Director Food Safety Operations

Your Story.\nYou will be responsible for leading and overseeing all aspects of food safety and regulatory compliance across the company's manufacturing facilities. This role ensures that all products meet or exceed food safety standards, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations. You will develop, implement, and maintain robust food safety systems and lead cross-functional teams to foster a culture of food safety excellence. You will plan, coordinates, and directs food safety programs and systems designed to ensure continuous production of safe, quality and legal products. You will be responsible for ensuring a food facility adheres to food safety regulations and standards. You will provide oversight to sanitation, developing and implementing safety programs, and managing team of food safety professionals.\nYour Passion. Our Culture.\nAt Sargento, you work for a company you believe in, with a family of people who believe in you.  Our culture stems from a simple premise: Hire good people and treat them like family.  At Sargento, you can make decisions based on how they affect people as well as the long-term health of our company.  You will be encouraged to make a meaningful difference in the community, in the company and in your career.  With diverse experiences and tools to learn and develop, you can transform your aspirations into reality.  If you're ready for the right place to belong and grow your career, you can find it here.\nBenefits that set us apart.\n\nComprehensive medical including Fertility, Adoption benefits, Dental, and Vision Insurance\nRemote ½ day Fridays\nOnsite Health & Wellness Center\nEmployer 401K contribution in the top 1% of the nation\nRelocation Assistance\nTuition Assistance\nAccess to Employee Store\n\nWhat You Do. \n\nExecute the company's comprehensive food safety and sanitation strategies in alignment with business goals.\nServe as the subject matter expert on food safety regulations, trends, and best practices.\nEnsure compliance with FDA, USDA, FSMA, HACCP, GFSI (SQF/BRC), and other applicable regulations and standards.\nOversee the development and implementation of food safety programs, including HACCP, allergen control, sanitation, traceability, and recall procedures.\nMaintain and improve food safety documentation and record-keeping systems.\nLead and mentor a team of food safety and quality professionals.\nDevelop and deliver training programs to ensure employee awareness and compliance with food safety protocols.\nConduct risk assessments and root cause analyses for food safety incidents.\nDrive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance food safety performance and reduce risk.\nPartner with R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, and Procurement to ensure food safety is integrated into all processes.\nCollaborate with suppliers and co-manufacturers to ensure food safety standards are upheld throughout the supply chain\nDesigns experiments and analyzes statistical data to assist the organization.\nLeads development of IT systems designed for efficient utilization of data by quality systems users. Directs internal consultants for SAP-QM, DevEx, Intellex, and Laboratory Information Management systems.\nActs as chief liaison with outside Process Authority and third-party laboratories in the development of challenge studies.\nDevelops knowledge partnerships with external content experts in food safety (e., FDA, USDA, NFPA, CDR, IDFA, FRI, etc.)\nWork closely with FSQ Commercialization Team as consultant to guide food safety, quality, sanitation and hygienic design efforts into commercialization of new products for Sargento Foods.\nPrepare and present reports to senior management on food safety initiatives, progress, project milestones, metrics, food safety compliance, ongoing issues and outcomes\nEstablish and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including customers, partners, and industry influencers\nExternal monitoring of relevant regulation impacts and streamlining of internal communication needs and action plans, including identification of emerging risks\nReviews technical publications, articles, and abstracts to stay abreast of technical developments in industry.\nRequires up to 25% of travel.\n\nYour Education and Experience.\n\nBachelor's degree (B.S.) required and Master's Degree (M.S.) strongly preferred in a field related to food microbiology or other biological sciences. \nMinimum of 10 years of progressive experience in a food safety risk management role. \n\nOur Story.\nWith over 2,400+ employees and net sales of nearly $1.8 billion, Sargento is a family-owned company that has been a leader in cheese for more than 70 years.  We created the world's first, successful pre-packaged sliced and shredded natural cheeses.  Sargento is based in Plymouth, Wisconsin, where we manufacture and market shredded, sliced and snack natural cheese products, as well as ingredients and sauces.  Sargento is known for the exceptional quality of our products and for product design, packaging and merchandising innovations that have transformed our industry.\nTo learn more about