Washington Beef is Agri Beef Co.'s state of the art processing plant, located in Toppenish, Washington. Washington Beef produces over 200 million pounds of boxed beef annually, as well as a variety of by-products including: hides for leather, tallow for bio-fuel production, meat and bone meal for organic fertilizers, pet foods and poultry feed, as well as dried blood for organic fertilizers and fish feed. Washington Beef, LLC is currently seeking to fill the following positions at our production facility in Toppenish, WA. We offer a challenging team atmosphere, and the understanding that our employees help to shape the future for our business and our industry.

TITLE: Director of Quality Assurance

POSITION PURPOSE:

As the leader of the plant Quality Assurance function, the Director of Quality and Food Safety is based in the Washington Beef facility. This role will be the authority on quality and food safety standards and practices, the champion of food safety culture, and instrumental in achieving the company’s mission of sustainably producing the highest quality beef products while delivering exceptional service to our customers. They will provide strategic direction and leadership on all quality and food safety improvements and initiatives, maintain, and enforce all quality/food safety policies and documentation, be the decision-maker in any quality/food safety related incidents, and be accountable for the ultimate quality of the products produced at Washington Beef and True West Beef once that facility comes online in 2022.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage the performance of direct reports and promote a culture of engagement and performance through frequent discussions, coaching, motivation, and career development action plans
• Ensure a safe working environment for employees, enforce safety policies, and drive safety culture through proactive measures such as safety audits
• Communicate and collaborate cross-functionally to assist the team to solve operational issues
• Provide Quality/Food Safety oversight of all products processed in the plant
• Ensure compliance with all state and federal regulations regarding food safety and quality, staying current on all changes to regulation that affect our processes and implementing the required process changes to remain compliant
• Lead the relationships and interactions with USDA employees regarding regulatory compliance
• Review and manage internal control documents to ensure they are being completed accurately and consistently
• Act as the leader and authority in any food safety incident, including but not limited to suspected contamination, foodborne illness, product adulteration, or recall of any kind; maintain control over and documentation of all affected product until a final determination is made and it is used or properly disposed of
• Lead quality and food safety audits from preparation (scheduling and coordination with auditing bodies, managing mock audits, self-auditing documentation, creating and managing punch lists for maintenance and operational improvements, training teammate culture and practice), to audit (managing the auditor at all times and their process of gathering necessary materials), to corrective action and response (identifying appropriate corrective actions, managing implementation with maintenance and operations, and documenting and reporting corrective actions in a timely fashion). Ensure certifications are maintained consistently and third-party suppliers maintain all audits and certifications we require of them as well
• Ensure customer expectations are maintained and communicated in clear spec sheets and any other QA-related documentation requested by the customer; respond to customer complaints and manage and communicate corrective actions for any non-compliant products; study trends in customer satisfaction and use the data to inform a process of continuous improvement or to mitigate potential issues
• Manage the supplier approval process and work with suppliers and co-packers to ensure that they consistently meet our food safety and quality standards and provide all appropriate documentation; work with smaller suppliers to teach and bring them to our standard
• Provide expert guidance to team members when facing food quality or safety concerns or questions
• Proactively lead relevant teams in root cause analyses on systemic Quality and Safety problems or areas for improvement, and generate and implement solutions to these root causes
• Oversee the development, maintenance, and documentation of training programs for teammates at every level regarding Food Quality, Food Safety, and Quality and Safety Culture.
• Work directly with the sanitation team to correct any sanitation issues and/or continuously improve sanitation within the facility; lead QA team in conducting pre-operation inspections before each processing day to ensure sanitation team has left the plant ready for processing safely
• Maintain a positive attendance record by demonstrating consistent and punctual attendance on a regular basis
• Perform other related duties as assigned
• This role may require some travel (approx. 20-30%) once TWB comes online

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate teams and achieve results through mentoring

• Effective coaching and team-building skills
• Experience providing strategic leadership and developing comprehensive programs and plans
• Ability to analyze and determine methods and procedures
• Ability to prioritize competing commitments in line with departmental and/or corporate objectives
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and database management tools
• Must be authorized to work in the United States

EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Quality Assurance, Meat Science, Food Science, or equivalent work experience
• 10+ years Quality/Food Safety experience in a production environment, preferably meat/food production

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Washington Beef, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. If you are excited about this role, but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Experience

• 10 year(s): Quality/Food Safety experience in a production environment, preferably meat/food production