Sr. Director of FSQ - Downers Grove, IL

• Lead and oversee compliance, quality assurance, and food safety programs across all operational sites, with a focus on continuous improvement in response to evolving regulations.
• Guide teams in building systems, skills, and processes to ensure full compliance with food safety laws, internal standards, and external audits (including customer, GFSI, regulatory, and identity-preserved requirements).
• Champion the creation and implementation of risk assessment, validation, verification, and monitoring programs for food safety plans, internal procedures, and the commissioning of new equipment or lines.
• Track emerging food safety and quality issues, and develop proactive strategies, policies, and procedures to mitigate risk. Serve as a technical advisor on complex food safety matters.
• Provide regular updates and strategic insights to the Food Safety & Compliance Steering Committee regarding program developments and execution.
• Communicate priorities and initiative progress to leadership, ensuring timely delivery and regulatory compliance across all initiatives.
• Maintain GFSI certifications and ensure adherence to internal Food Safety & Quality (FS&Q) systems across all production facilities.
• Identify and lead Continuous Improvement (CI) initiatives using tools such as SPC, Lean, Six Sigma, and Root Cause Analysis to enhance FS&Q performance.
• Supervise, coordinate, and evaluate the technical work of team members and project groups, while maintaining subject matter expertise in relevant categories.
• Drive disciplined use of the commercialization process for new product launches and product/process redesigns in collaboration with R&D, Packaging, Regulatory, and Operations teams.
• Support cross-functional projects involving Engineering, Procurement, and Supply Chain to ensure compliance with processing parameters and FS&Q standards, while meeting budget targets.
• Manage improvement programs based on trends from consumer feedback, internal deviations, and industry developments. Set measurable goals and lead each plant's improvement against key FS&Q KPIs.
• Assist with regulatory, customer, and third-party audits and inspections at manufacturing facilities as needed.

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