Manager, Sensory & Quality Compliance

Chomps Snack Sticks; Chicago (IL); Remote; USD 115,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading snack brand is seeking a Manager of Sensory and Quality Compliance to ensure product quality and safety. This role involves overseeing recall plans, managing customer complaints, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in quality assurance within the food industry, particularly with meat products. This position offers opportunities for growth and a flexible remote work environment.

Benefits

Unlimited PTO

Paid maternity and paternity leave

Company-wide Continual Education budget

Hybrid & flexible remote schedule

Bi-annual total team in-person activities

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in quality assurance management within the food industry.
• Proven experience in managing recall plans and quality compliance programs.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage the company's recall plan and programs.
• Oversee management of customer complaints, ensuring timely resolution.
• Manage third-party sensory consultants to maintain product quality.

Skills

Problem Solving

Communication

Critical Thinking

Team Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in food science

Tools

Quality Management Systems

NetSuite

Job description

We’re Chomps, the fastest-growing snack brand in the U.S. and we’re reimagining snacking . Our meat snacks are made using high-quality proteins, no sugar, and real ingredients – because we believe snacking should be simple, delicious, and convenient. Chomps can be found in over 30,000 stores nationwide with a strong e-commerce presence. Our mission is to inspire, educate, and fuel our community with accessible, real food that doesn’t compromise on taste.

Traits of a Chompian

If you’ve been called scrappy, resourceful, and persistent, then you might just be a Chompian. You’re a team player who’s self-motivated and action-oriented. You’re committed to delivering efficiency and accuracy, and you happen to be great at proactive cross-functional communication. You’re a critical thinker and a natural problem solver who enjoys details, research, and data. You take initiative and complete ownership of everything you do, and you’ll go the extra mile for your team, consumers, and audience. You’re hungry to learn with a passion to grow and improve every day. You also take a keen interest in health, fitness, and nutrition. Sound like you? Then we want to meat you.

What You Will Do

The Manager of Sensory and Quality Compliance will play a critical role in ensuring the highest standards of quality and safety across all aspects of our product lifecycle. This position will oversee the full management of our recall plan and programs, provide training for cross-functional teams, and support the development of department-specific programs. They will come to know the intricacies of the day-to-day operations within each department at Chomps to delegate tasks during a recall or crisis. Additionally, the role involves directly communicating with customers for all food safety and quality related matters, and customer onboarding and portal management. This position will oversee of our third-party sensory consultant, participating in sensory reviews, and assisting in the development of gold-standard quality benchmarks for our products. Strong team management skills are essential, along with collaboration with the Sales/Ops team to enhance customer portal functionalities.

Responsibilities

Recall Plan and Programs Management

• Develop, implement, and manage the company's recall plan and programs.
• Coordinate recall activities, ensuring swift and effective action in the event of a product issue.
• Conduct annual company-wide recall training sessions to ensure all employees are prepared and compliant.
• Partner with 3 rd party crisis management team – ensue programs and procedures are collaborative.
• Work cross functionally to develop and implement department-specific programs as needed during a recall or crisis.
• Collaborate with Sales and BAT Teams to stay current with all customers specific recall procedures and requirements.
• Take ownership of QA’s role within NetSuite – become the expert. Provide training to other team members who may need to pull traceability reports for product investigations.
• Collaboratively work with Chomps QA team to maintain the recall plan and programs; edit/update after each mock recall drill to continuously improve Chomps systems and readiness.
  • Identify areas of potential risk across all departments and work with teams to integrate better systems and programs.

Quality Assurance Support – Stage Gate

• Assist the Director of FSQA in maintaining and enhancing quality assurance programs
• Stay updated on industry trends, USDA-FSIS regulatory changes, and best practices in quality assurance.
• Support cross functional teams with new and existing projects including product development, new packaging designs, and artwork approvals. Collaborate with Quality Systems to submit for USDA approvals.
• Develop and management of a materials quality hold program for all packaging across Chomps supply chain to assist with artwork refresh/rebranding.
  • Spearhead the development and implementation of Chomps specific item numbers for all materials.
• Collaborate with R&D and production teams to ensure new product development meets quality criteria.

