Vice President Food Safety and Quality Assurance - High Altitude Partners

Position Summary:&

The VP Food Safety and Quality Assurance (VP FSQA) is responsible for overseeing all aspects of quality assurance and food safety across our baking manufacturing operations, including cleaning, baking, packaging, and shipping. This on-site role will ensure that our products meet the highest standards of quality and food safety, comply with industry regulations (including SQF), and swiftly address customer complaints and internal quality issues.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership Strategy:

Develop and implement a comprehensive quality assurance and food safety strategy that aligns with the company’s business goals.

Lead and mentor the Quality Assurance team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, food safety, and excellence.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Production, R D, and Supply Chain, to integrate quality and food safety standards into all operational processes.

Provide executive-level leadership, ensuring alignment of quality and food safety initiatives with the company’s strategic objectives.

Quality Assurance Food Safety Compliance:

Oversee and ensure compliance with all relevant food safety and quality standards, including SQF, FDA, HACCP, and other applicable regulations.

Implement and maintain robust quality control and food safety systems throughout the cleaning, baking, packaging, and shipping processes.

Ensure all processes meet or exceed customer expectations, food safety requirements, and regulatory standards.

Continuous Improvement:

Analyze and evaluate production and quality data to identify areas for improvement in product quality and food safety.

Develop and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to address customer complaints, internal quality issues, and food safety risks.

Lead initiatives to reduce waste, improve product consistency, enhance food safety, and elevate overall product quality.

& Audits Reporting:

Lead internal and external audits, ensuring all quality and food safety systems and processes are always audit-ready.

Prepare and present quality and food safety reports to senior management, identifying trends and recommending actions to address any issues.

Ensure all documentation related to quality and food safety is accurate, up-to-date, and compliant with regulatory requirements.

Customer Focus:

Serve as the primary point of contact for quality and food safety-related customer inquiries and complaints.

Develop and maintain strong relationships with customers, ensuring their quality and food safety expectations are met and exceeded.

Drive quick and effective resolution of any customer quality or food safety concerns, implementing long-term solutions to prevent recurrence.

Supervisory Responsibility:& & This position will lead the FSQA Department, directly supervising the FSQA management team.

Qualifications / Education / Experience Desired:

Requires Bachelor’s degree in food science, Food Safety, Quality Management, or a related field; Master’s degree is preferred.

A minimum of 10-15 years of experience in quality assurance and food safety within the food manufacturing industry, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.

In-depth knowledge of food safety regulations, including SQF, HACCP, FDA, and GFSI standards.

Extensive experience in a baking or similar food manufacturing environment

Must have executive management experience with a demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams at a senior level.

Strong leadership skills with the ability to manage and inspire large teams.

Excellent problem-solving skills and a results-driven approach.

Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across all levels of the organization.

Experience with continuous improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma or Lean is a plus.

Supervision Given:&

This position will report to the EVP of Operations

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 accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, use hands to grasp and handle objects; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to walk; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include looking at a computer screen and ability to adjust focus. The employee is required to travel, drive a motor vehicle, and communicate using telephone and email.

Travel Required:& & Some travel required 10%

Work Location:& & On-site at our facility located outside Fort Collins, CO