|
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Laboratory & Quality Operations
- Ensure the lab has the equipment, supplies, and resources needed for daily testing activities.
- Maintain accurate, reliable, and compliant laboratory testing and data reporting.
- Ensure compliance with laboratory procedures, food safety standards, and quality requirements.
- Plan laboratory staffing and workloads to support production needs.
- Train and develop laboratory team members to maintain high performance standards.
- Maintain Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), including equipment calibration, maintenance, and safety compliance.
- Support a safe and healthy work environment in line with company and regulatory requirements.
- Protect and maintain laboratory equipment through preventive maintenance and proper chemical handling.
- Support the Quality team to ensure uninterrupted support to Operations.
- Support and improve Food Safety & Quality Management Systems (FSQMS).
- Ensure compliance with GMP, HACCP, SQF/BRC/FSSC 22000, sanitation, allergen, and environmental monitoring programs.
- Support validation and verification of food safety controls and preventive programs.
- Maintain audit readiness through proper documentation, housekeeping, and compliance monitoring.
Support to Internal Teams
- Prepare and communicate quality reports and testing results to Operations.
- Communicate out-of-specification results promptly to support risk mitigation and corrective action.
- Collaborate with Operations and Manufacturing to resolve quality issues.
- Monitor quality control plans, CTQs, and CCPs throughout production.
- Participate as a member of the site HACCP team.
- Attend meetings and provide feedback on quality improvements.
- Analyze quality trends and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
- Support development and maintenance of quality and food safety documentation.
- Assist with internal, customer, regulatory, and third-party audits, including corrective action follow-up.
- Support food safety culture initiatives through training, coaching, and employee engagement.
- Partner with Production, Sanitation, Maintenance, and Supply Chain teams to maintain compliance and quality standards.
Customer & Supplier Support
- Provide accurate and timely Certificates of Analysis (CoAs).
- Support investigations into customer complaints and quality concerns.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with customers, suppliers, and laboratory partners.
- Provide timely communication, feedback, and technical support when needed.
- Support supplier quality and food safety programs, including audits and corrective actions.
- Represent Quality and Food Safety during customer visits and regulatory inspections.
Continuous Improvement & Problem Solving
- Support process improvement initiatives and quality control planning.
- Participate in root cause investigations and corrective action development.
- Lead or support continuous improvement projects in Quality and Production.
- Drive initiatives focused on food safety, compliance, audit readiness, and waste reduction.
- Support preventive controls and risk mitigation strategies to minimize food safety and quality incidents.
Qualifications & Requirements:
- High school diploma or GED required; Associate’s degree in a related field preferred.
- Experience with laboratory auditing and compliance programs.
- HACCP Level 2 certification preferred.
- Advanced ability to train personnel and perform analytical and microbiological testing.
- Strong knowledge of laboratory health and safety practices, including handling chemicals, reagents, and hazardous materials.
- Experience managing laboratory equipment maintenance, calibration, and replacement planning.
- Ability to lead method validation and verification activities, including participation in laboratory ring testing programs.
- Expert knowledge of laboratory techniques such as sampling, weighing, pipetting, and titration.
- Knowledge of GFSI audit scheme, (ex. SQF, FS22000 or BRC); implementation experience preferred.
- Strong laboratory data management and documentation skills.
- Proficient in data analysis tools, including Excel, to identify trends and patterns.
- Working knowledge of basic statistical concepts, including averages, standard deviation, range, and Statistical Process Control (SPC), with the ability to apply them to laboratory data.
Physical Demands
- Willingness to work additional hours, and tailor schedule appropriately, to support team goals and meet deadlines
- Must possess adequate vision, hearing, and verbal communication skills to meet essential job performance and safety standards
- Ability to stand and walk for extended periods and regularly perform physical tasks such as pushing, pulling, lifting, climbing, bending, stooping, squatting, and using hands for detailed tasks
- Work environment sometimes involves exposure to inclement weather
- Physically capable of performing tasks such as lifting, climbing, and using hand and power tools, including pallet jacks, scales, ladders, and standard material handling and cleaning equipment
- Capable of safely lifting up to 50 pounds frequently throughout the day; ability to handle heavier items with proper lifting equipment or team-assisted techniques to ensure safety
Work Environment
- Employees must be able to work in a dynamic manufacturing environment that may include exposure to odors, dust, moderate noise levels, and fluctuations in temperature and ventilation
- Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn at all times, which may include but is not limited to: safety glasses, steel-toed shoes, gloves, hairnets, uniforms, and face shields, as required by specific job duties and safety protocols
Quality Statement:
- Our Quality and Food Safety Management strategy is anchored by our food safety and quality culture and a two-pronged approach to “be the best” as we produce “only the best”. Every employee has a role to play in this strategy as outlined by the following:
- Follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP’s), allergen control, food defense, HACCP, SQF, and regulatory requirements so that we make consistently safe, quality products.
- Ensure the presence of visitors, contractors, and customers are documented on each visit in and out of the facility to maintain good manufacturing practices, allergen controls, food defense/food security and HACCP controls.
- Report all food safety and quality issues to management immediately.
- Partner with colleagues across all functions to share knowledge, skills, and information regarding quality and food safety.
- Adhere to all health and safety work practices.
- Exhibit an understanding of quality and food safety standards and be able to speak about the Finlays quality and food safety system and your role in it.
- Handle customer complaints in a timely and professional manner so that the customer is put first, always.
- Participate fully in Finlays programs that drive continuous improvement methodologies.
Any employee in doubt as to the role they play in the Finlays quality and food safety management system must reach out to the site Quality Manager or VP of Quality.
Equal Opportunity Statement:
Finlays Solutions is an equal employment opportunity employer seeking diversity in qualified applicants for employment. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, gender, gender identity, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, perceived disability, medical condition, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other protected status, as defined by applicable law. Finlays employs individuals that are 18 years of age or older.
|