Sensory Review and Consultant Management

• Manage third-party sensory consultants, ensuring their assessments align with company standards.
• Participate in sensory reviews to maintain product quality and consistency. Place questionable product on QA holds pending additional evaluation.
• Create dashboards and establish a path towards product improvement across all manufacturing facilities.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for manufacturers to ensure sensory quality standards are met.
• Develop and management of product and ingredient risk mitigation strategies.
• Develop and maintain gold-standard quality benchmarks for our products.

Consumer and Customer Complaint Management

• Oversee the management of customer complaints, ensuring timely and effective resolution.
• Directly communicate with customers to address their concerns and provide support.
• Develop and implement strategies for improving customer satisfaction based on feedback and complaints.
• Monitor and analyze consumer and customer complaints related to product quality and safety. Identify and escalate possible complaint trends.
• Create monthly dashboard reporting categorizing complaints by manufacturer, product, customer, and type. Present reports to senior operations leads and discuss results during weekly meetings.
• Work alongside CX and operations teams to maintain complaint logs and reporting. Audit and edit logs to ensure reporting accuracy and consistency.

QA Customer Onboarding and Portal Management

• Manage customer portals, developing strategies to enhance user experience and streamline communication.
• Work closely with the Sales/Ops team to ensure customer portal functionalities meet business needs and customer expectations.
• Serve as an expert on our product lines, providing guidance and support in quality-related matters.

Who You Are

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in quality assurance management within the food industry, meat and shelf-stable products required
• Proven experience in managing recall plans and quality compliance programs.
• Strong knowledge of USDA FSIS regulations and food safety standards.
• Excellent training, communication, and team management skills.
• Experience with quality management systems and software.
• Self-motivated and autonomous.
• Positive attitude, adaptable to change.
• Experience with sensory evaluation and working with sensory consultants.
• Familiarity with contract manufacturing and 3PL logistics operations.
• Bachelor's degree in food science, microbiology, or related field preferred.
• Ability to travel up to 30% to various manufacturing and warehousing facilities.

Position: Manager, Sensory & Quality Compliance

Reports to: Director, FSQA Operations

Location: Remote

Type: Full-Time, exempt

Salary Range Opportunity:

• The salary range for this role is $115,000 - $120,000 + 20% annual bonus

Compensation Philosophy & Total Comp:

• Our salary ranges are based on verified market data and our philosophy of paying competitively for our size and industry
• Individual pay rate decisions are based on several factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, and balancing internal equity relative to peers at the company
• In addition to base salary, full-time team members receive medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401K 6% match, and monthly reimbursements for wellness and home office.

Other Perks:

• Ability to make an impact: Join a rapidly growing and entrepreneurial-spirited team at a pivotal point to positively impact the food industry.
• Opportunities to grow: Advance within Chomps quickly based on outstanding performance.
• Unlimited PTO and 11+ paid holiday days. Hybrid & flexible remote schedule. Chicago office open to those in the area.
• Paid maternity and paternity leave.
• Bi-annual total team in-person activities.
• Company-wide Continual Education budget.
• Unlimited snacks: Enough meat sticks that if you wanted to eat your body weight in them you could (no judgment here).

Our Commitment

Chomps is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. To achieve our mission of making nutritious food more accessible we greatly benefit from a range of perspectives, which comes from diversity of all types, at all levels of the organization. Achieving true diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do and the smart thing for our business.

We're aware of the research showing that historically underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for a job if they don't believe that they meet all of the criteria. Do you hesitate to submit an application because you believe you need to check every box? Please apply anyway with a thoughtful cover letter! We would love to hear from you to discuss how you can help us build a great team at Chomps.

You must reside in the United States to be considered for this position. Chomps does not provide employment-based visa sponsorship at this time.Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future.

It has come to our attention that fraudsters have been posing as Chomps employees or recruiters and contacting job-seeking candidates regarding potential job opportunities. These fraudulent messages sometimes include a request for payment and confidential personal information. Please note that the Chomps recruiting process does not include asking candidates for payments or other confidential financial information.If you are applying for a job, you can confirm the legitimacy of a job posting by viewing current open roles: https://chomps.com/pages/chomps-careers .If you have questions please email us [e-mail]

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