Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) Manager

ABOUT ALBERT USTER IMPORTS Albert Uster Imports, Inc. (“AUI”) is a privately held gourmet food company headquartered in the Washington, DC area (Gaithersburg, MD) with warehouse locations in Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Gurnee and Gaithersburg. AUI falls under the Vestar Capital Partners portfolio with affiliate organization, Roland Foods, LLC. Founded in 1968, the company offers over 1,400 products from around the world. We serve leading hotels, restaurants, casinos, cruise lines, airlines, and manufacturers with innovative, high quality products and solutions to their most demanding culinary challenges. We operate a network of distribution centers across the U.S. and serve select international markets as well. AUI has a national direct selling organization of over 60 sales professionals and a staff of culinary experts (chefs and food scientists) adept at custom product solutions. ABOUT THE ROLE AUI is currently hiring for a Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) Manager responsible for managing AUI’s total Food Safety & Quality Management system. The FSQA Manager will hold primary accountability for AUI’s achievement of the Good Distribution Practice (GDP) in the “Warehouse & Distribution” sector category.  This role will lead the development and delivery of FSQA, customer complaint investigation/resolution processes, and services within all product lines offered by AUI to its customers. The FSQA Manger will communicate with top management on a monthly basis and ensure the Quality Department collaborates and communicates cross-departmentally with the Logistics, Purchasing, Innovation, Culinary, Customer Experience and Marketing teams so that the food safety/quality control processes and results are understood and meet internal/external standards. The manager will foster a high degree of customer loyalty through proactive pursuit and maintenance of the highest quality, and the communication of appropriate solutions to problems that may arise.   The ideal candidate will have a nuanced appreciation of quality assurance processes and a proven ability to link pertinent statistics to business decision making processes while utilizing innovative approaches to resolve complex problems and a solid system understanding to identify improvement opportunities. This role will be reported directly to the Senior Director, FSQA & Compliance. As a response to the pandemic, Albert Uster Imports office employees have transitioned to a hybrid working schedule, requiring employees to report in-person Monday through Wednesday, with the option to telework on Thursday and Friday each week. Due to the collaborative, cross-functional nature of the organization, employees at the Gaithersburg office are required to work in-person for the abovementioned days, outside of any People & Culture-approved disability accommodation request. RESPONSIBILITIES Inspection and Testing of Products/Processes Ensure proper monitoring and documentation are maintained across all seven distribution centers and the repacking department in alignment with the Food Safety Program Oversee process management and product quality/food safety compliance Manage and document all red flag testing and quality control processes, including product sample testing, sample check programs, and laboratory testing Coordinate and document shipping tests for new products Conduct and maintain records for monthly self-inspections covering food defense programs, cleaning and sanitation, FIFO compliance, temperature control, etc. Support and prepare for FDA, USDA, and customer (2nd Party) audits and inspections Ensure proper product receiving controls are followed and documented Maintain accurate records and corrective actions related to food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance initiatives 3 rd Party Audits (AUI Distribution Centers) - GDP Manage the re-certification of seven distribution centers according to each food safety standard level (GDP) in conjunction with the warehouse and logistics managers Act as the GDP Practitioner responsible for verifying and validating the GDP standards and warehouse employee training of all food safety and product quality aspects Food Safety Assurance of Proper Production, Storage Environments and Receiving & Delivery Ensure that proper monitoring practices and documentation are maintained with respect to food safety, particularly for pest control, temperature control (in & outbound, storage), cleaning & sanitation control, shelf-life management and product receiving & delivery Own and update Food Safety Plan as required post incidents, with compliance changes, etc. Product Information/Specifications Manage/maintain the product information/specifications of all AUI products (new and existing products) and communicate to all necessary departments to maintain accuracy of all information channels. Customer Complaint Investigation and Resolution Manage all customer complaints and communications related to food safety & product quality with all suppliers and customer service/customers to solve product issues Supplier Quality Reporting and Information Manage AUI’s supplier quality assurance program/documents/processes of new and existing suppliers and review/update the information on an annual basis Own and maintain FSVP’s (Foreign Supplier Verification Programs) including current suppliers and onboarding of new suppliers QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS Required Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Safety and Quality Management or equivalent 3 to 5 years of work experience managing plant food safety & quality assurance programs (such as GDP) and/or working with quality assurance programs in an international wholesale distribution environment Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) certified Knowledge of FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) & FSVP (Foreign Supplier Verification P