Enterprise Food Safety Process & Project Manager

Purpose of the Position

The Enterprise Food Safety Process & Program Manager is a senior individual contributor responsible for governing and continuously improving Inspire Brands’ enterprise food safety systems across a predominantly franchise‑operated, multi‑brand portfolio. The role serves as the enterprise technical program owner, establishing standardized food safety frameworks, tools, and performance expectations that drive consistent risk reduction while allowing brands to retain operational decision‑making authority.

The position also supports the administration and continuous improvement of people safety programs for company‑owned restaurants and corporate environments, serving as a central point of coordination for people safety data, regulatory documentation, and internal stakeholder support.

Partnering closely with Brand Food Safety, Operations, Supply Chain, Design & Construction, and external service providers, the role leads complex, cross‑functional initiatives without direct authority to improve system maturity, regulatory alignment, and execution consistency.

The position supports enterprise crisis readiness and incident response by serving as a liaison to Brand Crisis Teams.

Success is defined by the maturity, consistency, and effectiveness of enterprise safety systems and the organization’s ability to proactively identify, manage, and reduce food and people safety risk at scale, not by audit outcomes alone.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Enterprise Program Governance & Assessment Strategy

• Own and continuously improve Inspire’s enterprise third‑party food safety assessment program, including:
  • Audit methodology and standard alignment
  • Auditor qualification, training, and calibration
  • Vendor performance management (SLAs, KPIs, corrective actions)
• Define enterprise guardrails for:
  • Audit frequency and scope
  • Risk‑based prioritization
  • Corrective and preventive action (CAPA) expectations
• Develop and maintain enterprise food safety dashboards that translate data into insight, including:
  • Repeat non‑conformance trends
  • Closure effectiveness and timeliness
  • Systemic equipment, sanitation, or training risks

Risk Management & Regulatory Alignment

• Ensure Inspire enterprise programs align with:
  • FDA Food Code (latest adopted versions)
  • FSMA principles as applicable to retail food
  • OSHA and workplace safety intersections impacting food safety
• Monitor regulatory changes and translate them into clear, actionable enterprise guidance for brands
• Serve as an internal technical authority on risk‑based food safety decision‑making, HACCP principles, and root cause analysis

Technical Services & Design Enablement

• Provide food safety and sanitary design expertise to:
  • New restaurant builds, remodels, and re‑images
  • Equipment innovation and selection
  • Smallwares and utensil standards
• Partner with Design, Engineering, Facilities, and Supply Chain to:
  • Embed NSF/ANSI and hygienic design principles into specifications
  • Establish equipment acceptance and commissioning criteria
  • Reduce long‑term sanitation and maintenance risk through upstream decisions

Culture, & Communication, and Enablement

• Maintain and enhance enterprise food safety content across:
  • LMS and training materials
  • Playbooks, standards, and field tools
• Lead calibration and education efforts for:
  • Operations leaders
  • Brand food safety teams
  • Third‑party auditors
• Translate technical risk controls into simple, operationally relevant guidance that supports franchise adoption and consistency.

Program & Project Management

• Lead complex, multi‑workstream food safety initiatives from concept through implementation, including assessment redesigns, digital enablement, equipment standardization, and enterprise process improvements.
• Develop and manage project plans that define scope, milestones, dependencies, risks, and success measures.
• Coordinate cross‑functional contributors across Brands, Operations, Supply Chain, Design & Construction, IT, Legal, and third‑party partners. 
• Establish project governance, cadence, and communication plans to ensure alignment, accountability, and timely delivery.
• Identify and proactively manage risks, constraints, and trade‑offs; escalate issues with clear options and recommendations.
• Ensure project outcomes are operationally sustainable, measurable, and integrated into existing systems and processes.

Incident Response, Regulatory Interface & Crisis Management

• Support enterprise‑level triage of food safety complaints, illness allegations, and emerging risk signals across brands.
• Coordinate root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), and documentation in partnership with Brand Food Safety, Operations, Legal, Risk, and third‑party experts.
• Serve as a primary liaison between Inspire enterprise safety teams and supporting internal functions to ensure consistent, current interpretation of local, state, and federal regulatory requirements.
• Support communication and coordination with health authorities as appropriate, ensuring timely, accurate, and consistent responses.
• Enable enterprise crisis readiness through participation in crisis simulations, after‑action reviews, and post‑incident learning cycles to strengthen system resilience and response capability.

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Food Safety, Microbiology, Biology, Culinary Science or related field.
• CP‑FS (NEHA) credential for retail food safety expertise; widespread corporate preference.
• Preferred familiarity with GFSI programs and auditor calibration methods.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross‑functional projects or programs in a complex, multi‑stakeholder environment, preferably within retail, restaurant, or regulated operating models.

EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATION

• 5 years in retail food safety/FSQA/regulatory/auditing; multi‑brand or multi‑site governance experience strongly preferred. (Peer roles commonly require 5–10 years.)
• Experience leading third‑party audit programs, health department relations, and crisis/illness allegation response.
• Hands‑on knowledge of restaurant operations, equipment, sanitation, and design review for safety; familiarity with NSF/ANSI.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and analytics tools (Excel, Power BI, SharePoint, Teams) for dashboarding and program management.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS or ABILITIES

• Strong HACCP/FSMA risk‑based thinking; root‑cause analysis; CAPA leadership.
• Ability to foster cross‑functional collaboration and a positive food safety culture; clear written/verbal communication; effective public speaking.
• Sound judgment with autonomy to recommend policy/process changes

 

Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,000 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide.

We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.