Director of Quality Assurance in Fort Myers, Florida at Norman Love Confections

Norman Love Confections is seeking an experienced Director of Quality Assurance to lead our food safety, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, and quality control programs. Reporting directly to the CEO, this is a hands-on leadership role responsible for ensuring our products and manufacturing processes consistently meet the highest standards for quality, safety, and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities:

Food Safety & Quality Systems Leadership

• Serve as the company SQF Practitioner who designates and develops a qualified backup SQF Practitioner to ensure continuity of certification readiness.
• Lead the HACCP and Food Safety team overseeing hazard analysis critical control points (CCPs) preventive controls and risk mitigation strategies.
• Develop, implement and continuously improve the Food Safety Plan, HACCP program, Control Plans, SSOPs, GMPs, allergen control program, weight control program and consumer complaint reduction program.
• Monitor and verify the ongoing effectiveness of the Food Safety Plan ensuring compliance with all regulatory customer and SQF requirements throughout the production facility.
• Build and maintain the food safety management system including complete and accurate documentation in SharePoint and other quality/document control platforms.

Regulatory & Labeling Compliance

• Ensure compliance with FDA, FSMA and all applicable food safety regulations and food labeling requirements.
• Manage regulatory label compliance, including calculation and verification of nutritional information, ingredient statements and allergen declarations.
• Maintain traceability and product hold/recall programs, including scheduled mock recalls.

Auditing & Certification

• Lead annual SQF certification audits and all related recertification activities, coordinating with external laboratories and third-party certification bodies.
• Serve as the primary point of contact and lead representative for SQF, FDA customer and third-party audits ensuring successful outcomes and timely closure of findings.
• Conduct internal GMP/GHP inspections, traceability exercises, mock recalls, and internal food safety and quality audits.
• Document audit findings, observations, and non conformities initiate corrective and enforcement actions as required.

Quality Control, Testing & Product Compliance

• Conduct product analysis and testing to verify product integrity, food safety and adherence to specifications.
• Perform and oversee internal calibrations of testing and monitoring equipment.
• Coordinate external laboratory testing, including microbiological, allergen, environmental, finished product and raw material analysis.
• Create and maintain product specifications, quality attributes and technical documentation to ensure product consistency and compliance.
• Verify daily HACCP records, operational checks, sanitation documentation, hygiene monitoring and ATP verification records.
• Review and follow up on pest control, laboratory testing, environmental monitoring and internal verification programs.

Non-Conformance, CAPA & Continuous Improvement

• Investigate quality issues, customer complaints and non-conformances perform root cause analysis.
• Develop, implement and lead Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) to resolve food safety, quality, and production issues.
• Analyze quality and production data to identify trends, risks and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Prepare and maintain quality reports, trending data, corrective action summaries and validation/revalidation documentation.
• Establish and monitor quality metrics, providing leadership with data driven recommendations for improvement

Supplier & Raw Material Quality

• Manage supplier approval and verification programs for ingredients, raw materials and packaging materials.
• Maintain supply chain preventive control documentation to ensure ongoing supplier compliance.
• Review raw materials, ingredients and packaging materials to confirm compliance with company quality and food safety standards

Cross-Departmental Collaboration

• Partner with Production, Operations, R&D, Purchasing, Pastry, Gelato and Packaging/Fulfillment teams to align on production strategies, identify risks, and resolve quality related issues.
• Support R&D initiatives, including product trials, validations and process improvements.
• Ensure clear workflow and communication between FSQA and all operational departments.
• Participate in company-wide initiatives to enhance overall business performance and product quality

Records & Confidentiality

• Manage external online food safety and documentation systems, ensuring all records remain current and audit ready.
• Maintain strict confidentiality and security of all quality, food safety, and sensitive company records.

Required Certifications & Qualifications

• HACCP Certification
• Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI)
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Food Science, Microbiology, Biology, Chemistry or a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive Quality Assurance/Food Safety experience in food manufacturing including experience in a leadership role managing a team.
• Demonstrated experience serving or/and proven records FDA/GFSI scheme certification and audit program
• Strong working knowledge of FDA/FSMA regulatory requirements, HACCP, preventive controls, quality systems, nutritional calculations, and food labeling regulations