Compliance Specialist

Bridgetown Natural Foods; United States; On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Bridgetown Natural Foods seeks a Compliance Specialist to ensure materials and finished products meet regulatory, food safety, and customer requirements. You will maintain quality and food safety programs, manage document control, and support third-party certifications.

Ideal candidates have a Bachelor’s in a scientific field, 3+ years in QC/QA in food processing, and strong knowledge of HACCP, FDA, GMP, and GFSI standards. Proficiency in documentation and audits is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a scientific discipline with 3+ years in QC/QA within food processing.
• Experience with HACCP, FDA, GMP, GFSI, FSMA and regulatory compliance requirements.
• Strong documentation, record-keeping, and technical writing skills.

Responsibilities

• Review supplier/material documentation for compliance with requirements.
• Collaborate with Purchasing, R&D, Quality teams on material updates.
• Coordinate sample submission for testing and track results with labs.
• Assist in maintaining Document Control and COA processes.
• Support internal and third-party audits and CAPA investigations.

Skills

HACCP

GFSI

FSMA

FDA compliance

QA/QC experience

Auditing

Regulatory knowledge

English communication

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in food science/chemistry/biology/chemical engineering

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

SharePoint

Teams

Document management systems

Electronic logging systems

Job description

Job Description

Job Summary:

The Compliance Specialist is responsible for ensuring compliance of materials and finished products with regulatory, food safety and customer requirements, developing and continuously improving food safety and quality programs, procedures, and systems. Assists in managing the Document Control Program and is responsible for the release of Ingredients and Finished Goods. The Compliance Specialist has a full understanding of BRC GFSI scheme, HACCP principles, GMP’s. Assist in managing third-party certifications for the business.

Essential Functions:

Suppliers & Materials:

• Review supplier and material documentation for compliance with requirements as part of Supplier Approval Program. Communicate with suppliers on technical, food safety, or quality concerns.
• Collaborate with Purchasing, R&D, Quality teams, suppliers and customers on raw material document updates or identified issues.
• Build strategic relationships and maintain effective and professional communication with raw material suppliers in collaboration with cross-functional team.
• Coordinate and submit raw material & finished goods samples for testing/evaluation and track status and results with third party labs. Escalate out-of-spec results. Place finished goods on Hold in system.
• Assess Ingredient Hazard Analysis as part of Food Safety / HACCP Plan.
• Approve incoming COAs. Follow up with suppliers on receipt of materials with no COA.
• Complete Finished Good COAs with accurate information from quality records and outside lab results reports in a professional format for customer communications.
• Initiate and support completion of supplier and customer non-conformances.

Document Control:

• Develop and maintain documentation to comply with record keeping requirements.
• Responsible for the schedule of document reviews and maintaining accurate Document Register
• Timely distribution of latest revision level documentation to all appropriate users and ensure that obsolete documentation is removed from system library.

Systems:

• Implement solutions to improve quality and food safety through inspections, CAPA investigations, and internal and external audits.
• Maintain Identity Preserved Foods programs including but not limited to Kosher, Organic, Gluten Free, Non-GMO Project, Whole Grain Council, and Keto certifications.
• Support regulatory, customer, third-party and internal audit preparation and execution.
• Support Monitoring and Verification Program compliance.
• Assist with environmental monitoring sample submission.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Bachelor’s Degree in scientific discipline such as food science, chemistry, biology, chemical engineering, or related field required
• Minimum 3 years previous experience of QC/QA department in the food processing industry required.
• Industry knowledge of HACCP, FDA, GMP, GFSI, FSMA, and federal, state, and local compliance regulations.
• Technical competence in analytical chemistry or microbiology.
• Food safety and food labeling compliance expertise
• HACCP and PCQI certification
• Experience in record keeping. Physical and online records management and retrieval
• Experience conducting internal audits
• Understanding of FDA labeling requirements and compliance
• Understanding of QA / process management of:
• Product specifications in-process testing and evaluation.
• Food Safety and Pre-requisite programs
• Ingredients / formulation compliance to avoid adulterated products
• Chemical and microbiological testing and specification limits.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills including technical writing
• Attention to detail, communication skills and strong interpersonal skills.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, SharePoint, Teams, inventory and document management systems and electronic logging systems
• Ability to communicate and understand work instructions in English.

The successful candidate will also have the following:

• Well-organized and detail-oriented with strong technical skills, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and proven ability to multitask
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively collaborate with others in a dynamic team environment; ability to also manage yourself and workload independently
• Capable of supporting multiple projects simultaneously in a deadline-driven environment
• Adaptability, flexibility