Supplier Quality Sr. Specialist

High Liner Foods; Mississauga; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Supplier Quality Senior Specialist to enhance food safety and quality standards. This role involves managing supplier qualifications, conducting audits, and ensuring compliance with food safety regulations. The ideal candidate will possess strong analytical skills and the ability to foster relationships with suppliers, ensuring that High Liner Foods maintains its commitment to quality. Join a dynamic team that values initiative and collaboration, and contribute to a culture of excellence in food safety and quality management. If you are passionate about making a difference in the food industry, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years in quality/food safety roles in the food industry.
• Bachelor's in Food Science preferred; strong analytical skills required.

Responsibilities

• Support supplier qualification and monitoring programs for quality and safety.
• Conduct audits and manage corrective actions for suppliers.

Skills

Quality Assurance

Food Safety Management

Analytical Problem-Solving

Conflict Resolution

Organizational Skills

People Skills

Team Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science

Technical degree

Tools

Specification Management Systems

Inventory Management Systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

Description

The Supplier Quality Senior Specialist will be responsible for supporting the execution of a best-in-class ingredients and packaging supplier partner qualification program that actively identifies and mitigates quality and food safety risk for High Liner Foods. This person will be an active agent on Food Safety and Quality cultural change and an advocate for the protection of High Liner Foods, our customers, and our consumers. As the face of the Company, they will manage all quality and food safety-related issues and opportunities with supply partners.

Key Responsibilities (This list is not intended to be all-inclusive and other duties may be assigned):

1. Support the execution of a risk-based ingredient and packaging supplier partner qualification and monitoring program.
2. Support the approval process for new ingredient and packaging suppliers, coordinating with cross-functional teams to assess suppliers against quality, food safety, and regulatory criteria.
3. Complete supplier and component risk assessments to identify and prioritize supplier audits based on performance, product risk, and document review.
4. Improve upon document requirements and continuously review relevancy and compliance of expectations.
5. Maintain documentation requirements and assess compliance to ensure they align with both regulatory standards and customer expectations.
6. Request/Review supplier documentation via our supplier compliance portal Trace Gains (e.g., process flows, specifications). Develop technical expertise to drive continuous improvement with the suppliers for identified gaps in documentation and/or programs.
7. Maintain the electronic portal solution for the efficient capturing and management of supplier compliance records.
8. Validate ingredient specifications for quality and food safety attributes ensuring end-to-end alignment with finished product and customer specifications (allergen program).
9. Assist the Supplier Quality Manager in implementing and maintaining the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP), ensuring that foreign suppliers comply with FDA regulations and that imported products meet U.S. safety standards.
10. Identify and secure any non-conforming ingredients and packaging. Manage the hold and disposition process for quarantined material ensuring timely closure and resolution.
11. Lead the creation and execution of the corrective action form including incident investigation and review of supplier responses for corrective and preventive action.
12. Partner with purchasing on non-conforming material, supporting and coordinating investigations as required with suppliers.
13. Complete initial and routine quality and food safety audits of suppliers. Manage the corrective action process.
14. Establish and maintain strong relationships and partnerships with supply partners.
15. Assure compliance of supply partners and their products with all local, state, and federal regulations in the US and Canada.
16. Proactively work to develop processes to prevent recalls, withdrawals, and loss of customers due to quality concerns resulting from international raw material suppliers.
17. Monitor and report on supplier KPIs.
18. Ensure all ingredients related and packaging consumer and customer complaint incidents are reported to supply partners and are thoroughly investigated and resolved.
19. Ensure the management of a strong supplier corrective action program.
20. Provide regular and structured feedback to stakeholders on supplier performance (complaints, non-conformance, etc.).

Qualifications include:

1. Bachelor’s degree (Food Science or technical degree preferred but not required).
2. 3-5 years of experience working in a quality/food safety role within the food industry.
3. Strong people skills as this position is the face of High Liner Foods to our supplier partners.
4. Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
5. Ability to manage and resolve conflict in a positive way.
6. Good organizational and record-keeping skills.
7. Packaging experience (preferred but not required).
8. Strong analytical problem-solving skills, results-driven.
9. Enthusiastic, initiative-taker with a realistic and practical approach to Food Safety execution; strong commitment to High Liner Quality.
10. Strong personal computer skills including experience with specification management systems, inventory management systems, training systems, and Microsoft programs.
11. Flexibility of work hours to support audit schedules and food manufacturing various shifts.
12. Travel required - estimated 15-25% of time.