gpac is partnered with a growing organization in the food and pet food manufacturing industry seeking an experienced Sr. Manager, Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) to lead enterprise food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance initiatives.
This position will oversee corporate and site-level FSQA teams, strengthen food safety and quality systems, manage regulatory and certification requirements, and support manufacturing operations and external partners.
The ideal candidate is a strategic FSQA leader with strong technical expertise, proven team leadership, and experience driving compliance and continuous improvement across multiple facilities.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead, develop, and hold corporate and site FSQA teams accountable.
- Establish enterprise FSQA strategies, objectives, performance metrics, and improvement plans.
- Oversee food safety and quality management systems across manufacturing sites, co-manufacturers, and contract warehouses.
- Ensure compliance with applicable FDA, FSMA, HACCP, GMP, GFSI, SQF/BRC, and customer requirements.
- Lead customer, regulatory, certification, and internal audits.
- Oversee preventive controls, risk assessments, corrective actions, validation, verification, and continuous improvement.
- Manage labeling, product specifications, regulatory documentation, and applicable AAFCO requirements.
- Support import/export compliance and applicable APHIS requirements.
- Oversee complaint investigations, root-cause analysis, supplier quality, traceability, recall preparedness, and product disposition.
- Lead FSQA due diligence and onboarding for new manufacturing and warehousing partners.
- Partner with Operations, R&D, Supply Chain, Sales, Customer Service, and executive leadership.
- Manage FSQA budgets, team development, succession planning, and performance reporting.
- Identify emerging regulatory risks and implement appropriate compliance and risk-mitigation strategies.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Animal Science, Biology, or a related technical field; equivalent relevant experience considered.
- 10+ years of experience in food safety, quality assurance, or regulatory affairs within food, pet food, animal nutrition, ingredients, or related manufacturing.
- 5+ years of leadership experience managing teams, developing FSQA programs, and driving accountability across departments or locations.
- Experience leading GFSI certification programs, regulatory inspections, customer audits, and corrective action initiatives.
- Strong knowledge of FDA regulations, FSMA, HACCP, preventive controls, GMPs, supplier controls, sanitation, traceability, and recall management.
- Experience with labeling and regulatory frameworks, including AAFCO, along with applicable import/export requirements.
- Multi-site manufacturing, co-manufacturer, contract warehouse, or supplier quality experience preferred.
- Strong communication, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to influence cross-functional teams and make sound, risk-based decisions.
- Willingness to travel up to 30% and respond to critical FSQA issues outside normal business hours when needed.
Preferred Certifications
- SQF Practitioner or equivalent GFSI qualification.
- Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI).
- HACCP certification.
- Internal Auditor training.
- Advanced SQF Practitioner or comparable GFSI training.
Compensation & Benefits
- $110,000–$135,000 base salary, depending on qualifications.
- Comprehensive benefits package.
- 401(k) and other benefits, as applicable.
- Opportunity to lead enterprise-level FSQA strategy and team development.
- Professional growth and long-term career development.
If you are an experienced food safety, quality, and regulatory leader looking for an opportunity to make a meaningful impact across manufacturing operations, reach out to Shevon at shevon.robb@gogpac.com or call or text 816-434-8921 for a confidential conversation.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, age, color, sex (including pregnancy), religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable laws or regulations.
GPAC (Growing People and Companies) is an award-winning search firm specializing in placing quality professionals within multiple industries across the United States since 1990. We are extremely competitive, client-focused and realize that our value is in our ability to deliver the right solutions at the right time.
