Specialist, QEHS

PFD OPCO LLC; Oregon; On-site; USD 64,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Quirch Foods seeks a QEHS/Safety specialist at our Oregon facility to lead site-level safety activities and drive the corporate QEHS agenda locally.

You will support safety meetings, conduct inspections, assist with training, PPE compliance, and drills, while tracking corrective actions and quality concerns with QEHS leadership.

Qualifications

• Experience in EHS, quality assurance, food safety, or related compliance role.
• Strong written and verbal communication; ability to work across levels.
• Basic computer skills including MS Office, email, and dashboards.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary site-level contact for safety activities and QEHS agenda.
• Attend and support QEHS, Safety Champion, or safety committee meetings.
• Conduct safety walks, inspections, and identify unsafe conditions.
• Assist with safety training, toolbox talks, PPE compliance, and drills.
• Support audit readiness and track corrective actions across QEHS metrics.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Health and Safety

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office

Email platforms

Dashboard software

Job description

It's fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they're doing! We're committed to bringing passion and customer focus to the business.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary site-level point of contact for safety-related activities and communications, supporting and driving the corporate safety agenda at the local facility.
• Attend and support monthly QEHS, Safety Champion, or safety committee meetings and activities as assigned.
• Conduct routine safety walks, inspections, and observations to identify unsafe conditions, behaviors, and improvement opportunities.
• Assist local leadership with safety training, toolbox topics, and employee engagement activities; support emergency action planning, evacuation drills, PPE compliance, and housekeeping standards.
• Participate in post-accident, post-injury, and near-miss follow-up meetings and support corrective action tracking and documentation.
• Conduct daily warehouse, sanitation, facility, and product-condition inspections, monitoring receiving, storage, shipping, trailer condition, product temperature, and cold-chain requirements.
• Complete inbound product quality control inspections and document findings accurately; review aging inventory, FIFO/FEFO rotation, and product disposition concerns with site leadership.
• Evaluate returned or damaged product for quality and wholesomeness, and support disposition guidance in partnership with site and QEHS leadership.
• Support SQF, GMP, HACCP, sanitation, pest control, allergen control, food defense, food fraud, recall, and traceability activities as applicable to the site.
• Maintain accurate QA/QC records, inspection forms, calibration records, pre-operational reports, and corrective action logs.
• Escalate food safety, product integrity, sanitation, temperature, pest control, or regulatory concerns promptly through the established QEHS reporting structure.
• Support audit readiness for internal, customer, regulatory, SQF, OSHA, and DOT reviews.
• Track and report assigned QEHS metrics, including safety observations, training completion, audit findings, corrective actions, and quality concerns.
• Assist with root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions, and verification of completed follow-up items.
• Partner with Operations, Warehouse, Transportation, HR, Maintenance, QA, and Regional QEHS teams to resolve site-level issues and identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, and operational consistency.
• Model the QEHS culture by promoting open communication, ethical conduct, employee engagement, and ownership of quality and safety standards.

Qualifications and Educational Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Minimum of two years of experience in EHS, quality assurance, quality control, food safety, warehouse operations, distribution, logistics, or a related compliance-focused role; equivalent combinations of education, training, and experience may be considered.
• Basic computer skills required, including Microsoft Office, email, electronic forms, shared document platforms, reporting tools, and dashboards.
• Ability to maintain accurate records, organize follow-up items, track completion of assigned tasks, and communicate status updates clearly.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work effectively across all levels of the site.
• Ability to work in warehouse, dock, cooler, freezer, office, and transportation-related environments as needed, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Preferred Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Health and Safety, Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field; equivalent experience considered.
• Experience in refrigerated, frozen, food distribution, warehouse, transportation, manufacturing, or logistics environments.
• Working knowledge of OSHA safety practices, hazard recognition, incident reporting, corrective actions, and safety committee engagement.
• Working knowledge of GMPs, HACCP, SQF, sanitation, cold-chain controls, product rotation, traceability, and recall support.
• Certifications such as OSHA 10 or 30, certified food safety training, HACCP awareness, SQF awareness, internal auditing, or root cause/corrective action training.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) a plus.

Travel Requirements

• Travel Requirements Travel is expected to be approximately 5% of the time and may include occasional site visits, regional meetings, training, audits, or business needs as directed by leadership.

Quirch Foods is an equal opportunity employer.

Employment decisions are based on qualifications, business needs, and merit, without regard to any status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

We are Quirch Foods.

Our Passion is your Joy.

We are one of the largest distributors of food products in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean, with a customer list that includes independent and chain supermarkets, foodservice distributors, processors and manufacturers, cruise lines, and restaurants.

With 55 years of solid history and experience, today we operate a fleet of just under 500 refrigerated trucks and over 2.3 million square feet of combined distribution space through 22 facilities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas, Washington, Oregon, and Puerto Rico.

Quirch Foods owns a portfolio of proprietary food brands and offers domestic and international logistics, cold chain services, marketing support, as well as advanced technological solutions to provide unmatched service to its customers.

Our culture is one of Win/Win, not just for our customers but also for every team member.

We take pride in our diverse workforce, and each team member takes part in the company’s continuous growth.