Director Quality & Food Safety, pladis Americas

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led , resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility , we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact

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PURPOSE :

The pladis Americas QFS role is key in developing and delivering the strategic QFS vision for the region.

This role will provide leadership within the Americas region, working in partnership with R&D, Supply Chain, Procurement and other key stakeholders to deliver the FSQ Strategy, ensuring we are protecting our brands and consumers and are fully compliant to internal / customer, legislative and food safety protocols.

Leading the Americas QFS team for standardization of quality processes and systems and continuous improvement, this role is crucial to the rollout of the pladis quality vision across the region.

Through engagement with senior internal and external stakeholders the role will create a culture of pladis quality and driving’ performance improvement in the product quality and food safety area.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES AND DELIVERABLES :

Responsible for developing and implementing the FSQ Strategy for the region, developing road maps to improve the Culture, Capability, FSQ performance and risk reduction.

Through direction and collaboration work with the regional team to build plans that can bring the strategy to life with clear set of objectives.

Provide leadership regarding key Technical / risk activities to manage Crisis Management, Retailer Technical support, Quality and Food safety, Supplier Approval and Authenticity.

Own the execution of the Quality / Food Safety agenda, ensuring full adoption of all required standards / protocols and driving continuous improvement.

Set and manage quality performance metrics

• Develop performance metrics and measurement criteria with clear indicators.
• Publishing Americas pladis Quality Dashboard internally and externally (where appropriate)
• Manage & monitor action plans to improve Americas quality performance

Embed a culture of quality thinking across pladis, at all levels

Management of the Americas QFS team, ensuring the function has the capability and capacity to deliver the Strategic Plan.

Build competency and capability within the region to manage key QFS activities covering Supplier approval and management, optimal compliance and improvement activities within our factories and risk mitigation.

Crisis Management Leadership - position serves as leader of the Americas crisis management program for pladis Americas. This includes all aspects from incident reporting, to evaluation and final response. Depending on severity of situation, position will direct cross-functional response team to evaluate and determine corrective action / safeguards as required to ensure product safety and quality.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Essential Criteria

Extensive knowledge of quality tools, resource planning, risk analysis, food safety principles, and audit protocol

Excellent interpersonal and influencing skills and ability to effectively communicate at all organizational levels

Working knowledge of GFSI standards, FSSC and SQF, preferred

Project Management skills

Proven track record leading cross-functional teams achieving expected results

Strong conflict resolution skills

Risk Assessment & Crisis Management Training & Experience

Desirable Criteria

Deep understanding of "World Class" Quality organizations and standards

Previous experience with Quality & Food SafetyTransformation at CPG companies

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED :

Basic Qualifications

B. S. Degree in Food Safety or related scientific field

Minimum of years of experience in food safety and quality

Desirable Criteria

Master’s Degree

Quality certifications ( ASQ, CQE, CQA, CQM, SQF, FSSC etc.)

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED

Demonstrated leadership abilities

Ability to understand quality metrics / metrology, and incorporate those metrics into the strategic plans for NA

Excellent communication skills, able to respond and interact with both technical and non-technical resources as well as associates at every level

Excellent interpersonal skills

Assertive and able to effectively manage crisis / high stress situations calmly and professionally

Team builder, adept at recognizing and managing different resource needs, functions, and requirements and translating those into effective and efficient developmental plans

pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List. If you are a recruitment agency and wish to submit candidate to be considered for this vacancy, you must have agreed to, and signed, our terms of business.

We will not accept CVs from any other sources other than those currently on our PSL. We will not pay a fee for any candidate that has not been represented by a provider on our PSL.