Olam Food Ingredients - Quality Assurance/Food Safety & Regulatory Affairs Manager

Summary:

Quality Assurance, Food Safety & Regulatory Affairs Manager at Olam Food Ingredients India Spices Operations. This position will be responsible for ensuring product quality assurance, food safety & meeting all the regulatory requirements of the products manufactured & shipped from India Operations. The role will be responsible for all measurements & data management of food safety & quality assurance including physical, chemical & microbiological laboratory operations. Providing reliable data for new product innovation, creating new capabilities of contaminant management including pesticide analysis will be critical for the success.

Essential Functions & Principal Accountabilities:

- Leads the QFS team to ensure effective management of the Quality & Food Safety Programs

- Working with Site Operations team, builds the annual site QFS plan aligned with the global QFS plan

- Key member of the operations team to ensure focus on QFS and provide technical support as required

- Drive training programs on QFS across all levels of the organization

- Ensures adequate risk assessments of processes &, working in multifunctional teams prioritize and drive closure of any gaps

- Develops a 100% quality audit ready facility through collaboration with the operations team and develop capability to maintain documentation & audit protocols.

- Manages a suite of QFS KPI's driving continuous improvement as required

- Ensures adequate resourcing for the daily monitoring and verification of site records

- Ensures alignment with the global QFS

- Works with customers on complaints and quality/food safety improvement initiatives.

- Complete RCA's and CAPAs for both internal and external issues (eg customer complaints, finished product nonconformance's)

- Approves and manages the Co-manufacturer's QFS programs

- Working with R&D and Operations responsible for implementation of new products or changes to process in the plant. This will include

Development of the product technical specifications covering physical, chemical, microbiological and sensory parameters.

Implementation of new formulations, process improvements, and cost savings projects.

Evaluations of the application of new ingredient / processing technologies.

Reviewing and approving recipes, processes and labels used to ensure compliance with all regulatory labeling requirements.

- Manage internal microbiological & chemical laboratories. This will include

Set up and operations of physical, chemical & microbiological analysis laboratories.

Development of methodologies for proximate compositions, contaminant analysis using Chromatography (HPLC), pesticide residue laboratory using GC/MS-MS and LC-MS-MS techniques, microbiological analysis using FDA-BAM, ISO and other customer specific methods.

Set up laboratories & train local laboratory personnel to enhance microbiological analysis capabilities including PCR techniques for pathogen analysis.

Complete technical assessments for evaluation of new product / process opportunities.

Mentoring technical staff to enhance technical knowledge through exposure to advanced techniques of measurement will be critical for the advancement of business capabilities and potential contribution to the business.

- Develop and mentor the local team empowering the organizational culture & values.

- Actively participate in the Regional QFS Leadership Team

Mission Critical Competencies.

- Problem solving abilities based on continuous learning

- Process Management with operations team

- Self-awareness to enable & lead a group of associates across geographies

- Composure while dealing with ambiguity

- Comfort around higher management through excellence in articulation

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

- Master's Degree or above in Food Science, Chemistry or Microbiology.

- Advanced knowledge of food regulations within EU, US & Asia region specifically on industrial spices.

- Must have a minimum of 15 years of quality assurance, measurement of physical, chemical & microbiological techniques.

- Must have at least 5 years of R&D/QA Management experience in Industrial Spices business & or savory spice blends.

- Must have a good knowledge on the Chemistry & microbiological aspects of spices & industrial spices ingredients.

- Must have ability to manage a team of over 10 people in a laboratory environment in both chemistry and microbiological laboratories.

- Understanding of spices sterilization technologies and application of ETO, Steam and Irradiation techniques.

- MUST be able to accurately write & review product specifications, label declarations and formulations based on customer requirements balancing plant process capability & cost efficiencies at the same time.

- Strong written and verbal communication skills and excellent analytical and problem solving skills with category expertise.

- MUST have knowledge in statistical analysis as used in designing experiments and measuring process capabilities.

- MUST have proven ability to interact with customers, cross functionally with Sales, PLM & Operations as a team player.

- Applicant must be creative, pro-active, have the ability to "think outside the box" and accept or create new ideas and take calculated risks on new products and process development.

- Presentation & articulation skills with customers in Europe, US & Asia/Pacific region & senior management within Olam.