FSQA Director

John Soules Foods is an industry leader in fully cooked chicken and beef items produced at three further processing facilities located in Tyler, TX (headquarters), Gainesville, GA, and Valley, AL. JSF is committed to delivering the highest quality and safest products in the industry.

The FSQA Director position at John Soules Foods leads the plant FSQA teams in all components of food safety and quality. The ideal candidate for this position is a strong leader and cross-functional partner with the ability to optimize plant level and corporate FSQA processes through technology, interface directly with key customers, and collaborate with the plant operations and FSQA management teams to lead continuous improvement projects. This individual will also lead key corporate initiatives. This position reports directly to the Head of FSQA.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop plant FSQA managers across the enterprise for all three facilities.
• Direct compliance activities for all applicable regulatory, food safety, and quality standards.
• Verify effective implementation of all corporate food safety and quality systems.
• Interface directly with FSIS leadership, including District level management personnel.
• Direct FSQA continuous improvement activities based on in-plant data and risk assessments.
• Develop and report food safety and quality related KPI’s.
• Develop and communicate FSQA data trends and lead root-cause analysis.
• Interface with cross-functional leaders to assess, implement, and maintain FSQA related technologies.
• Serve as the project lead and subject matter expert for new electronic QMS implementation including, but not limited to, full gap assessment of existing system and paper-based records, design and implementation of new system, and the training of FSQA and cross functional departments.
• Track and trend overall systems utilization and compliance for eQMS and inventory management.
• Develop and verify standard FSQA processes for the systematic traceability and control of inventory.
• Develop and review key customer complaint responses
• Interface directly with customers to lead plant audits and present complaint responses, overall trending, and communicate corporate FSQA improvement initiatives.
• Review and track complaint trends, preventative measures, and work directly with the plant food safety teams on targeted process improvement projects based on complaint data.
• Collaborate and partner with IT, Operations, R&D, and Supply Chain leadership.
• Create and manage budget, planning, and execution of activities.
• Authorized to hold non-confirming product and determine product disposition.
• Lead key corporate FSQA initiatives and projects.
• Serve as backup for the Head of FSQA.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree required in Food Science, Meat/Animal Science, or related discipline such as chemistry, biology, or microbiology.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 7+ years’ experience in food processing and quality management, meat industry FDA and USDA-regulated products preferred.
• Technical knowledge of food quality/safety procedures and programs, regulatory requirements, microbial hazards, HACCP/HARPC programs, microbiological laboratory procedures, sanitation procedures, and plant operations.
• Experience with Statistical Process Control.
• Direct plant level experience in FSQA leadership.
• Experience utilizing and/or implementing electronic QMS systems.
• Experience auditing against corporate, regulatory, and third-party audit criteria.
• Strong interpersonal skills, written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to effectively communicate throughout all levels of the organization.
• Ability to analyze data and information and to make effective and timely decisions.
• Capacity to work with others to identify opportunities.
• Strong leadership and managerial skills and the ability to coach and develop employees.
• Solid project management, multi-tasking, and prioritization skills.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Word proficiency.
• Ability to travel offsite up to 50%.