Quality Assurance Manager

Location

Bradenton, FL | United States

Job description

Overview

The Quality Assurance Manager supports the supply management process to ensure compliance to all First Watch product quality assurance standards. This role helps provide maintenance and continuous improvement of programs such as food safety, specifications, product evaluations and ingredient monitoring. This role assists with maintaining the nutrition and allergen data, claims, and messaging across all platforms. This position will help create SOPs and documents related to food traceability initiatives. This person works cross-functionally with Culinary, Supply Chain, Legal, Marketing, Customer Care, Operations, and all supply partners.

The essential functions in this are not all-inclusive of this position’s duties and responsibilities.  Reliable and dependable attendance is required.

Quality Assurance :

• Works within certain databases to ensure the accuracy of product and supplier quality assurance information that is risk-based to ensure ongoing compliance.
• Builds relationships with vendors to support food safety and quality assurance standards.
• Conducts initial onboarding vetting or troubleshooting audits of manufacturing facilities as requested.
• Assists in maintaining the supplier quality assurance tracking systems and all documentation.
• Receives and investigates product quality complaints related to food manufacturers and distributors.
• Assists the crisis management team during any product withdrawal or recall events.
• Participate in and provide input for the on-going review of key performance indicators or other sources of quality data to ensure that performance is monitored, and the corrective actions are taken as required.
• Participate actively in regular business reviews with key supply chain partners, ensuring all product quality, food safety, and customer service-related issues are addressed. Manage continuous improvement activities with key partners related to product quality, sanitation, and food safety.
• Ensure supplier adherence to First Watch product specifications.
• Assist with approving product substitutions due to product shortages or disruption in the supply chain.
• Work closely with risk management team on customer incident claims related to suppliers.

Nutrition and Allergens - FDA Menu Labeling Law Compliance :

• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of nutrition and allergen data for all menu boards by adhering to standardized analysis processes.
• Partner with third party nutrition provider to ensure new ingredients and menu items are accurate.
• Ensure nutrition and allergen information is consistent with nutrition, allergen, and menu labeling laws at the federal and local level.
• Develop quality metrics for nutrition and allergen analysis.
• Continuously improve the First Watch nutrition and allergen program.
• Lead the identification of lifestyle diet menu options.

FSMA 204 – FDA Food Traceability Rule Compliance :

• Analyze traceability data and trends to drive compliance in conjunction with all key stakeholders.
• Create SOPs and documents related to traceability initiatives.
• Work with vendors for system improvement, verification, and data utilization to support QAFS, Supply Chain, Legal, Operations, and other departmental use cases.

Animal Welfare and Sustainability

• Liaise with vendors to gather relevant data and reports.
• Ensure vendors maintain compliance with First Watch standards as they evolve.
• Develop and report key metrics for animal welfare and sustainability initiatives.

Additional Duties & Responsibilities

• Responds to Customer Care inquiries of nutrition, ingredient, and product information as needed.
• Provide administrative support for the QAFS department during any incidents or investigations.
• Develops and maintains an effective working relationship with appropriate regulatory agencies, industry associations and academia to be able to gain current knowledge and to be in the forefront of emerging trends.

• Bachelor’s Degree in food science, animal science, nutrition, or related discipline required.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of quality assurance experience working in the food processing industry.
• Restaurant experience preferred.
• Working knowledge of food manufacturing and understanding of chemical, physical, nutritional, and microbiological aspects of food products.
• Significant knowledge of food regulations, including USDA (HACCP) and FDA (FSMA).
• Current working knowledge of QA principles such as SOP’s, SSOP’s, Nutrition, Allergens, R&D, Lab Testing, Process Control, CAPA, RCA, GFSI and Product Traceability.
• Excellent proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook required.
• Nutrition and allergen analysis experience preferred.
• HACCP, PCQI and ServSafe (or equivalent) certification preferred.
• Ability and willingness to travel (10 – 30%).

First Watch is an award-winning Daytime Dining concept serving made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch using fresh ingredients across its network of neighborhood restaurants. A recipient of hundreds of local "Best Breakfast" and "Best Brunch" accolades, First Watch's chef-driven menu includes elevated executions of classic favorites along with specialties such as the Quinoa Power Bowl®, Farm Stand Breakfast Tacos, Avocado Toast, Chickichanga, Morning Meditation (juiced in-house daily), Spiked Lavender Lemonade and its signature Million Dollar Bacon. In 2023, First Watch was recognized as the top restaurant brand in Yelp’s inaugural list of the top 50 most-loved brands in the U.S. In 2023 and 2022, First Watch was named a Top 100 Most Loved Workplace® in Newsweek by the Best Practice Institute. In 2022, First Watch was awarded a sought-after MenuMasters honor by Nation's Restaurant News for its seasonal Braised Short Rib Omelet and recognized with ADP's coveted Culture at Work Award. There are more than 520 First Watch restaurants in 29 states, and the restaurant concept is majority owned by Advent International, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. For more information, visit .

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