Regional Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager II

Position Overview

This position provides support, knowledge and leadership to plant FSQA team to improve and verify FSQA policies and procedures while gaining alignment across the plant and within corporate departments to ensure Foremost Farms products meet and exceed Cooperative, customer and regulatory quality and Food Safety requirements.  This position will also lead the development of the plant FSQA team and team members.

Key Accountabilities:

Develops effective FSQA facilities team and team members:

• Leads and fosters cross-functional collaboration.

• Provides routine feedback to Manager I – FSQA including 1:1s, performance reviews and Individual Development plans.

• Provides leadership and guidance in developing challenging goals for the FSQA team that aligns with Cooperative strategies and personal growth.

• Develop team members with focus on succession planning and cross-coverage during absence. 

• Develops Manager I – FSQA to perform current role efficiently and effectively while preparing individual for future roles within the organization.

Execution and improvement of FSQA procedures and policies:

• Collaborates with plant management team to ensure compliance to Food Safety and quality procedures including Food Safety / HACCP Plan, Quality Plan, GMPS, Product Traceability and Food Defense.

• Ensures facilities execute all Foremost Farms, Regulatory and Customer procedures and requirements.

• Assists facility to identify gaps and aids in determining root cause and sustainable solutions to identified gaps and audit findings.

• Ensures facilities have additional resources and expertise required to execute and improve on necessary procedures.

Support team on continuous improvement of first pass quality and customer deficiencies and escalation and problem solving on one-time high impact events:

• Acting as a technical resource for root cause analysis and resolution of food safety and quality issues

• Foster and lead Foremost Farms inter-department communications and between Foremost Farms and customers responding to customer concerns and updates on improvement activities / results.

• Identify and lead improvement activities within the facility to improve first pass quality and customer complaint metrics.

• Ensure proper escalation of high impact incidents or trends to stakeholders within Foremost Farms.

• Provide Foremost Farms member services and owners timely and accurate data and information to ensure the highest quality milk supply at farm and facility.

Assist in identification and problem solving of conditions within facility that may lead to increased food safety or decreased quality events:

• Identify risks and opportunities to reduce risk to food safety and quality and communicate to stakeholders.  Provide leadership in corrective actions and resources necessary.

• Utilize or develop metrics to identify highest priority risks and ensure action plans developed and actioned upon.

• Engage in cross-functional teams as necessary to ensure efficient and sufficient use of resources available.

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Bachelors (or equivalent experience) in Biology, Dairy Science, or related field of study or knowledge related to the job and minimum of five years of job-related experience and leadership.

Preferred Qualifications:

1. HACCP / PCQI certification / Food Defense / Intentional Adulteration

2. GFSI certification and/or program experience

3. Problem identification / root cause analysis experience

4. Dairy experience with cross-functional support and engagement

5. Microsoft Office proficiency, Tableau, Sales Force, ERP

Job Setting: hybrid - corporate office, Foremost Farms facilities, work from home with travel up to 75%.

Benefits:

At Foremost Farms, we believe that you and your family matter most. That’s why we’re proud to offer one of the most comprehensive and competitive benefits packages in the area — designed to support your health, financial security, and work-life balance.

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance – Flexible coverage with options to meet the needs of you and your family
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – 100% company match on up to 8% of your contributions
• Generous Paid Time Off – Start with 200 hours of PTO (pro-rated for first year) 
• 10 Paid Holidays – Enjoy time to rest and recharge
• Paid Parental Leave – 6 weeks fully paid
• Health Savings Account (HSA) – when you elect the high-deductible health plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) – Save for medical and dependent care expenses
• Life and Disability Insurance – Financial protection for you and your loved ones
• Daily Pay Option – Access your earnings when you need them
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – Free, confidential support for life’s challenges
• Referral Program – Earn rewards for bringing great people to our team
• Career Growth Opportunities – Advance your skills and your career with us

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Foremost Farms we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.