Quality Assurance Manager

Company: Kerry
Location: Norwich
Posted on: August 6, 2022

Job Description:

Quality Manager Leading to better encompasses all we do at Kerry, it's how we've become the worlds leading taste and nutrition company. Whether it's building and manufacturing sustainable solutions for food, beverage or pharmaceutical consumers, our commitment to lead the world to better nutrition drives us forward. With 24,000+ colleagues across the globe and 15,000+ Kerry products, your opportunities are limitless.
About KerryKerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment
About the roleOur Norwich, NY location is part of our Applied Health and Nutrition Division and one of our specialty sites that creates proteins, lactose, coatings, and flavors. The location lies within Chenango County and is advantageously located within a 50-mile radius of the major cities of Binghamton, Syracuse, Utica, Cooperstown and Oneonta. Leader of site Quality department, responsible for ensuring that all Quality activities (including Quality Assurance, Quality Control, & Sanitation) and that factory systems, processes, manufactured products & documentation comply with the relevant Company, Customer, and Regulatory requirements. Collaborates cross-functionally to continuously improve factory GMP/cGMP, systems, processes, procedures, and overall compliance. Sits on Site Leadership team with other local department heads. The Quality Manager role offers a unique opportunity to be involved with a remarkable combination of technical capabilities, customer insights, and innovative applications.
What will you do?

• Lead a team of QA and QC professionals to ensure that products are manufactured according to requirements and that facility practices are established & maintained in compliance with relevant requirements.
• Interview, select, train, evaluate, and discipline employees.
• Coach & guide employees to advance their development (e.g. succession planning).
• Serve as a model of values and effective leadership competencies.
• Endorse and champion Quality & Food Safety Policies & supporting programs; take prompt action to address and/or escalate concerns when necessary.
• Understand the requirements of and ensure adherence facility to Quality Management System (QMS) and Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) certification standards (e.g. ISO, GFSI, etc.) for all activities including:
• Food Safety Plan, Food Defense Plan, Food Fraud Vulnerability Assessment
• Providing feedback to the plant on its adherence to systems and procedures through internal audits, management review, quality alerts, etc.
• Perform trending of quality-related data to guide continuous improvement
• Document Control & Record Control
• Write, update, and/or approve SOPs, WIs, Forms, etc.
• Change Management / Change Control
• Internal QMS/FSMS audits & GMP inspections
• Customer Complaint investigation & response
• Sanitation, Pest Control, Hygienic principles (design, zoning, etc.)
• Quality training program, regularly providing training to plant staff on GMP principles and QMS/FSMS initiatives.
• Oversee product release & batch traceability practices, ensuring that all finished products manufactured meet specifications and compliance requirements prior to release
• Lead investigation teams through quality issues (nonconformities, complaints, audit findings, etc.) through root cause analysis (RCA) and the development, implementation, and effectiveness verification of corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs).
• Manage external audits of the facility (e.g. by customers, certifiers, Regulatory bodies)
• Write and/or approve written responses for communications with external customers (e.g. audit responses, complaint responses, technical document reviews, etc.)
• Review, approve, and implement specifications for raw materials, packaging, and finished products. Perform customer specification reviews with consideration to standard product offerings and process capability.
• As compliance requirements develop, perform gap assessment against current state and lead development of action plans to close gaps identified.
• Assess project priority; define, develop, and execute quality improvement plans based on determined priority.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support New Product Introduction (NI) process.
• Approve artwork/master copy for product labels
• Maintain effective Stability program for existing products and new commercializations (including data to support packaging changes)
• Frequently interact with:
• Onsite team: Plant Management, quality department, production staff, supply chain
• Offsite team: company quality leadership, account managers, technical services, customer care, regulatory.
• External to company: auditors, inspectors, customer quality representatives, contracted service providers. All employees share a responsibility to demonstrate and promote employee health & safety and environmental protection in our operations to comply with federal, state, local and company rules and regulations by observing and enforcing safety rules and practices, encouraging safe work behaviors, and promptly correcting conditions and unsafe behavior which may lead to accidents.
  What would you need to be successful?
  • 5+ years practical experience in pharmaceutical, excipient, cosmetic, dietary supplement, and/or food manufacturing Quality Assurance
  • Experience with ISO 9001 and or FSSC 22000 (or other GFSI scheme) preferred
  • PCQI desired
  • Robust working knowledge of GMP, HACCP/HARPC (Food Safety) principles, risk assessment, laboratory practices & controls, microbiology, and validation.
  • 5+ years managerial experience within Quality functional areas aligned with Key Responsibilities as described above
  • BS degree in a scientific field
  • Computer competency in applications such as:
  • Microsoft Windows and Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
  • Laboratory information & result recording systems
  • Internet & cloud-based applications
  • SAP experience preferred
  • Excellent written and verbal skills, ability to give and follow written and verbal instructions.
  • ASQ certification desirable
    Kerry is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. Kerry will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a background investigation and drug screen. EEO is the Law poster can be found here. Additional information can also be here .

Keywords: Kerry, Syracuse , Quality Assurance Manager, Executive , Norwich, New York