Description

Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-operative is a nonprofit organic farmers co-operative of over 100 farmers in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We focus on creating healthy, high-quality foods from our highly maintained and enriched soils on our small-scale family farms. LFFC serves all Eastern Pennsylvania, New York City, and most of the tri state area by connecting the farmer and customer, delivering the best local organic produce, value added products, and humanely raised and pastured animal products to retail establishments, co-ops, restaurants, and institutions.

Summary

LFFCs Quality Control Assistant assists with planning, coordinating, and directing the LFFC control program designed to ensure continuous production of products consistent with established standards. Conducts audits of production facilities to ensure company standards are maintained and product integrity is preserved. Consults with supervisors and leads to resolve quality, production, efficiency, and utilization problems. This position also initiates, implements and enforces quality assurance and food safety programs that maintain best quality and food safety by managing resources, and quality and food safety activities in the warehouse. This position is seasonal, but it does have the potential to be permanent.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Serves as the assistant for making quality control decisions
• Helps determine rejections with supervisor and makes proper adjustments in inventory
• Assures quality product consistent with specified crop standards for each product
• Participates in ensuring optimal storage conditions are maintained
• Processes all returns before shift is done. Ensures all returns are inspected to determine if they meet quality criteria to go back into stock.
• Helps to communicate quality control standards to the farmers and the staff
• Communicates with farmers on quality control issues, rejections, and praise
• Communicates through a daily email with staff on quality control issues, rejections and praise
• Documents farmer rejections
• Helps to create and review LFFC Crop Standards Guide for all farmers
• Helps as needed to investigate customer complaint issues and implement corrective action in the warehouse with timely responses and solutions
• Identifies food safety and process improvement ideas for implementation
• Other assignments to be determined

Essential Requirements:

• Proficiency with learning and using databases. Some experience with Food Connex is a plus but not necessary.
• Making decisions that impact staff, customers and the Co-op
• Attention to detail with high accuracy
• Taking initiative including problem solving
• Working with others in a group or team
• Taking responsibility for work outcomes and results
• Being responsible for the health and safety of others and safe handling of product
• Being flexible about work hours and schedule
• Continuously learning and teaching others

Abilities and Skills:

• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Lead and develop individuals and team
• Use logic, reasoning and research to identify and solve problems
• Use data metrics to analyze work systems and develop cost-effective solutions
• Exercise good judgment and decision making
• Manage ones own time and the time of others
• Manage conflicts to most positive resolution

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to lift up to 55 lbs. without assistance, on occasion
• Ability to stand, walk, bend, twist, sit and perform a variety of other physical functions as needed
• Ability to work in varying environments including the ability to withstand cold temperatures with proper protective clothing for periods of time
• Ability to work nights and weekends as needed.

This job description is intended to describe the general requirements for the performance of this job. It is not a complete statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements. Other duties, not listed here, may be assigned as necessary to ensure the proper operations of the team.

Qualifications

• Two years of experience working in fresh produce quality control and at least one year experience with organic produce
• Experience with receiving, stocking, handling and shipping fresh produce
• Knowledge of proper storage requirements and sensitivities of fresh fruits and vegetables
• Experience with and knowledge of material handling equipment
• Knowledge of best safety practices, including food safety in a warehouse environment
• Comfortable with Microsoft Office Suite programs and databases