Food Safety Program Manager - Santa Maria, CA or Watsonville, CA

Location

Santa Maria, CA | United States

Job description

Job Detail

• Job ID 30420

• Experience Food Safety

• Industry Agriculture

• Qualifications A minimum educational background of a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, Food Science Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, or related field is required.

Job Description

Are you the type of person who enjoys steady employment from a stable company but craves the
innovation and creativity involved in a startup? Do you value the impact and influence of your work on a wider audience? Do you appreciate the hard work of bringing strawberries to the table?

Title: Food Safety Program Manager
Reports to: Director of Grower Education
Location: Santa Maria, CA or Watsonville, CA
Annual Salary Range: $75,000 ‐ $85,000

Overview:

The Food Safety Program Manager will be a central figure in providing technical support and guidance to strawberry growers, processors, and shippers in the Central California coast region. This role is ideal for a candidate who is deeply invested in building and nurturing relationships within the strawberry industry. A key responsibility will be to lead and innovate in the Strawberry Commission’s food safety training and outreach activities. The Manager will play a pivotal role in collaborating with industry members to develop and enhance resources that ensure the safety of California Strawberries.

Acting as the primary Food Safety technical specialist, the Manager will offer their expertise across various programs within the organization. They will be a key member of the 5‐person Grower Education team, supporting and reinforcing outreach activities in other core program areas including Labor Management and Compliance, Pest Control and Safety, and Production Training and Services.

Field‐based project management will be a significant part of their responsibilities, necessitating exceptional communication skills for effectively informing, educating, and engaging with growers, shippers, and farm‐level employees. Proficiency in Spanish is essential for this role. The candidate should be based in, or willing to relocate to Santa Maria, CA, or Watsonville, CA areas. The Manager will be responsible for grower outreach throughout the various strawberry growing regions in California, emphasizing the integration of food safety practices into everyday operations.

The Food Safety Program Manager will work on site in the CSC office located in Watsonville, CA or Santa Maria, with regular travel throughout California’s strawberry growing districts. The normal schedule for this position is 40 hours per week Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm.

Duties / Responsibilities:

• Organize and lead interactive bilingual training sessions in English and Spanish, centered around food safety with a specific emphasis on food safety standards relevant to the strawberry industry.
• Evaluate and analyze CA strawberry industry food safety vulnerabilities and develop recommendations to address the challenges.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with third party audits companies, customer food safety reps, and agencies that regulate food Safety (FDA and CDC)
• Responsible for monitoring food safety compliance regulations, evaluate impacts of changes in the regulations and communicate with industry and policymakers about potential alternatives for those regulations.
• Provide CSC leadership with technical support during food safety recalls associated with strawberries.
• Lead development of food safety related industry communications, regulatory summaries, website posts and training materials.
• Assist with coordination of meetings on priority topics, often on an ad‐hoc basis.
• Connect CSC staff to growers and industry members to promote cross‐departmental initiatives.
• Work with CSC staff to monitor relevant issues that affect growers, in particular issues around Food Safety, Labor Management and Compliance and Pest Control and Safety.

Qualifications

Required:

• A minimum educational background of a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, Food Science Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, or related field is required.
• Professional fluency in oral and written Spanish and English. The candidate must be biliterate.
• Experience is preferred in food safety management along with GMPs, GAPs, regulatory compliance, and food safety audits.
• Must be able to develop and improve food safety plans, implement, and track preventive controls, validate, and verify food safety standards against FSMA, LGMA, or similar requirements.
• Stays current with fresh produce industry developments, new regulations, guidance documents, and best practices.
• Live within or be willing to relocate to Santa Maria or Watsonville strawberry production region.
• Strong skills in Microsoft application and collaboration tools.
• Must be a self‐starter and have initiative to network with various stakeholders.
• Overnight travel within California.
• Ability to lift equipment and supplies (up to 40lbs) and operate hand tools in diverse settings indoors and outdoors.
• Valid driver’s license. Must have a clean driving record.
• This position requires the ability to perform essential in‐person activities, with the appropriate safeguards, including a vaccination(s) in accordance with Title VI, the ADA, EEOC guidance and FEHA.

Desired:

• Field experience, agricultural development, or experience with cross‐cultural immersion in an agricultural context.
• Proficiency in using modern data collection and analysis tools (such as PowerBI, Tableau, or ArcGIS)
• Technical knowledge of agricultural production, agribusiness, human resources, labor management, labor policy, regulatory affairs or farm‐level management are highly desirable.
• Strong commitment to collaborating with growers and farm employees.
• MS in a field relevant to Food Safety, agricultural education, production, research, or another relevant field.
• Experience developing and delivering bilingual education programs in agriculture.
• Comfortable with in‐person or online group facilitation.
• Multimedia communication skills to interact with diverse audiences.

What We Offer:

• Competitive Salary
• Health, Vision & Dental Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Enterprise‐level professional development
• Life Insurance Policy
• Profit Sharing Plan
• 457 Plan

Submission:

Email resume and cover letter to [email protected] with “Food Safety Program Manager” in the subject line.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

The California Strawberry Commission is an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination and harassment (including sexual harassment) against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including testing and characteristics), domestic violence, veteran or military status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law. We will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination or harassment by any employee, including supervisors and co-workers. Our commitment to equal opportunity employment applies to all persons involved in our operations and all areas of employment including, but not limited to hiring, recruitment, promotion, termination, compensation, benefits, and training. Reasonable accommodations will be made for disabled applicants and employees as well as pregnant employees upon request.

Job tags

Salary

$75k - $85k