Quality Assurance Manager

jobply; Milbank (SD); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Learning budget

Job summary

Valley Queen Cheese in Milbank, SD, seeks a Quality Assurance Manager to lead quality and food safety programs in dairy production. You will ensure FSMA, SQF, Grade A compliance and drive continuous improvement through data‑driven decisions and cross‑functional collaboration.

Reporting to the Director – Quality Assurance & Food Safety, you will develop frontline leadership, set KPI targets, manage budgets, and build a highly engaged team focused on product integrity and regulatory compliance

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field and 5 years progressive quality/food-safety leadership.
• Minimum 2 years leading teams and delivering results.
• Experience in dairy processing preferred.

Responsibilities

• Owns day-to-day performance of the QA department, ensuring safety, quality, and operational standards.
• Executes departmental goals and priorities aligned with company strategy.
• Establishes and delivers KPI performance.
• Leads and develops Supervisors and Leads for strong execution.
• Ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

Food safety

FSMA

SQF

KPI monitoring

Team leadership

Regulatory compliance

Continuous improvement

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

5 years progressively responsible experience

Job description

Jobs/Quality Assurance Manager
Quality Assurance Manager
Valley Queen Cheese

• Milbank, SD

Skills

Food safetyFSMASQFKPI monitoringTeam leadershipRegulatory complianceContinuous improvementData analysis

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Learning budget

Classification: Exempt
Reports to: Director – Quality Assurance & Food Safety

Job Description

Position Summary

The Quality Assurance Manager leads quality and food safety programs, ensuring compliance with FSMA, SQF, Grade A and customer standards, protecting product integrity through preventive controls and prerequisite programs, and driving continuous improvement across operations through data-driven decision‑making and cross‑functional collaboration. Executing direction set by the Director and ensuring consistent performance across their team. This position is accountable for team performance, operational results, and developing front‑line leadership capability. This role plays a critical part in driving consistency, reinforcing standards, and ensuring that systems, processes, and expectations are effectively implemented to support Valley Queen’s operational and business objectives.

Essential Functions

• Owns the day-to-day performance of the department, ensuring safety, quality, and operational standards are consistently met along with schedules, staffing plans, and processes.
• Executes departmental goals and priorities aligned with company strategy.
• Establishes, monitors, and delivers KPI’s aligned with departmental and organizational goals.
• Leads and develops Supervisors and Leads to ensure strong execution and team effectiveness.
• Reinforces culture, expectations, and leadership behaviors established by the organization.
• Ensures role clarity and accountability across their team to drive efficient operations.
• Builds and maintains a highly engaged, performance-driven team environment.
• Supports talent development by coaching employees and identifying growth opportunities.
• Drives accountability through regular performance discussions and follow-up.
• Identifies operational challenges and implements solutions to improve performance.
• Ensures compliance with all regulatory requirements.
• Executes continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency and cost control.
• Utilizes data and metrics to improve decision-making and performance.
• Supports budget adherence by managing resources effectively.
• Coordinates and supports execution of projects within scope and timelines.
• Communicates effectively across departments.
• Partners with cross-functional teams to improve operations.

Competencies

• Leadership / Accountability
• Business Acumen
• Communication Proficiency
• Problem Solving / Analysis
• Technical Capacity

Supervisory Responsibility

This position supervises supervisors, leads, and/or employees and is responsible for the day-to-day direction, coordination, and performance management of the assigned team.

Physical Demands

The physical demands for this position primarily involve sedentary and light activity. The employee may be required to sit, stand, walk, and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds.

Travel

This position will require occasional travel.

Required Education And Experience

Bachelor's degree in a related field or an equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible experience in the applicable area of responsibility. Minimum five (5) years of progressively responsible experience, including at least two (2) years demonstrated success leading teams and delivering results is essential.

Preferred Education And Experience

Experience in dairy processing or manufacturing. Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

Other Duties

This job description is not designed to cover all duties. Responsibilities may change at any time.

Monday - Friday

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM