Associate Quality Manager

Job Description

The Kraft, Oscar Mayer Business Unit, is currently seeking a qualified individual to join its Quality Team in Newberry, South Carolina.  This position offers the opportunity for development and career growth within the quality function by leading and managing work in an associate quality manager capacity.  This position provides quality, food safety, and regulatory leadership to an assigned section of the facility.  The plant processes include raw meat further processing of poultry and red meat into Ready-to-Eat luncheon meats and raw meat ingredients.  Processing operates Monday through Friday, while Further 5 days a week, with some intermittent weekend production.    The facility has completed significant expansion over the past few years, so this is a very exciting time to join the team.  

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Manage a portion of the plants quality department to assure that all positions remain filled with qualified personnel knowledgeable in food safety & quality principles.  Provide for necessary training and development in product knowledge, process technology, process control, optimization techniques, and Kraft competencies to increase salaried and hourly employee effectiveness and achieve optimum performance levels.

• Create, modify, maintain, and assure effectiveness of the various plant HACCP / SSOP / GMP Kraft Heinz Management System (KHMS) programs.  Including interpretation of regulations, acting as the liaison between the plant and corporate contacts, training plant personnel in the execution of regulatory principles, and managing USDA input into our regulatory systems.

• Provide leadership for objectively measuring and controlling the quality and safety of purchased ingredients, packaging material, and finished products by applying statistical systems, producible specifications, and yield standards to assure uniform consistent compliance with the company’s quality standards.  Assuring results get input appropriately into SAP or other data management systems.

• Initiates and follows through on investigations to identify critical parameters governing food safety systems management, product quality and product yield.

• Facilitates follow-up and continuous improvement activities associated with Consumer and Customer Feedback.

• Assures the plant maintains compliance to external GFSI standards such as BRC, ISO 9001, and ISO 22,000 through daily standard work and continuous improvement projects.

• Provides leadership to new product /process implementation by coordinating activities between R&D and the operational units.

• On a routine basis, deal directly with members of the Plant Steering Team, Business Unit Managers, Leaders and Supervisors, Sanitation Management, Quality Supervisors, Technicians, and ISO Auditors.

• Maintains contact with Corporate Quality, Research and Development, and Business Development teams.

Expected Experience & Required Skills

• Be consistent across the job posting, interview, assessments, and the job itself

• Include specific, qualitative proven experiences versus generic years of experience

• Include both “hard” and “soft” skills

• Include skills that are observable, measurable, and assessable (speaking to their criticality to the role and business)

• BA/BS required; Food Science, Animal Science, Meat Science, Microbiology, Biology, or related degree program preferred. 

• 3+ years experience in a supervisory capacity in Quality, Food Safety, Regulatory, or Operations.

• A thorough understanding of quality management practices concerning Food Safety, Regulatory Affairs, and Manufactured Quality.

• Expertise in use of statistical concepts to control manufacturing processes.

• Expertise in use of computers and software used to analyze data.

• A proven record of accomplishments, which demonstrate the ability to effectively “problem solve” through teams.   

Work Environment & Schedule

This position is considered a Manufacturing plant environment with heavy machinery and equipment Additionally, this role is a Day Shift Mon-Fri position, but requires flexibility for shifts, and weekends, as needed.     

Physical Requirements 

Physical demands include but not limited to

Frequent – activity or conditions sustained 1/3 to 2/3 of working hours; Upright stance, keyboard or text input; Sedentary – occasionally exerting 0 – 50 lbs. of force or lifting, movement from workstation long periods of time, as needed.

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