Director, Quality & Food Safety

Description

We are a global leader in food & beverage ingredients.Pioneers at heart, we operate at the forefront of consumer trends to provide food & beverage manufacturers with products and ingredients that will delight their consumers. Making a positive impact on people and planet is all part of the delight. With a deep-rooted presence in the countries where our ingredients are grown, we are closer to farmers, enabling better quality, and more reliable, traceable, and transparent supply. Supplying products and ingredients on a scale is just the start. We add value through our unique, complementary portfolio of natural, delicious, and nutritious products. With our fresh thinking, we help our customers unleash the sensory and functional attributes of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts, and spices so they can create naturally good food & beverage products that meet consumer expectations. And whoever we’re with, whatever we’re doing, we always make it real.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Sr. Vice President and Operations Head of Industrial Spices of North America and dotted line to VP of Quality and Food Safety North America - the Director of Food Safety and Quality Olam Industrial Spices will be responsible for the management of all food safety and quality (QFSQFS) activities across the Olam Industrial Spices Plants in North America. The individual will manage the development of QFSQFS systems in the business including continuous improvement of QFSQFS processes and systems, development, and implementation of QFSQFS policies, GFSI/BRC audits and certifications. This individual will work to ensure connectivity and collaboration between Spices business unit functions and will direct the management of overall external QFSQFS environment including customer, supplier, and regulatory interfaces for the business unit.

In addition to extensive experience and demonstrated knowledge in Food Safety and Quality Systems and Operations, they should have advanced risk assessment skills and perform complex investigations and lead root cause analysis and complaint trend analysis. Ability to work well within and lead a team across multiple geographies and business units will be required. The ideal candidate for this position will have experience and understanding of food laws and regulations, primarily with the FDA.

Position Responsibilities

• Manage the implementation and maintenance of QFS policies, customer, and supplier standards across all locations of Olam- Spices.
• Responsible to ensure connectivity and collaboration between QFS functions across the manufacturing facilities, mediate and resolve all QFSA issues in the business.
• Serve as a key contributor in the Business Unit (BU) crisis management team in the event of a food safety incident.
• Monitor FDA/EU/USDA regulatory activities and standards to ensure all regulatory compliance is met within all plants and business units. Also, act as the compliance liaison for all manufacturing locations.
• Apply Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) to identify food safety hazards and provide solutions to the business to mitigate risks through a “preventive” approach.
• Identify and address supplier quality issues with raw materials, packaging materials and ingredients to manufacturing unit in collaboration with purchasing/ supply chain team.
• Build effective external partnerships with customers. Be a representative for the BU to review product performance, respond to complaints and questions and provide proactive and preventive corrective actions as needed.
• Build effective internal partnerships with manufacturing operations to ensure regulatory and customer expectations are met on food safety and quality parameters.
• Work with planning and plant teams to maintain optimal stock levels while minimizing excess inventory. Implement inventory control measures to prevent stockouts and overstock situations.
• Provide input to Quality Senior Leadership related to capital needs to maintain food safety leadership position in the industry.
• Identify and share best practices in executing of QFSQFS programs across the globe through standardization of policies, standards, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Maintain high level engagement with regulatory issues within the industry and provide information both internally and externally as required for the BU success.
• Manage both internal and external compliance issues by demonstrating leadership and project management skills.
• Lead and engage a group of associates across different geographies. Work to develop and grow their abilities and contributions to Olam.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
  
  

Position Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in food science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related fields is required. Master’s degree is preferred.
• Ten (10) years of experience in the management of Quality and Food Safety, function, is required.
• A working knowledge of Food Laws & Regulations is preferred.
• Advanced knowledge of Global Food Safety Initiatives (GFSI) audit protocols such as British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Safe Quality Food (SQF), documentation, document management and interface with external auditors and customer audit programs is required.
• Intermediate project management skills and product information/documentation skills are required.
• Demonstrated successful leadership and team collaboration competencies and ability are required.
• Supplier quality assurance
• Knowledge of SAP applications, and traceability systems within quality management module will be an advantage.
• Excellent communication, both verbal and written, and interpersonal skills are required.
• Proven ability to be self-directed, forward-thinking and ability to make recommendations with limited information/data.
• International experience with customers and specific food regulations in major markets such as Europe and Japan are preferred.
• The ability to maintain composure while dealing with ambiguity is required.
• International and Domestic (regional) travel up to 25% of the time is required.
• Multilingual is preferred (Spanish).
  
  

The pay for this role in the state of CA ranges from $151,000 - $196,000 and is based on the position responsibilities and geographic location. Actual pay within this range may be determined based on candidate’s experience, qualifications and/or other determining factors.

Note: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.

ofi provides equality of opportunity for all persons with respect to hiring without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation. All employment will be decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us for support at: US-Talent.Acquisition@ofi.com

At ofi, we celebrate our diversity. Olam Americas Inc. is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.