• The Quality Assurance Manager is directly responsible for ensuring that Quality Assurance processes and practices are executed at the Zumbrota facility.
• This position assures Food Safety, Food Defense, and Quality Programs are followed;
• Assures that actions to correct Food Safety and Quality issues are completed; assures proper release of raw materials, WIP, and finished product;
• Provides required reporting to Corporate QA; cooperates with Plant Manager and plant leadership team;
• Takes the lead role for all Food Safety and Quality ?? Regulatory, third-party, and customer audits; and is the HACCP Team Leader for the facility.
  

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assures Food Safety, Food Defense, and Quality Programs are followed
  
• Understands Food Safety, Food Defense, and Quality Programs
  
• Assess compliance by spending time on the plant floor
  
• Multiple trips in plant per day (>2) â?? GMP assessment
  
• Weekly audit of procedure(s)
  
• Issues work orders for issues noted in weekly audits
  
• Issues CAPAs for major system deviations, FM, or micro issues
  
• Sanitation audits
  
• Notifies Operations supervision and plant management of issues
  
• Operations is responsible to implement, train, and assure personnel follow the requirements
  
• Assists with training on Food Safety and Quality Programs
  
• Leads meetings on trends, analyses, and issues with Plant Management
  
• Assess performance by reviewing and analyzing data
  
• Reviews pest control reports
  
• Trends and analyzes EMP data
  
• Continuous improvement based on SPC analysis
  
• Food defense plan
  
• Gives recommendations for improvement
  
• Assures actions to correct Food Safety and quality issues are completed
  
• Follows-up weekly on action items for Food Safety and quality issues
  
• Understands root cause analysis, investigation, and corrective action generation
  
• Holds persons accountable for assigned actions
  
• Reports to Operations supervision and Plant Management lack of action completion
  
• Operations is responsible to complete the actions thereby assigned
  
• EMP ? Plant QA drives actions at plant for resolution
  
• Customer complaint responses
  
• Elevates to Corp. QA Food Safety and quality issues
  
• Assures proper release of raw materials, WIP, and finished product
  
• Assures personnel with access to release materials are trained in proper procedure
  
• Understands the release and disposition procedure
  
• Verifies only QA can release materials
  
• Trains on proper hold and release process with plant personnel
  
• Operations is responsible for implementing program of using and shipping only released material
  
• Audits batch records and MIâ??s
  
• CoA reviews of incoming raw materials against specification
  
• Supervises laboratory and testing functions
  
• Understands testing requirements, assures they are properly followed and in specification prior to release
  
• Creates and maintains technical procedures, lab methods, and work instructions
  
• Ensures accurate and timely lab analysis and reporting
  
• Ensures lab equipment is calibrated as scheduled or needed
  
• Executes lab correlations as required
  
• Supervises lab personnel, where applicable
  
• Plant Manager should know about issues, as well as reporting to Corp QA
  
• Works as a team Corporate QA is the reporting structure, but there must be a good rapport with Plant Management
  
• Focuses on plant QA responsibilities - anything that can be delegated, or not actually a plant QA function needs to be turned over to the proper position
  
• Fully engaged with all supervisors and managers at plant
  
• Leads and participates in meetings
  
• Gives direction regarding Food Safety, food defense, and quality items
  
• Provides Corporate QA message to plant
  
• Works with the Management Team to assist with solutions
  
• If differing opinion on Food Safety and quality items or others, contact Corp. QA
  
• Leads for all Food Safety and Quality - Regulatory, Third-Party, and Customer Audits
  
• Takes the lead for regulatory, third-party, and customer audits for Food Safety and Quality
  
• Understand regulatory, third-party and customer requirements
  
• Assures proper protocol is followed
  
• Understands which records can be shown and/or copied for auditor review
  
• Fully understands all auditable programs
  
• Completes audit response, forwards to Corp. QA for review
  
• Teamwork and Collaboration. Acts as a key member of the Plant Leadership Team.
• May provide and/or receive input from across functional boundaries.
• Understands organizational mesh points and potential synergies. Integrates team efforts across the organization.
  
• Leadership. Acts with integrity. Treats others with dignity and respect. Models behavior that is consistent with ? core values. Delivers on commitments and deadlines and holds others accountable for the same.
• Communication. Effectively communicates with all levels of the organization. Demonstrates excellent presentation, oral, and written communication skills. Executes outstanding customer communication and relationship building techniques.

Required Skills

• Demonstrated knowledge of QA practices and processes in a food manufacturing environment
  
• Proven organizational and project management skills
  
• Computer proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point.
  
• Ability to establish credibility with managers and employees
  
• Ability to manage multiple and simultaneous priorities and prioritize a heavy workload in a fast paced, dynamic environment
  
• Proactive approach towards improving processes and systems
  
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, strong decision making, and problem resolution skills
  
• Ability to identify and handle priority and/or sensitive issues with discretion and a commitment to confidentiality
  
• Demonstrated consulting skills and excellent verbal and written communication skills
  

Required Experience

• Bachelor??s degree in technical or scientific field required
  
• Food manufacturing plant experience, minimum minimum 7 years, dairy plant experience preferred
  
• Quality Assurance experience required