Senior Quality & Food Safety Manager

Refresco; Joplin (MO); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Savings Accounts

Flexible Spending Accounts

Life and AD&D Insurance

Short-term disability

401(k) with company match

Paid holidays

Vacation days

Discount programs

Job summary

Refresco Beverages US Inc. is seeking a seasoned Quality Manager II to lead the site quality department, drive food safety, and ensure product integrity across processes.

This role will manage laboratory operations, implement SQF, and coordinate with suppliers while maintaining compliance with FDA and GMP standards. You will oversee audits, train staff, and guide continuous improvements, optimizing costs and safeguarding quality metrics in a fast-paced production environment.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Food Science, Quality or related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of direct management experience in Quality within a manufacturing environment, preferably food/beverage.
• Knowledge of quality management systems, HACCP plans, food safety and security standards, and governmental regulatory relating to the food/beverage industry.

Responsibilities

• Adhere to and ensure compliance to health and safety policies/procedures, GMPs and PPE requirements.
• Directly manage the Quality team to achieve KPIs and CI project goals, while tracking costs, reducing waste, overseeing employee training, and maintaining department morale.
• Responsible for direct management and utilization of laboratory (analytical and microbiology), water treatment, syrup blending, sanitation, microbiological equipment, raw materials, and all quality processes.
• Optimize resources while ensuring raw materials and finished product meet specifications and manufacturing standards and in accordance with FDA, CFIA, GMP's, HACCP, and all other governmental policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Responsible for supporting and maintaining compliance with third-party food safety and quality certification requirements, including the implementation and continual improvement of the facility’s food safety and quality management systems.
• Responsible for the development, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the SQF System and ensuring compliance with all relevant food safety and quality requirements.
• Oversee daily Quality inspections to ensure all products are meeting compliance.
• Write, update, and maintain SOP's (Standard Operating Procedures) for the Quality Program.
• Champion internal audit process through continuous improvements, shared best practices, and teamwork.
• Comprehend and utilize the plant financials, fixed and variable costs. Understand how other cost centers affect QC results, how production volume affects all costs, and how to manage variable labor.
• Participate in planning future capital requirements, develop the capital request utilizing the current format and manage capital projects to their successful completion.
• Lead the development, implementation, review, and maintenance of Food Safety Fundamentals, the Food Safety and Quality Plans, and the SQF program, while ensuring effective communication of all relevant information to employees.
• Responsible to ensure that all food safety and food quality documents are safely stored, maintained and accessible.
• Responsible for departmental non-conformances and implementation of corrective action ensuring all corrective actions are documented and outstanding actions closed in timely manner.
• Ensure compliance to all OSHA and environmental regulatory and corporate standards. Investigate and identify root causes of any non-compliance.
• Leads and directs the work of other employees and has responsibility for personnel actions including hiring, performance management, and termination.
• Provides training, direction and instruction and conducts performance evaluations.
• Provides guidance and training on work standards and expected outcomes.
• Accountable for planning and evaluating performance, staff training and development, recruitment and may contribute to pay recommendations.
• Accountable for a safe working environment through the development of strategies focused on accident reduction as well as energy and waste minimization.
• SQF Practitioner for the facility.
• Ability to lead teams in site projects such as waste reduction, validation, new product launch, etc.

Skills

Lab data collection program

Excel

Word

SAP

PowerPoint

Analytical problem solving

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Statistical methods

Regulatory knowledge (GFSI/FDA)

Reading metric system

Leadership

Decision making under pressure

Team collaboration

Ability to analyze and solve problems

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Quality or related discipline

Minimum 5 years of direct management experience in Quality within a manufacturing environment

Knowledge of quality management systems, HACCP, food safety standards

Tools

Laboratory equipment

Job description

Refresco Beverages US Inc. is seeking a seasoned Quality Manager II to lead the site quality department, drive food safety, and ensure product integrity across processes.

This role will manage laboratory operations, implement SQF, and coordinate with suppliers while maintaining compliance with FDA and GMP standards. You will oversee audits, train staff, and guide continuous improvements, optimizing costs and safeguarding quality metrics in a fast-paced production environment.