Quality Systems Specialist - Tipton
About The Position
The Quality Systems Specialist leads Ventura Coastal in maintaining systems related to regulatory compliance, food safety, quality systems, and customer satisfaction. The role ensures that regulatory and customer requirements are communicated throughout the company and followed through to completion. It drives quality-systems compliance across departments and reports directly to the Food Safety and Quality Systems Manager, who assumes or delegates the role’s tasks when the Specialist is absent. The Specialist serves as the company’s SQF Practitioner, maintains and improves SQF systems, manages Organic, Kosher, and Halal certifications, and oversees food-safety programs and documentation. The role coordinates with regulatory bodies, customers, suppliers, and plant teams; supports audits, inspections, training, and corrective actions; and advises on plant projects affecting product processes. The position requires travel between facilities and availability to address quality-related issues, training needs, or inspections outside regular hours when necessary.
Requirements
- Two years of leadership experience in a food-processing or manufacturing environment.
- HACCP certification.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and video and teleconferencing software.
- Ability to work independently while also working in a team setting.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to clearly articulate thoughts, plans, and proposals.
- Ability to use root-cause-analysis tools and organize or lead root-cause-analysis sessions as needed.
- Ability to meet flexible and changing priorities and work under pressure.
- Ability to regularly sit, stand, reach, and move about laboratory and production facilities in normal ambient temperatures.
- Ability to lift up to 25 pounds as needed.
- Ability to travel between facilities.
- Availability on a 24/7 basis to address quality-related issues, training needs, or off-hours inspections as necessary.
Nice To Haves
- Bachelor’s degree in a scientific or food-related discipline; equivalent industry experience will also be considered.
- Train-the-Trainer certification.
- SQF Practitioner training.
- Internal Auditor training.
Responsibilities
- Continuously improve and sustain the company’s SQF quality systems and promote their visibility.
- Serve as the company’s SQF Practitioner, maintain compliance with applicable SQF Code modules, validate changes to food-safety fundamentals and plans, and verify food-safety fundamentals and plans, including CCPs.
- Develop, update, review, and modify SQF systems; communicate relevant information for their implementation and maintenance; and review and update SQF documents annually.
- Maintain SQF system publications and the master document register.
- Manage Organic, Kosher, and Halal certifications.
- Update quality systems and prerequisite programs, including HACCP, recall planning, GMPs, supplier verification and approval, food defense, food fraud, glass and brittle-plastic policies, CAPA, and allergen management.
- Ensure compliance with applicable state and federal regulatory bodies, including CDPH, USDA, and FDA, and interface with food-safety and compliance agencies.
- Prepare responses to non-compliance and oversee corrective actions.
- Organize and facilitate customer and regulatory audits and inspections, as well as supplier audits.
- Manage the packing-house auditing program by monitoring annual fruit volumes and scheduling and leading audits as necessary.
- Monitor and contribute to new food-safety regulations and trends, including through participation in symposiums and conferences.
- Serve as HACCP team leader for individual processing plants.
- Promote food-safety and quality systems through GMP audits, training development, and plant feedback.
- Manage the document-control index for SOPs, forms, and work aids; assign document-control numbers to new policies; and manage the document repository in SharePoint.
- Author standard operating procedures to support consistent execution of food-safety and quality-systems processes.
- Respond in a timely manner to customer requests, questionnaires, and surveys related to food safety and quality systems.
- Communicate with and train plant employees and new employees on orientation materials and other food-safety topics as needed.
- Assist with change management and provide internal food-safety consulting on plant projects affecting product processes.
- Adhere to PPE and personal and plant safety regulations, and participate in company safety initiatives.
- Maintain reliable attendance, punctuality, and professional conduct toward customers, visitors, and vendors.
- Perform other duties as required.
- Travel between facilities and be available as necessary for quality-related issues, training needs, and off-hours inspections.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
