Sr Manager, QA

Location: 

St. Albans, US, 05478

At Barry Callebaut, we are on a journey to transform the cocoa and chocolate industry. As the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, our actions truly shape the future of our industry. We are a business-to-business company, serving the entire food sector, from the cocoa bean to the finest chocolate product. We are a company with a purpose, we believe in doing well by doing good and reinvesting in the communities we operate. We have a long-standing commitment to sustainability and our goal is to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future. We are headquartered in Zurich, and have more than 12,000 passionate Employees working in more than 40 countries worldwide. We are very proud of who we are and what we do. And of course, we are always looking for talented people to help us have a positive impact on our industry and beyond!

POSITION TITLE: Sr. Quality Assurance Manager


REPORTING TO: Sr. Quality Assurance Director


LOCATION: St. Albans, VT


About the role:


Barry Callebaut is a global organization poised for growth; a company which has embraced the vision to
delight its customers, while out-performing its competitors, a business which is committed to sustainability,
has innovation in its DNA, is a leader in complex manufacturing and supply chain solutions and is focused on
being a best-in-class employer. Barry Callebaut seeks diverse and passionate people who thrive in a dynamic
environment, focused on continuous learning, living BC’s Values and of course loving chocolate.


The Sr. Quality Assurance Manager will lead implementation of best in class laboratory, quality management
systems (QMS) and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety standard requirements at Barry
Callebaut’s St. Albans manufacturing site. He/she will drive compliance to quality programs,
local/regional/global strategic initiatives and ensure industry standards for food safety systems are
implemented and effective.


Key responsibilities include:


The duties and responsibilities described are not a comprehensive list and that additional tasks may be assigned
to the employee from time to time; or the scope of the job may change as necessitated by business demands.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential
functions.


● Provides strong and visible quality leadership within the facility and on the factory floor.
● Leverages quality staff and all plant cross-functional staff to achieve the expectations of the
factory’s quality system.
● Connects/influences local plant management and plant workforce to drive a best in class
Quality/Food Safety Culture and provides technical FSQA support to operations.
● Oversees the implementation and sustainability of quality management systems and food
safety systems at the facility.
● Plans, manages, organizes and controls the different activities related to Quality assurance
and supports the quality team and plant daily with problem resolutions. Provides the plant quality
leadership regarding any food safety incident.
● Responsible for the analytical and microbiology lab personnel management and work
prioritization.
● Responsible for the investigation of product incidents and customer/consumer complaints at
the plant level to ensure timely, accurate RCA’s are completed and effective CAPA’s are
implemented and verified. Manages dispositions of products. Ensure clear responses are
provided to customers or sales. Empowers direct staff and collaborates with necessary
departments to quickly understand issues.
● Responsible for ensuring a strong internal audit program but also proactively seeks to
identify and close gaps in compliance with company policies, GFSI, and regulatory
requirements. Take all the actions necessary in order to meet the established and mandatory
quality/food safety standard requirements (cGMPs, sanitation, HACCP, allergen management,
changeover/flush, hold/release, traceability, EMP, external warehouse requirements, etc).
● Prepares and leads the plant for all visits from external regulatory agencies, GFSI and key
customers. Guides the plant through external audits to meet expectations of customers,
certification bodies (Kosher, Halal, organic, etc) and independent auditors.
● Ensures corrective actions associated with all gaps identified in the internal and external
audits are verified to be effective.
● Manages the sensory evaluation system (training and application)
● Responsible for managing Quality Systems of St. Albans manufacturing facility
● Responsible for working with Production, Upstream and Downstream teams to investigate
non-conforming products and supporting production to ensure that those performing testing are
trained appropriately and any CCP/oPrP/PC checks are performed appropriately.
● Works with R&D, production and sales team to identify quality/food safety requirements
associated with new and transferred products.
● Ensures new equipment commissioning and plant expansion projects consider EMP,
sanitary design/sanitation, changeover and other aspects of FSQA.
● Monitors, review, report on all the necessary data to present the performance indicators
(KPIs) to all interested parties.


About you:


The Sr. Quality Assurance Manager will have a solid knowledge of food safety systems to include HACCP,
QMS/ GFSI requirements, a technical knowledge of food safety regulatory requirements, laboratory testing and
product release. The Sr. QA Manager must be able to work independently, work well under pressure, be
proactive, and drive multiple projects to completion simultaneously.

  •  Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, Biology, Microbiology or Food Science or equivalent (or engineering

  • degree with 7 plus years in food quality assurance.

  •  A minimum of 7 years’ experience in food safety to include formal training in HACCP.

  •  Formal training in Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety standards - : British Retail Consortium (BRC).

  •  Formal certification in quality management system auditing (ASQ certification in auditing a plus).

  •  Sound understanding of food safety regulations.

  •  Strong written & verbal communication skills, analytical ability, leadership strengths and ability to workeffectively with a team are required (computer software skills to include Word, Excel and PowerPoint (required).

  •  Extensive knowledge of HACCP, GMP, Pathogen Environmental Monitoring and Facility/Equipment Design

  •  Excellent communication skills (presentation, report writing)

  •  Good interpersonal skills

  •  Ability to drive projects to completion

  •  Ability to adhere to GMPs and all other food safety requirements

 

What you can expect from Barry Callebaut:


● Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package, including relocation assistance

● 12 paid holidays, generous PTO, plus your birthday off

● Environment that welcomes workplace flexibility

● An atmosphere where diversity is embraced, and inclusivity is second nature. We call it #OneBC! Just
ask our champions with the Americas Women’s Forum and the Racial Equality Forum!

● Ability to grow personally and professionally within an organization that values development and
internal career growth

● Be part of our mission in making sustainability the norm through Forever Chocolate with priorities
centered around prospering farmers, zero child labor, carbon and forest positive, and creating 100% sustainable ingredients in all of our products

At Barry Callebaut, we are committed to Diversity & Inclusion. United by our strong values, we thrive on the diversity of who we are, where we come from, what we’ve experienced and how we think. We are committed to nurturing an inclusive environment where people can truly be themselves, grow to their full potential and feel they belong. #oneBC - Diverse People, Sustainable Growth.

If you want to learn more about Barry Callebaut, please find further information here.

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Nearest Major Market: Burlington Vermont

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