Job Description

This positions ensures compliance with all applicable regulatory, third party, and customer requirements for rendering plants and co-manufacturing operations to ensure the safety and quality of Foster Farms products.  These responsibilities include direct oversight of the following sites located throughout the country:

• Direct
  • Livingston Rendering plant (CA)
  • Farmerville Rendering plant (LA)
  • Two co-manufacturing facilities (CA)

This position works directly with the individual plant managers and complex managers of operations within each area to develop, implement, and maintain the product quality and safety programs to ensure compliance with:

• Regulatory requirements including but not limited to:
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
  • The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)
  • California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Customer product quality and safety requirements and audits

Responsible for product disposition decisions regarding non-conforming product. Authority extended to small and large volumes. Makes decisions to place non-compliant product on hold, particularly large volumes, when needed. Makes decisions to release product on hold, when data supports such actions.

• In the case of product safety and quality non-conformance, ensure and verify proper disposition, implementation, and documentation of corrective actions by production staff.
• Direct operations in deciding and documenting corrective and preventative action steps to be taken.
• Investigate and identify root cause of pathogen testing results that deviate from corporate goals, and work directly with operations to regain process control.
• Regulatory compliance- serve as a subject matter expert regarding new issues and regulations as they pertain to product safety and quality systems.
• Act as the most knowledgeable and experienced resource with operations at the facility-level, to respond to local regulatory / FDA regulatory non-compliance.
• Serve as a Food Safety Team Leader and Preventative Controls Qualified Individual for assigned facilities.
• Work with plant Manager on-site to ensure plant training requirements and frequencies are met. Conduct and lead training sessions as needed.
• Lead Product Safety and Quality Systems for plant and co packing operations.
• Direct program origination, design, implementation and verification at the Livingston Rendering plant, Farmerville Rendering plant and two co packing operations.
• Maintain understanding of processes and functional interdependencies at and beyond the sites.
• Address plant-level regulatory related decisions and defer those involving FDA to the FSQA Director.
• Oversee customer complaints, coordinate cross functional plant management investigation, and prepare formal written responses as required.
• Summarize and present customer complaints and product quality trends to Commodities Management team.
• Lead development, maintenance, and verification of plant specific Food Safety Plans to satisfy FSMA requirements. Responsible for assisting the operations mangers in education, implementation and program compliance in addition to record keeping and overseeing internal audits of process and procedures at specified intervals.
• Oversee third party and customer audit preparation and execution, acting as on-site leader for auditor. Review audit findings and decide, along with plant manager, further actions to be taken and deficiencies noted.
• Manage all customer product safety and quality documentation requests including complete approval questionnaires and submitting supporting documentation.
• Develop and maintain Approved Supplier Program and Sanitary Transportation Program to meet FSMA requirements.
• Directly responsible for approval of new ingredients and suppliers.
• Develop and conduct on-site audits as needed of suppliers to ensure adherence to Approved Supplier Program and product and safety standards.
• Develop internal and co-packing audit platform to conduct routine on-site internal audits of plant and co-packing operations to ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements, customer requirements and company prescribed standards.
• Review internal audits and decide, along with plant manager, further actions to be taken and deficiencies noted.
• Work with operations management to outline and improve product tracking and perform mock recall drills to evaluate product traceability.
• Maintain product quality programs. Oversee ingredient and product sampling, perform quality measurements and analyze plant data to identify trends and establish actions plans, along with plant manager, when undesired direction is observed. Work directly with plant manager in the communication and dissemination of the product safety and quality data.
• Interface with departments responsible for the purchasing of ingredients to ensure prescribed quality standards are achieved.
• Assist with general problem solutions regarding plant processing, inventories, new products, new suppliers or systems etc.
• Directly responsible for APHIS export approval for Livingston Rendering, Farmerville Rendering and co packing operations including defining country specific requirements, creating and directing implementation of programs to meet requirements. Interface with local APHIS office to shepherd approval process.
• Maintain FDA Food Facility Registration for rendering plants.
• Maintain APHIS export approval for rendering plants.

AT MULTIPLE ASSIGNED MANUFACTURING FACILITIES:

• Responsible for functioning as primary FSQA leader
• Managing and enforcing the implementation, verification and validation of product safety and quality programs.                                                
• Ensuring adherence with customer requirements                                                                            
• Managing regulatory relationship with local CDFA and LDAF
• Retaining product that does not conform to customer agreements, finished product specifications, or legal requirements
• Rendering decision for product disposition, including release into commerce
• Lead third party audits for regulatory and customers                                                             
• Audit preparation and execution
• Review of audit findings and coordinate with plant Management to determine appropriate corrective actions      
• Manage customer complaints; coordinate investigation including root cause analysis                                       
• Prepare written responses to customers and direct implementation of corrective actions
• Maintain product quality programs. Oversee product sampling, perform quality measurements and analyze plant date to identify trends and establish corrective actions.                                           
• Manage all customer product safety and quality documentation requests including          
• Complete approval questionnaires and submit supporting documentation.                                                           
• Maintain regulatory approvals for rendering and co packing including APHIS and FDA Food Facility Registrations                                                                                 
• Develop and maintain Approved Supplier Program and Sanitary Transportation Program that includes responsibility for approving new ingredients and suppliers.

Qualifications

·         Bachelors degree from a 4-year, accredited college or university, preferably in the area of animal or food science.

·         Requisite – 5+ years of work experience in animal feed or pet food manufacturing environment with food safety/quality programs focus.

·         Proficient use of PC including Excel, Word, and Power point

·         Cross-functional team leadership skills, managerial skills, and the ability to coach and develop employees.

·         Thorough, practical, and functional knowledge of FDA feed safety including current regulations and directives and FSMA programs.

·         Detail orientated with analytical aptitude; exposure to Statistical Process Control is beneficial.

·         Proactive problem-solving and critical thinking approach to FSQA programs design, implementation, and improvements.

·         Ability to adapt to product changes.

·         Able to prioritize/adjust quickly to changing work environment with minimal supervision to meet changing plant needs.

·         Ability to work independently without direct supervision and instruction.

·         Strong writing and presentation skills, in order to communicate at all levels throughout the organization.

·         Ability to render sound judgement and good decisions regarding quality and wholesomeness of product.

·         Ability to execute sound judgement regarding communication for production disposition decisions.

·         Ability to work flexible hours.

·         Ability to travel 5% day travel, 5% overnight travel

Additional Information

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Foster Farms is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Minorities, Females, Veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Foster Farms participates in E-Verify during the hire process at all locations for all new employees.