Quality Assurance Manager

Description

SUMMARY OF DUTIES:

The Quality Assurance (QA) Manager has overall responsibility for quality assurance, quality control, food safety, sanitation oversight, and regulatory compliance for FeedMore WNY. This position is primarily responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance within the commissary, as well as ensuring food safety and quality standards across all kitchens and operational locations. The QA Manager ensures that products are safe and meet established specifications, quality standards, contractual requirements, and regulatory obligations, while complying with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, health department requirements, Meals on Wheels America standards, Feeding America standards, ServSafe principles, HACCP requirements, and food safety best practices. The QA Manager provides leadership and management of all programs for the prevention of bacterial cross-contamination and foodborne illness through strict sanitary temperature management and hygiene protocols. The QA Manager provides leadership and oversight for the Quality Assurance team, including Quality Assurance Technicians, Sanitation Workers, and Dishwasher(s), ensuring all food safety, quality, sanitation, and documentation activities are completed effectively and consistently. This position promotes a culture of food safety, quality, accountability, and continuous improvement through employee development, training, inspections, audits, corrective actions, and collaboration with operational teams to maintain the highest standards of food safety and quality throughout production, storage, distribution, transportation, and sanitation activities.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provides comprehensive quality assurance oversight for all food preparation, production, storage, packaging, inventory management, distribution, and transportation activities to ensure products consistently meet or exceed organizational, contractual, customer, regulatory, and food safety requirements.
• Directly supervises, schedules, trains, coaches, develops, and evaluates Quality Assurance Technicians, Sanitation Workers, and Dishwashers. Establishes daily, weekly, and long-term departmental priorities; ensures accountability for performance standards; communicates expectations; and addresses employee performance concerns in partnership with Human Resources.
• Maintains, implements, and continuously improves food safety, sanitation, quality assurance, environmental monitoring, bacterial management, and regulatory compliance programs in collaboration with internal departments, regulatory agencies, auditors, and external stakeholders.
• Provides food safety, sanitation, quality assurance, workplace safety, and regulatory compliance training to commissary staff, volunteers, and other organizational personnel. Ensures all employees and volunteers have the knowledge, resources, tools, and support necessary to perform their responsibilities safely and in compliance with established standards.
• Co-chairs the Food Safety Committee and leads initiatives designed to strengthen food safety culture, sanitation effectiveness, regulatory compliance, employee engagement, and continuous improvement throughout food production and distribution operations.
• Conducts, leads, and participates in pre-operational inspections, operational audits, internal audits, environmental monitoring activities, ATP verification testing, sanitation verification activities, mock recalls, traceability exercises, and food safety assessments to validate compliance with organizational policies, food safety plans, and applicable regulations.
• Reviews inspection findings, audit results, testing data, and monitoring records to identify trends, deficiencies, and opportunities for improvement. Develops, implements, and monitors corrective and preventive action plans and communicates findings and recommendations to stakeholders and leadership.
• Monitors food quality, product integrity, labeling accuracy, allergen management controls, inventory rotation, lot traceability, product dating, storage conditions, handling practices, and distribution processes to ensure compliance with food safety and quality standards.
• Oversees and verifies monitoring of refrigeration, freezer, hot-holding, cold-holding, receiving, production, storage, and transportation temperatures to ensure safe food handling practices are maintained. Investigates temperature deviations, ensures timely corrective actions are implemented, and maintains compliance with HACCP requirements, regulatory standards, and organizational food safety programs.
• Oversees quality assurance documentation and recordkeeping systems, including HACCP records, temperature logs, sanitation verification records, environmental monitoring results, ATP testing records, corrective action reports, audit documentation, training records, recall documentation, and regulatory compliance records.
• Develops, tracks, analyzes, and reports food safety, quality assurance, sanitation, regulatory compliance, and operational performance metrics. Utilizes data and trend analysis to identify risks, drive continuous improvement initiatives, and support strategic decision-making.
• Coordinates, prepares for, and serves as a primary resource during regulatory inspections, third-party audits, customer audits, certifications, and compliance reviews. Ensures timely responses to findings and successful completion of corrective action requirements.
• Monitors environmental and bacterial management programs to identify potential food safety risks. Reviews testing results, coordinates investigations as necessary, and ensures appropriate corrective and preventive measures are developed, implemented, and sustained.
• Ensures proper sanitation of production facilities, warehouses, storage areas, production equipment, food-contact surfaces, utensils, and delivery vehicles through effective collaboration with Operations, Transportation, and Facilities teams.
• Assigns, monitors, verifies, and documents completion of sanitation activities, including routine cleaning schedules, deep cleaning programs, equipment sanitation, drain maintenance, footbath management, sanitation verification procedures, environmental controls, and other preventive sanitation initiatives.
• Partners with Facilities and Operations teams to identify, prioritize, and resolve maintenance concerns that may negatively impact food safety, sanitation effectiveness, product quality, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, or employee safety.
• Establishes and maintains a safe work environment through routine workplace inspections, risk assessments, safety observations, employee training, safety coaching, and active employee engagement. Investigates accidents and incidents, completes required documentation, recommends corrective actions, and participates in safety committees and meetings as appropriate.
• Participates in recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, employee development, workforce planning, and succession planning initiatives to ensure the department is appropriately staffed and positioned for future growth and operational success.
• Develops, reviews, updates, and implements departmental policies, procedures, work instructions, standards, and best practices to support compliance, operational excellence, food safety, sanitation effectiveness, quality assurance objectives, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborates closely with Culinary, Procurement, Warehouse, Transportation, Facilities, Human Resources, and Leadership teams to promote operational excellence, strengthen regulatory compliance, support organizational goals, and ensure the consistent delivery of safe, high-quality food products.
• Assisting with any and all mission work as needed and requested with some or no prior notice including, but not limited to: serving as a truck spotter, helping with Farm Market/Community Garden/Freight Farms/on and off-site food distributions, preparation of meals and serving home-delivered meals; and
• Other duties as assigned or needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Quality Management, or Biological Sciences, or a closely related field of study plus two years of experience as a Quality & Food Safety Manager in quality management, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance within the food industry and FSMA regulations;
• Food Handler's/Food Protection License required, ServSafe preferred;
• Experience in bacterial prevention, food safety and contamination prevention;
• HACCP Certification;
• Demonstrated ability to direct, coach and train team members;
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and resolve problems;
• Proficient in MS Word, Excel, Outlook and Culinary Services ERP software;
• A valid and current NYS driver's license in and access to an automobile;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrated ability to exercise good judgment;
• Strong decision-making skills with the ability to quickly and decisively evaluate alternative solutions;
• Ability to work in hot or cold conditions for long periods of time;
• Ability to tolerate sudden and extreme changes in temperature;
• Ability to work with all food types, including but not limited to gluten, dairy, and raw proteins, including pork;
• Ability to provide internal/external customer service experience; and
• Must be capable of lifting a minimum of 50 lbs.