Sr. Food Safety Quality Manager

Why you will love working at Maola:

• Owned by a cooperative of family farmers who are passionate about cultivating sustainable dairy goodness and bottling fresh Maola brand milk and dairy products.
• 100 years of dedicated stability and growth across 11 states.
• Competitive pay, Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Life Insurance, Time Off Provisions, and more, available no later than one month after hire.
• Our employees are an integral part of who we are — what you do and what you think matters.

SUMMARY: The Sr. Food Safety Quality Manager oversees the development, implementation, and maintenance of quality assurance, quality control, and food safety programs within the Landover, MD dairy production site. This role ensures compliance with regulatory standards, customer requirements, and company policies while maintaining the highest levels of product quality and safety. The manager leads a team, drives continuous improvement initiatives, and collaborates with cross-functional departments to uphold standards and mitigate risks.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Quality Assurance Oversight: Develop, implement, and monitor quality control systems to ensure products meet internal, regulatory, and customer standards.
• Food Safety Management: Ensure compliance with food safety regulations and standards, including sanitation, allergen control, and pathogen prevention programs.
• Team Leadership: Supervise and train quality assurance and food safety staff, fostering a culture of accountability and excellence.
• Audits and Inspections: Prepares for and conducts regulatory, certification, and customer audits to maintain certifications and healthy customer relationships. Manage all aspects of the internal audit program.
• Risk Management: Identify, assess, and mitigate risks related to food safety, contamination, or quality deviations.
• Process Improvement: Analyze production data, investigate non-conformances, and implement corrective actions to enhance product consistency and safety.
• Documentation: Maintain accurate records, including standard operating procedures (SOPs), testing results, and compliance reports.
• Collaboration: Work closely with operations, sales, procurement, and supply chain teams to align quality and safety requirements and goals with operational efficiency.
• Training and Education: Develop and deliver training programs on food safety, sanitation, and quality protocols for facility staff.
• Customer and Supplier Interaction: Investigate and address customer complaints, monitor raw material quality, and ensure traceability throughout the supply chain.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• This is a people leader role for a team of quality control and assurance colleagues.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

• At least Bachelor’s degree in food science, Microbiology, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• At least 8 years of experience in food safety or quality assurance within the food industry, preferably within bottling or dairy manufacturing.
• Preventative Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) certified.
• Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) management experience required, certification preferred in either FSSC or SQF.
• Knowledge of Pasteurizing Milk Ordinance (PMO) and Interstate Milk Shippers (IMS) preferred.

COMPETENCIES

• Communication
• Communicate clearly and effectively through multiple channels – oral, written, visual, and non-verbal – ensuring our messages are understood and delivered appropriately, whether in-person or digitally.
• Accountability
• Take responsibility for actions and anticipate challenges before they arise.
• Solve problems both within and outside of departments, proactively addressing issues as they occur. 
• Customer Focused
• Prioritize understanding and meeting both internal and external customer needs.
• Ensure high levels of satisfaction and loyalty by anticipating customer requirements and striving for exceptional service.
• Initiative
• Proactive in identifying opportunities and addressing potential threats.
• Act independently and decisively, rather than waiting for situations to demand action.
• Problem-Solving
• Possess the ability to identify and address complex issues with minimal guidance.
• Skilled at analyzing challenges and finding practical, effective solutions. 
• Collaboration
• Take responsibility for deliverables while also supporting others to ensure that collective goals are met.
• Able to work harmoniously with others toward a common goal, recognizing and valuing each person’s contributions, is fundamental to successful collaboration. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand and walk. The employee must be able to reach, bend, extend, and lift 50-60 pounds.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The work environment may require working in the cooler room with varying degrees of temperature and may include contact with water or dairy liquids.
• Exposed to a noise level of 90 decibels. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate/high. Wet/slippery work conditions.

Maola Local Dairies, owned by the farmers of Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association (MDVA), sustainably produces a full suite of nutritious dairy products through our network of six dairy processing plants. With a keen eye on quality, freshness, and love for the environment, Maola delivers dairy products that are both nutritious and sustainable to our local communities. For more information about Maola, please visit www.maolamilk.com.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other legally protected status.