Food Safety Manager at Zaro's Bake Shop Inc – Elmsford, New York

Monitors compliance with Zaro's Bakery quality standards on production floor to ensure products conform to specification and food safety practices and be responsible in documentation involving HACCP, Food Safety, and Good Manufacturing Practices.

LEADERSHIP

• Lead the team in all aspects of quality assurance and Zaro’s food safety standards.
• Work with the team to provide consistent leadership in maintaining and/or improving QA and SQF process, creating a safe environment, ensuring quality, and promoting positive communication.
• Provide effective direction and coordination of all operational activities pertaining to QA and SQF.
• Provide an elevated level of accountability amongst all positions.
• Contribute to the culture by attracting, retaining, and developing associates.
• Lead and assure a safe working environment.
• Learn and apply modern technology and share your knowledge with others.
• Conduct all your activities with reliability, integrity, compliance and in a safe and efficient manner.
• Must be able to work as a team member and with cross-functional departments to ensure a successful process.
• Manage the sanitation and maintenance teams.

QA & FOOD SAFETY

• Assures standard operating procedures in the SQF food safety system and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) requirements are followed.
• Helps develop and meet plant safety goals. Oversee all safety/environmental self-audits & visual checks, and champions all safety activities.
• Monitor production to ensure all documentation is complete. Monitor scaling of raw materials, mixing of dough's, batters, frostings, fillings, chocolate coatings and icing to ensure compliance with BOM’s (i.e., correct ingredients, correct lot codes, quantities). Audit compliance of calculation of dough and batter temperatures, internal finished baked temperatures.
• Ensure deposit weights specifications are met.
• Monitor the baking process to ensure baking specifications are being followed, check product for doneness, compare to color standards, and check internal temperatures.
• Monitor cooling process to ensure product is being adequately cooled without any adverse effects.
• Monitor and improve Zaro's Bakery product specifications, check heights, color and other attributes of finished product.
• Monitor cake and cookies slicing procedures to ensure Zaro's Bakery size requirements.
• Monitor and verify freezer, and refrigerator temperatures to ensure product is adequately frozen, and refrigerated. Please verify info in the corresponding logs.
• Test of finished goods to ensure acceptance to Zaro's Bakery standards, taste, eye appeal, odor etc.
• Placing NON-Conforming product, raw materials, packaging, utensils, and equipment on HOLD, discarding bad product or stopping production line to correct or prevent product quality issues.
• Monitor production flow and processes and assist operators in adjusting those methods during production to improve product safety, quality, and consistency.
• Work with production and warehouse to control, maintain, and/or improve as appropriate the handling, storage and usage for rework and all other materials.
• Assist designated employees with label printing as necessary.
• Ensure metal detectors are functioning properly.
• Provide individual or group training to production employees on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), product specifications, SPC, production controls, formulas, visual quality inspection criteria, GMP, Food Safety procedures.
• Monitor recording of lot numbers to ensure no expired ingredients are being used.
• Ensure proper rework documentation is completed.
• Oversee the continuous improvements of HACCP plans and SOP’s.
• Maintain food safety programs for GFSI audits Inspections.
• Perform GMP and Food Safety Inspections.
• Perform Environmental test (Air test, Drain swab test, water test) and send to lab.

Essential skills and experience:

• BS and/or and 5+ years related work experience in bakery manufacturing or related manufacturing industry.
• Experience, training or knowledge of bread, cake and pastry production preferred.
• Experience with production systems and processes.
• Knowledge and experience in continuous improvement methodologies, tools, trends, and best practices.
• Proven analytical and decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated strong leadership, coaching and mentoring skills with the ability to effectively lead and influence others.
• Demonstrated effective communication skills with the ability to relay business communications to the plant team members.
• Ability to manage various tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to use tact, judgement, and diplomacy.
• Ability to build strong working relationships.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong computer skills.
• Capability and willingness to continue to develop and broaden an extensive knowledge of relevant areas of expertise.
• HACCP Certified.
• PCQI Certified.
• SQF Implementation certified.

Physical requirements and working conditions (with or without reasonable accommodation):

• Schedule requires availability and willingness to work excess of 40 hours per week, including evenings, weekends, and Holidays.
• Ability to work in a manufacturing environment that involves exposure to dust, heat, cold, walking, and ability to climb ladders and stairs.
• Ability to lift a minimum of 50 pounds.