Senior Director, Food Safety Quality (FSQ)
About The Position
CJ Schwan’s is hiring a Senior Director, Food Safety & Quality (FSQ) to lead food safety and quality strategy and performance across a multi-site manufacturing platform. This influential leadership role partners closely with Operations and FSQ leaders to strengthen food safety, regulatory compliance, product quality, and manufacturing performance. The role ideally is office-based at the company’s headquarters in Hopkins, Minnesota, and requires 30% travel. The position leads and develops plant FSQ leaders, establishes consistent standards and accountability across manufacturing locations, and translates enterprise strategy into actionable priorities and sustainable results. It drives improvements in consumer complaints, holds and rework, sanitation, environmental monitoring, audit performance, and cost of poor quality. The role also partners with senior Operations leaders to improve process capability, prevent quality issues, and eliminate recurring defects. The Senior Director leads responses to significant food safety and quality incidents, identifies emerging risks and performance trends, recommends investment priorities to senior leadership, and builds FSQ leadership capability through coaching, succession planning, training, and development. The role guides FSQ resource and investment priorities to balance regulatory compliance, risk reduction, product quality, and business performance.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Microbiology, Engineering, or a related field.
- 12+ years of progressive food safety and quality experience, including significant multi-site manufacturing leadership.
- Deep knowledge of USDA/FDA requirements, HACCP, GFSI standards, and food manufacturing quality systems.
- Proven ability to lead leaders, influence senior executives, manage complex food safety and quality issues, and drive sustained improvement across multiple sites.
- Strong business judgment, analytical capability, communication, and change leadership skills.
- Ability to travel as needed.
Nice To Haves
- Master’s degree.
Responsibilities
- Lead and develop plant FSQ leaders, establishing consistent standards and accountability across multiple manufacturing locations.
- Translate enterprise food safety and quality strategy into actionable priorities and sustainable results.
- Drive improvement across consumer complaints, holds and rework, sanitation, environmental monitoring, audit performance, and cost of poor quality.
- Partner with senior Operations leaders to improve process capability, prevent quality issues, and eliminate recurring defects.
- Lead responses to significant food safety and quality incidents, including risk assessment, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and escalation.
- Identify emerging risks, performance trends, and investment priorities, and provide strategic recommendations to senior leadership.
- Build FSQ leadership capability through coaching, succession planning, training, and development.
- Guide FSQ resource and investment priorities to balance regulatory compliance, risk reduction, product quality, and business performance.
Benefits
- Competitive Total Rewards package, including comprehensive health benefits, time off programs, and retirement and financial offerings.
- Eligibility for a 35% annual incentive bonus based on organizational performance.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
