Associate Director, Global Food Safety

The Kraft Heinz Company; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Commuting Allowance

Hybrid Work Allowance & Reimbursements

Bicycle & Gym Discount Plan

Employee Assistance Program

Supplemental Health Insurance

Job summary

Kraft Heinz is seeking an Associate Director, Global Food Safety in Amsterdam to lead global risk assessment and food safety programs, ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, and standards across the organization. You will collaborate with Legal, Regulatory, R&D and operations to drive a robust food safety culture.

This hybrid role requires three onsite days weekly in Amsterdam and involves frequent international travel to plants and offices worldwide to align practices and ensure excellence.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in food safety and quality/regulatory leadership.
• Knowledge of food safety regulations and standards (HACCP, FSMA, GFSI, ISO 22000).
• Certified in food safety systems such as HACCP, PCQI, or FSVP.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement global food safety strategies and risk assessment processes.
• Serve as the business expert on risk assessment and ensure corrective actions.
• Establish and maintain procedures for physical, chemical and microbiological safety of products.
• Lead validation and verification of risk management processes covering lifecycle, supply chains, incidents, changes, and legislation.
• Create resources and tools to support employees in risk management and ensure data-driven decisions.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Project management

Leadership

Communication

Stakeholder influence

Data-driven decision making

Team management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in food science/microbiology/related field

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

Job Description

Here at Kraft Heinz, we grow our people to grow our business, because we believe that great people make great companies. When you join our table, you can expect access to an array of holistic wellness benefits* and perks, including medical, dental and vision coverage, 7% 401(k) matching, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) to help foster diversity, inclusion, and belonging for all employees, an industry-leading total rewards package that emphasizes a high discretionary bonus. *Benefits begin 30 days after hire for hourly employees, and immediately upon hire for salaried employees. Get a peek into life here at Kraft Heinz through our Instagram and TikTok channels!

Associate Director, Global Food Safety at a Glance….

The Associate Director, Global Food Safety plays a crucial role in ensuring that Kraft Heinz organization adheres to relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards while maintaining a high level of quality in its products, services, and operations. This is a crucial position within Kraft Heinz organization, to ensure product and organizational compliance with applicable laws, regulations and standards. This role is responsible for creating and standardizing risk management processes globally within FSQ to ensure practices are in place to prevent serious incidents and recalls.

The Associate Director, Global Food Safety is responsible for timely compliance with ever changing laws and regulations as well as customer and consumer requirements; they should work with internal experts and recognized external bodies to ensure Kraft Heinz risk management methodologies remain up to date. The Associate Director, Global Food Safety is responsible for producing a competence framework for end to end, robust, product lifecycle risk assessment and management processes that are fit for purpose creating and implementing the company’s global compliance strategy. This position will work closely with Legal, Regulatory, R&D and other key functions to ensure compliance of our products, systems and processes.

This is a hybrid role requiring 3 days onsite weekly at our office in Amsterdam. This role will involve working and coordinating with global teams and partners in different time zones. This role will involve frequent travels to our plants and offices around the world.

What’s on the menu?

• Develop and implement food safety strategies that align with the organization’s goals and objectives, to ensure global food safety performance.

• Serve as the business expert on the food safety risk assessment process, applying recognized risk assessment principles and processes to provide expert judgement and ensure course correction.

• Establish and maintain process/procedures to ensure physical, chemical and microbiological safety of our products.

• Lead the validation and verification of food safety risk management processes and practices covering:

• The Lifecycle of Product,

• Supply Chains,

• Incident Management,

• Change Control,

• Emerging Legislation.

• Create resources and tools to support KHC employees in developing and maintaining food safety risk management processes and activities:

• Lead the implementation of digital tools to enhance risk management and compliance, enabling data-driven decisions,

• Design and roll out comprehensive training and development programs in all aspects of risk assessment and risk management,

• Ensure risk assessors can identify hazard and develop risk control / mitigation plans,

• Promote best practice development and sharing, proactive decision-making and communication,

• Develop companywide food safety culture programs to create awareness about individual responsibilities and champion ownership at all levels.

• Develop and implement programs to audit, track and report compliance to company and legal food safety requirements; and evaluate their efficiency in risk reduction, brand protection and business support.

• Collaborate and engage stakeholders across the business to build capabilities, alignment, and ownership of food safety risk assessment processes. Work closely with FSQ teams at zone and BU level to ensure a standardized, compliant, and effective approach to food safety.

• GCOE budget for FSQ is approximately $1mm, this role has a contributory part to play in setting and controlling the budget.

• Financial impact of role: poor risk control in our sites and EMs can lead to significant supply chain disruption and brand damage. Recalls and withdrawals are a consequence of this and in the worst case could lead to consumer injury and death.

• A typical cost of incidents in a 12-month period, globally, could be up to $40MM – this role is targeted to reduce the number of issues through implementing effective risk assessment processes by training and empowering our people to execute this process.

Recipe for Success – apply now if this sounds like you!

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, microbiology, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in a food safety and quality or regulatory leadership role, with demonstrated success in building & managing compliance programs.
• In-depth knowledge of food industry, food safety risk and product lifecycle management.
• Recognized as a subject matter expert in their field. Strong knowledge of food safety regulations and standards (e.g., HACCP, FSMA, GFSI, and ISO 22000) and ability to translate them into internal standards.
• Certified in food safety systems, such as HACCP, PCQI, or FSVP.
• Ability to think strategically and develop and execute impactful plans and programs.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret data, and identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Proven project management skills with a results-oriented approach..
• Digitally oriented mentality, able to assess and implement technological solutions to improve operational efficiency and enable data-driven decision-making.
• Experienced in leading and managing teams, including coaching and mentoring employees.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Skilled at influencing key stakeholders and senior leaders across different functions and regions.

Skills and Abilities: How Success is Measured

• Recalls & withdrawals.

• Quality incidents

• Internal & external audit & inspection- compliance

What we offer you:

• An ambitious employer; we only want the best for you.
• A fast career track like only few other companies can match.
• A competitive salary and excellent bonus structure (above market); at Kraft Heinz we strongly believe and live by ownership and meritocracy.
• Additional benefits such as Commuting Allowance, Hybrid Work Allowance & Reimbursements, Bicycle & Gym Discount Plan, Employee Assistance Program and Supplemental Health Insurance.
• A wide range of discounts with Kraft Heinz’s partnerships on fashion, electronics, travels and many more!
• Last and not least; there are always room for new insights: If you have an idea, please let us know, and we can set it in action!

Location(s)

Amsterdam

Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Underrepresented Ethnic Minority Groups/Women/Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity and other protected classes**.**