Quality Manager

AdvancePierre Foods is a nationally recognized supplier of value-added proteins and sandwich products to foodservice, retail, schools and convenience channels across the United States. We collaborate and innovate with our customers to make great-tasting foods, and we take pride in driving profitable growth for every retailer, every kitchen, every menu and every plate.

The Quality Manager is responsible for the food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance of the manufacturing location and for driving a culture of continuous improvement in all areas of responsibility.

**Essential Job Functions** Quality Management * Serve as the final authority for onsite food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance decisions. * Administer the site prerequisite programs and SQF program. Serve as a SQF practitioner for the facility. * Understand, drive, and deliver quality related KPI results in areas such as defects, holds, and rework. * Effectively empower a staff of food industry professionals to obtain company and facility objectives. * Ensure existing programs and procedures are verified and validated and represent optimal allocation of company resources. * Manage multiple complex projects simultaneously related to the needs of the business. * Serve, along with plant manager, as a primary representative of APF to visitors, auditors, customers, and community. * Innovate and inspire a culture of creativity to continuously improve facility systems and programs. * Liaise with local and regional AMS, FSIS, and other government agency representatives through the normal course of business and in the resolution of regulatory complaints. * Coordinate competing priorities and challenging deadlines; leverage cross-functional resources to achieve results. * Develop and maintain plant procedures critical to quality and food safety. * Evaluate and approve specifications for new products, ingredients, and processes. * Champion the needs of the facility and the site quality organization by lobbying for mission-critical resources with data-based justifications. * Customer Service * Maintain relationships with internal and external customers through compliance with contractual agreements, information exchange, and project collaboration. * Communicate directly with customers in written and oral capacities, serving as an instrument of APF in ongoing relationship management. * Facilitate third party and customer audits. * Investigate complaints and develop internal mitigation techniques to prevent recurrence. Track, trend, and communicate to stakeholders. * Maintain a portfolio of active contacts from key industry partners. * Communicate effectively and frequently with leadership in other functional areas of the facility. Prioritize departmental functions to enable successful plant operations. * Team Building * Mentor and motivate team members. Build and execute development plans for team members at subordinate levels of the organization to prepare them for roles of increased responsibility. * Maintain an approved succession plan for yourself and your direct reports. * Use responsible delegation methods to balance workloads in the department and to ensure all team members are engaged in tactical and strategic initiatives according to their positions. * Evolve the site quality organizational structure to suit the needs of the business. * Define job responsibilities within the department and institutionalize quality-related responsibilities outside the quality department through SOPs, standard work instructions, and by coordinating with other functional leaders. * Actively manage the acquisition and organization of talent in the quality department. * Continuous Improvement * Use tools and techniques of statistical process control to improve production efficiency, reduce defects, and stimulate cost savings. * Actively participate in cross-functional projects related to quality and compliance of new and existing products. * Assist in scoping improvement projects. Hold project leaders accountable for detailed investigations, well-designed experiments, sound scientific techniques and data-based decision making. * Work cross-functionally with New Product Development, Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, Scheduling, and Purchasing to ensure initiatives are supported by the equipment, materials and processes necessary to drive sustainable results. * Utilize Lean Manufacturing tools to map and analyze processes and to identify ways to reduce waste, improve work flow, and otherwise increase efficiency. * Understand the impact that proposed changes have on nutritional analysis, product sensory analysis, regulatory compliance, and specification adherence and approve exceptions and changes accordingly. * Technical Expertise and Ideation * Maintain current technical expertise in meat science, food safety, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement methodologies through scientific journals, professional organizations, food shows and technical conferences. * Understand the product channels and markets relevant to the business. * Recommend and champion new technologies and best practices which will support key objectives. * Maintain fluency in current Child Nutrition, Commodity Processing (FPCP), and other relevant programs. * Understand how regulated characteristics (such as standards of identity, net weights, and allowable variances) interact with specifications, labels, and policies. Safeguard facility and product compliance. * Serve as an expert resource in focused-improvement projects. * Function as tactical and strategic technical advisor to facility manager. * Department and Company Strategies, Objectives and Systems * Develop clear, measurable objectives related to company and facility goals and benchmark their attainment. * Set and communicate food safety and quality strategies at the facility and drive their continuous refinement and progression. * Ensure that company policies are fully implemented and supported by plant procedures and practices. * Accept additional responsibilities as needed in the support of company goals.

**Knowledge, Skills and Abilities** * Technical knowledge and good reasoning abilities. * Demonstrated sound situational judgment and the ability to manage risk. * Mature, enthusiastic, leader with a history of successful team building. * Superlative written and oral communications skills. * Excellent computer skills – advanced user of databases, spreadsheets, and propriety suites. * Good organization skills with the ability to plan projects/activities with a high energy level. * Creative problem solving skills, sound judgment, and an orientation towards innovation. * Ability to establish credibility with others, as well as be decisive. * Ability to recognize and support the organizations preferences and priorities. **Education and Experience** * Baccalaureate degree in a rigorous technical field required. * Graduate degree in a rigorous technical field preferred. * Examples of pertinent rigorous technical fields include food science, microbiology, quantitative business, law, chemistry, engineering, and statistics. * An aggregate educational history sufficient to provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. * HACCP, SQF certifications required. * USDA meat processing experience required. * LEAN, Six Sigma, ASQ certifications preferred. * Ten years of progressive leadership in food safety and food quality. * Equivalent combinations of experience and training that provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.