Quality Assurance Manager

Valley Queen; South Dakota; On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Valley Queen is seeking a Quality Assurance Manager at the Milbank plant to lead safety, quality, and food safety programs across operations. You will drive continuous improvement through data-driven decisions and develop frontline leaders.

This role ensures regulatory compliance with FSMA, SQF and Grade A standards, while safeguarding product integrity and driving cost-control initiatives. Reports to the Director – Quality Assurance & Food Safety.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent mix of education and responsibility.
• Minimum five (5) years of progressively responsible experience, including at least two (2) years leading teams.
• Experience in dairy processing or manufacturing is preferred; bilingual English/Spanish is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Owns day-to-day department performance, ensuring safety, quality, and standards with staffing plans.
• Executes departmental goals and priorities aligned with company strategy.
• Establishes, monitors and delivers KPIs aligned with goals.
• Leads Supervisors and Leads to ensure strong execution and team effectiveness.
• Supports talent development by coaching employees and identifying growth opportunities.
• Drives accountability through regular performance discussions and follow-up.
• Ensures regulatory compliance and cost-control initiatives are implemented.
• Coordinates and supports projects within scope and timelines.

Skills

Leadership

Quality Assurance

Food Safety

FSMA compliance

SQF compliance

Data-driven decision making

Cross-functional collaboration

Process improvement

Team development

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Job description

VQ Milbank Plant and all Facilities, Milbank, SD, US

6 days ago Requisition ID: 1864

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
• 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.