quality, reliability, and minimize costs.
• Lead Internal and External Audit programs, including knowledge and experience with current SFCR, Animal welfare, and BRC audit guidelines and requirements, to ensure plant’s compliance to CFIA and Corporate Food Safety, Quality and Animal welfare programs (or equivalent).
• Manage proactively, both directly and through intermediate personnel, sanitation related activities to ensure that food safety is not compromised.
• Manage, through intermediate personnel, workers engaged in activities to ensure continuous control over materials, facilities, services and products.
• Develop and implement methods and procedures for monitoring and verification of all work activities from live poultry receiving, slaughter to finished products, providing reports and trends to senior management regularly.
• Plan, promote, and organize training activities related to animal welfare, quality and reliability, including QA staff development.
• Develop hands on quality assurance personnel and complete all related quality training on site.
• Analyze and resolve work problems or assist employees in solving problems.
• Manage installation, inspection, and testing procedures for finished products.
• In conjunction with the Plant Manager, investigate any product that fails to meet specifications, and develop the required improvement processes.
• Ensure nutritional, organoleptic and microbiological standards are met and monitored.
• Ensure the company’s food defense, animal welfare, and foreign animal disease policies and practices are maintained.
• Contribute to the marketing and development of new products through involvement with quality standards and production trials for existing products and/or new products.
• Investigate customer complaints regarding quality and make appropriate adjustments.
• Accountable for enforcement of company’s food safety and animal welfare policies on the production line(s) under our direct supervision.
• Demonstrate company values in all activities and interpersonal relationships.
• Direct the training of new employees.
• Review attendance records for the department and implement discipline as required.
• Implement employee discipline procedure for other issues as required.
• Oversee that all production employees follow good manufacturing practices.
• Reviews frequently the monitoring and documentation of critical control point and animal welfare checks.
• Enforce adherence to food safety, Animal welfare SOP’s and HACCP requirements.
• Assist Plant Manager in the development of departmental expenditure budgets on an annual basis.
• Achieves financial objectives by monitoring results, analyzing results and initiating corrective actions.
• Reviews daily, time and attendance records for those departments under our direct supervision, authorizing for pay, hours of work and any other benefits that an employee might be entitle to.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager