Quality Assurance Manager
Overview:
We have an opportunity for a Quality Assurance Manager to join our team. This role provides direction for field quality management systems, including suppliers’ adherence to written specifications and food safety. Significantly responsible for suppliers’ performance, directing food safety, reporting in the field, and providing communication with suppliers and contractors to coordinate activities throughout the company. Controls and monitors quality management system and publishes data and reports regarding company performance against set indicators. Liaises with Bojangles’ Distribution and Supply Chain staff to ensure that the QA system is functioning properly. Advises on changes and their implementation and provides training, tools and techniques to enable others to achieve quality. Liaises with Food Safety programs at the store level to build a culture of Food Safety with operators.
Responsibilities:
• Develops relationships and partnerships across all business units.
• Uses recognized industry and regulatory practices and procedures to ensure brand protection by validating that all current and potential suppliers to the Bojangles’ Restaurant Distribution system provide products that are safe, conforming and consistent.
• Maintains current knowledge of industry best practices, food manufacturing, preparation and handling, and regulatory requirements.
• Monitors food labeling, safe food production, and safe food handling laws and regulations to ensure Bojangles’
• Restaurants are in compliance with such laws and regulations. Advises the Supply Chain and Operations team of impending or proposed regulatory changes.
• Partners with Operations on creating restaurant procedures that align with the most current Food Code.
• Ensures compliance with national standards (i.e., HACCP, FSMA, etc.) and legislation, considering the application of environmental and health/safety standards.
• Works with Supply Chain staff to establish and maintain quality assurance requirements for external suppliers and distributors.
• Assess and maintain suppliers’ Bojangles’ product specifications.
• Writes, edits, compile and maintain all specifications for food and packaging products for the Bojangles’ Brand.
• Monitors and enforces QA compliance objectives; ensures targets are achieved throughout all levels of the supply chain; plant, distribution, and restaurant.
• Lead with the design, development, and implementation of all quality assurance programs throughout the supply chain (i.e. raw materials, manufacturing, and distribution) for all products in the system to development continuous improvement of product with each supplier
• Manage all activities related to verification of the consistent quality and safety of all products supplied to Bojangles’ Restaurants including, but not limited to plant and distributor facility audits, 3rd party product and facility audits, cold chain compliance, recall/mock recall third party vendor and supplier production reports.
• Manages activities related to third party food safety and work place safety auditing program within the restaurants alongside operations
• Analyzes supplier production reports and 3rd party audit reports for deviations or variations from Bojangles’ specifications.
• Maintains files for product specifications, label proofs, etc.
• Inspects facilities of manufacturers and distributors supplying products to Bojangles’, ensuring generally acceptable practices of good manufacturing are being employed and manufacturing of Bojangles’ products is done in a clean and sanitary environment.
• Approve and/or validate new production facilities that will support the Bojangles’ Supply Chain.
• Report and document all changes in manufacturing procedures by any manufacturers (i.e., ingredients, raw material, packaging, etc.).
• Regularly conducts product evaluations of Bojangles’ products.
• Management of product recall/withdrawals.
• Manage the Incident Report Program from report to resolution when QA Coordinator is on leave.
• Works with Risk Management if foreign object, illness, or other relative issues occur, providing vendor follow-up and resolution.
Skills and Abilities Required:
• Strong ethics and integrity in building personal relationships with all Bojangles’ Restaurant Team Members, Franchise Partners and other key constituents
• Possesses a high degree of drive and attention to details with a proven track record of achieving results
• Possesses superior communication skills (written and verbal) to effectively interact and support all levels of Associates
• Ability to work with others in a team environment.
• Able to take direction and accomplish tasks with minimum supervision, maintain accuracy and meet deadlines.
• Ability to function effectively in an environment that requires multi-tasking
Computer Equipment, Software and Work Base Requirements:
• Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
• Position primary responsibility is managing quality of Bojangles’ manufacturers
• Position is primarily in-the-field; office location is Support Center
• Extensive travel will be required (50%)
Qualifications:
• Five plus years of quality assurance management experience in the food industry required; quick service restaurant/franchise operation/ foodservice distribution experience preferred
• BS degree in Food Science preferred
• HACCP certified preferred
• Minimum of three years of experience performing quality assurance audits in food manufacturing facilities
• SQF Practitioner and/or BRC auditor certification preferred
• Experience with QA validation and/or auditing in distribution and food manufacturing preferred
• Quality Assurance department – including but not limited to Food Safety, Full Traceability, Social and Animal Welfare.
• Demonstrated success in ability to be concise, clear and influential with RTB and Project initiatives, presentation, with a focus on consistent and concise message delivery
• Able to work effectively across many internal functional groups to optimize product offerings and issue resolution
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with ability to build team and teamwork for business proprieties and deliverables
• Ability to manage multiple projects concurrently
• Strong relationship-development skills resulting in long term mutually beneficial client – customers relationships
• Self-motivated; able to work both independently to complete tasks and respond to department requests and timelines
• Ability to collaborate with others to utilize their resources and knowledge in identifying quality, efficient and effective solutions
• Strong leadership skills; ability to drive and motivate team to achieve results
• Ability to work in a time-sensitive and high volume environment
• Tenacious ability to drive work load both independently and collaboratively toward the successful attainment of department and system goals with project completion dates or before
• Ability to identify key industry suppliers and manufacturer contacts
• Capable to communicate project and status updates to team and cross-functionally to ensure alignment
• Solid strategic and problem solving skills to effectively and efficiently influence decision making during negotiation process
• Ability to adapt to change with a positive attitude
• Professional, courteous, reliable and mature
• Essential to partners with Quality Assurance to ensure food safety and quality standards are being delivered
• Strong organization, planning and project management skills; ability to prioritize tasks for both self and team to meet business requirements and deadlines
• Wiliness to embrace on-going change to support the Brand, Growth and System Initiative / Priorities
• Supports current readily available and changing future state technology “off-shelf”, customized technology
• Examples but not limited to: Apple/Android, Microsoft devices, ArrowStream, Footprints, CMX, FoodLogiQ, Service Check, Clarizen and all future state evolution of technology available
