Vice President, Quality and Food Safety

Position Summary:

The Vice President of Quality and Food Safety is responsible for developing and leading the strategy and implementation for all aspects of the Ventura Foods, Quality and Foods Safety initiatives so that the policies and systems are relevant to Ventura Foods and maintain a progressive approach for quality and food safety. This role will lead Ventura Foods Quality Assurance teams which encompasses 15 US Plants, 1 Canadian plant and 6 copackers.  This role will manage all aspects of communication, execution, and training for adherence to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), as well as USDA, other domestics and foreign regulatory agencies, and key customer accounts. This role will also coordinate projects and training support to the Operations teams and be a liaison with company functional groups of Manufacturing, R&D, HS&E, Sales, Marketing, HR, Procurement, the Executive Leadership Team, and key customer accounts. The Vice President will also be the point person and liaison for communication to regulatory agencies to ensure responsiveness and timeliness of programs as it relates to food laws.  They will also play a key role in leading any Quality and Food/Safety related disputes with our key customers.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Leads the efforts to enhance, communicate change, and maintain company Quality and Food Safety prerequisite programs, such as GMPs, SSOPs, and other programs. Directing the efforts of the Regional Quality Managers enhances and drives the transition of our HACCP program to HARPC and pushes the quality culture throughout the organization. 
• Leads and sets direction for Plant QA organization to ensure the manufacturing of quality and food safe products that meet our customer expectations.  This includes oversight and improvement of sanitation and quality control practices.
•  Provides oversight and direction for all food regulatory matters including Crisis Management and Recall/Retrievals.
• Provides guidance and direction to management regarding regulatory compliance, responses, and actions to organization and/or agencies.
• Collaborates cross-functionally, educates, and trains staff, operations management, and leadership to ensure compliance to Ventura Quality and Food Safety system Prerequisites.
• Develops and maintains a Quality Systems and Food Safety strategy as it relates to auditing. This includes developing internal skills and competencies and maintaining programs for external 3rd party audits.
• Manages group and budget. Working with HR, develops staff skills and competencies to ensure career pathing and maintaining Ventura Foods knowledge base for Food Safety, Quality Systems, and Regulatory compliance.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience is required
• 15+ years Quality, Food Safety, Regulatory or related field experience in leading multi-plant quality or food safety operations is required
• 10+ years of management with progressive people and programs experience is required
• Executive-level communication across diverse audiences is required
• Proven success in building and holding accountable high-performing teams, along with change management is required
• Strong knowledge of FDA, USDA, and international food safety regulations is required
• Ability to travel up to 30% in North America is required
• Systems: ERP (JDE), Redzone, SharePoint
• Bachelor's focused in a technical science emphasis highly desired
• Advanced science focused degree strongly preferred
• Food or pharmaceutical manufacturing quality experience highly desired
• Knowledge in sanitation, and regulatory compliance is helpful

Knowledge and Skills:

• Complete understanding of FSMA, FDA 21 CFR, and USDA FSIS Directive policies
• HAACP, HARPC, GMP, and Sanitation programs
• Knowledge of Food Microbiology, Thermal Processing and Acidified Foods a plus