IT Quality Assurance Manager jobs in Kalamazoo, MI

Title: Quality Assurance Manager

Classification/Job Grade: Salary

Location: Battle Creek, MI

Department: Lab

Supervised by: General Manager

The Quality Assurance Manager directs and leads a team of individuals to ensure effective quality execution, continuous improvement, and regulatory compliance. They will provide leadership within the facility to drive positive change through influence and example. This individual, in conjunction with plant operations, will build and maintain an effective culture of food safety and quality within the facility. The QA Manager is responsible for developing and maintaining facility systems and processes that ensure finished product is food safe and meets finished product specifications. This person should be a highly organized effective communicator with an inquisitive mind with the capacity to investigate and lead solution-based decision making in the plant.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Ensure compliance to regulatory requirements, and internal FSQ programs/standards
• Ensure daily plant Quality and Food Safety operations follow Prairie Farms policies, procedures, customer requirements, and local, state, and federal regulations.
• Responsible for the Food Safety and Quality Plans along with supporting prerequisite programs.
• Enhance and maintain plant policies, procedures, and practices to safeguard a cGMP environment.
• Through cross functional collaboration assess and maintain an effective plant hygiene plan.
• Ownership of PEM Program utilizing information to ensure holistic management of food safety issues, while implementing effective corrective actions.
• Oversee plant sanitation to drive a robust sanitation program that supports a cGMP environment.
• Ensure the plant pest control programs are current, followed, and utilized to enable proactive maintenance.
• Manage the facility’s change control program to enable robust risk assessment and decisions.
• Collaboratively lead investigations relating to non-conforming events driving to root cause(s) and effective resolution. Maintain the CAPA program.

Customer Centric

• Serve as the point of contact for customer related issues, complaints or inquires.
• Manage plant complaint investigations ensuring a thorough, effective, timely, and customer facing response.
• Monitor compliance to customer expectation and specifications, communicate any issues/concerns.
• Maintain plant preparedness for customer and regulatory audits/visits

Provide Leadership

• Serve as a key member of the plant leadership team.
• Partner with Operations to build a world class food safety & quality culture.
• Foster a positive and effective work culture with direct reports

• Identify and retain highly effective personnel through proper selection, training/development, and setting expectations for performance.
• Participate in the annual plant budgeting process.
• Partner with the plant manager on identifying key capital projects that support food safety and quality initiatives.
• Provide training to the plant personnel concerning food safety, FSMA and regulatory compliance.
• Provide quality leadership during unplanned events or emergencies
• Provide visible leadership by participating in internal audits.
• Engage and interact with all personnel on a regular basis assisting them with their challenges and questions concerning food safety.

Quality Control

• Overall responsibility for all analytical and micro activities performed at the facility.
• Oversee the development of cGMP laboratory practices to ensure accurate and precise QC results.
• Develop strategies for external QC testing to supplement internal programs.
• Perform data analysis to identify critical trends or find leading indicators to enable proactive decisions.

Requirements

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required in Food Science, Biological Sciences or related field
• 5 years of experience in food processing environment
• 3 years of experience managing teams
• Prefer experience in dairy manufacturing
• Certification and/or Licenses
  • HACCP certification
  • SQF Practitioner certified or obtain within first 90 days.
  • PQCI certification

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of 21 CFR Part 117
• Knowledge of both laboratory and plant cGMPs.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and company computer systems, specifically Excel
• Knowledge of principles and practices of supervision, training, and personnel management.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The noise level in the work environment may be loud
• The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk and sit for long periods of time

Prairie Farms, Inc. is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. This job overview is not all inclusive. In addition, reserves the right to amend this job overview at any time.