Quality Assurance Manager - Scarborough

Belpak; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus plan

Benefits

Training and development

Job summary

Belvika Trade & Packaging Ltd. DBA BelPak is seeking an experienced Quality Assurance Manager to lead QA and Food Safety at the Thornmount facility in Canada. The role requires regulatory knowledge, SQF maintenance, and strong collaboration with Production, Maintenance and senior management to uphold food safety standards.

You will guide audits, CAPA, allergen control, traceability, and product disposition while driving continuous improvement across all departments.

Qualifications

• Experience ensuring compliance with Canadian food safety regulations (SFCA/SFCR) and CFIA expectations.
• Strong knowledge of SQF, HACCP, GMP, and customer-specific food safety requirements.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage audits and CAPA processes.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate CFIA inspections and regulatory communications.
• Lead the implementation and ongoing improvement of the QMS and Food Safety Management System.
• Manage internal, customer and third-party audits and corrective actions.
• Oversee QA activities across production, packaging, warehousing, and sanitation.
• Investigate non-conformances and drive root-cause analyses and continuous improvement.

Skills

Regulatory compliance

CFIA liaison

Quality management

Audits

Food safety

Job description

Belvika Trade & Packaging Ltd. DBA BelPak is a leading one-stop contract packaging company, specializing in precision packing of dry foods, chocolate and confectionary products from multiple facilities totaling more than 500,000 ft2. BelPak has grown to be one of the largest co-packers of chocolate, confectionary and snack products in Canada. BelPak uses its extensive experience in managing both manual processes and automated equipment to handle primary and secondary packaging of products for some of the world’s best-known confectionary brands.

BelPak is an equal opportunity employer, offering competitive wages, a bonus plan, benefit plan, ongoing training and an interesting and challenging work environment. We will provide the tools and training that you require to excel at your role together with access to Senior Management to provide additional support and guidance. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodation is available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Please visit our web site www.BelPak.com for additional information and to determine if we are the right fit for your career

BelPak is seeking an experienced, proactive, and results-driven Quality Assurance Manager to lead the Quality Assurance and Food Safety programs at our Thornmount facility. The Thornmount location is a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) registered establishment, operating in a dynamic food manufacturing and co-packing environment, servicing multiple customers and handling a diverse range of food products, including products containing meat ingredients and regulated allergens.

Position Summary

The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable Canadian food safety regulations, maintaining SQF certification, managing customer and regulatory audits, and promoting a strong culture of food safety, quality, accountability, and continuous improvement across all departments.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong technical knowledge, regulatory experience, effective communication skills, and the ability to work closely with Production, Warehouse, Blending, Maintenance, and senior management teams on-site on a daily basis.

Key Responsibilities

1. Regulatory Compliance & CFIA Coordination

• Ensure ongoing compliance with applicable Canadian food safety legislation, including the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA), Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), and applicable requirements under the Food and Drugs Act and Food and Drug Regulations.
• Act as the primary facility contact for CFIA inspectors and other regulatory authorities, coordinating inspections, documentation requests, follow-up activities, and regulatory communications.
• Maintain regulatory readiness for a CFIA-registered establishment, including applicable controls and documentation associated with meat-containing products.
• Oversee compliance with applicable licensing, preventive control, traceability, product identification, labelling, and record-keeping requirements.
• Coordinate responses to regulatory observations, non-compliances, and corrective action requests, ensuring timely and effective resolution.
• Monitor regulatory updates and assess their impact on facility operations, procedures, and food safety programs.

2. Food Safety & Quality Management Systems

• Lead the implementation, maintenance, verification, and continuous improvement of the facility's Quality Management System (QMS) and Food Safety Management System.
• Maintain compliance with SQF, HACCP, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and applicable customer-specific food safety and quality requirements.
• Act as the designated SQF Practitioner or backup, as assigned, ensuring the effective implementation and maintenance of the SQF System.
• Oversee the development, review, validation, and verification of HACCP plans, preventive control programs, prerequisite programs, SOPs, and supporting documentation.
• Ensure effective implementation of allergen management, sanitation, environmental monitoring, pest control, foreign material prevention, food defence, and food fraud prevention programs.
• Maintain effective document control, quality records, and program review processes.

3. Audit Management & Customer Compliance

• Support the QA Audit Lead Sr. Manager in coordinating regulatory, SQF certification, customer, third-party, and internal audits, taking responsibility for ensuring facility readiness, providing on‑site support during audit execution, and coordinating the implementation and follow‑up of corrective actions to address identified findings.
• Maintain the facility in a continuous state of audit readiness through regular inspections, GMP assessments, and proactive identification of food safety and quality risks.
• Act as a key representative of the facility during customer audits and technical assessments.
• Manage audit findings, develop corrective and preventive action plans (CAPA), and verify their effectiveness.
• Ensure compliance with customer‑specific quality standards, specifications, and contractual food safety requirements.
• Collaborate with customers and internal stakeholders to address technical inquiries, quality concerns, and continuous improvement opportunities.

4. Operational Quality Assurance & Food Safety Controls

• Oversee daily QA activities across production, packaging, blending, warehousing, and sanitation operations.
• Ensure effective execution and documentation of quality control checks, including product specifications, packaging integrity, coding and labelling verification, weight controls, and finished product inspections.
• Oversee sanitation verification activities, including ATP testing, allergen swabbing, and cleaning validation programs.
• Ensure effective monitoring and verification of foreign material detection and prevention systems, including X‑ray equipment, metal detection where applicable, magnets, and screening controls.
• Manage and oversee product holds, non‑conforming materials, investigations, product disposition, and release processes.
• Oversee product traceability, mock recall, export documents and procedures, ensuring regulatory and customer requirements are met.
• Work closely with Operations and Maintenance to address equipment‑related quality risks, sanitation deficiencies, and potential contamination hazards.
• Ensure food safety and quality requirements consistently applied across all production shifts.

5. Non‑Conformance Management & Continuous Improvement

• Lead investigations into customer complaints, internal non‑conformances, process deviations, and food safety incidents.
• Conduct root cause analyses and implement effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Monitor recurring quality issues and identify opportunities to