Director, Food Safety & Quality - Co-man, Suppliers

Company and Position Information:

Del Monte Foods (DMFC) is a multi-national food company headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA, with a powerful portfolio of brands, including iconic Del Monte, Contadina and College Inn. Our premium-quality meal ingredients, snacks and beverages can be found in six out of ten U.S. households.

At Del Monte Foods, we believe in supporting one another. In helping our people shape their own careers - in letting them grow outward, upward and across disciplines. We are tending to the greater good, providing accessible, nourishing, great-tasting food for all. We are Del Monte Foods - Growers of Good.

The salary range for this role is:

Responsibilities:

Responsible for setting the strategic direction, execution and management of Del Monte's Food Safety and Quality functions for co-manufacturing, suppliers, material compliance, and external laboratories.

The Director of Food Safety & Quality for Co-man & Suppliers oversees and ensures the highest standards of food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance across supplier networks, co-manufacturing, and external laboratory partners. This strategic leadership role involves developing and implementing robust quality assurance and food safety programs, managing supplier and co-manufacturer relationships, and ensuring that all products meet company standards, customer expectations, and applicable regulatory requirements (e.g., FDA, USDA, FSMA). The Director will collaborate cross-functionally with procurement, commercial, operations, logistics, and R&D teams to mitigate quality and food safety risks throughout the supply chain and drive continuous improvement.

This role is an active member of the DMF Food Safety and Quality Leadership Team providing strategic leadership and technical support to bring to life the DMF FSQ Vision and Strategy, including leading the delivery of annual objectives, key metrics, and goals.

Co-Manufacturing Quality

• Partner with Co-manufacturers, domestically and foreign, to ensure compliance with all food safety, quality and regulatory requirements.
• Direct the Co-Manufacturer, FSQ, and Operations in assuring that new products and processes meet DMF standards without jeopardizing food safety & quality, while ensuring compliance with specifications and commissioning, qualification and validation processes.
• Direct the FSQ Co-manufacturing group, ensuring compliance of the Co-Pack facilities through risk-based oversight, governance and implementation of the Co-Pack Quality Assurance Manual.
• Determine technical support needed for Co-manufacturing quality incidents, ensure adequate investigation and resolution with precise RCA and corrective actions. Ensure urgent response and timely resolution to incident investigations and corrective action implementation.
• Provide direction and guidance in assessing the potential risk for new product categories and provide appropriate risk governance to support the innovation portfolio.
• Assist with Co-Pack facility plant audits at determined frequency and assist in maintaining the required Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification.
• Responsible for monitoring, measuring, and reporting of co-manufacturer performance.

Supplier Quality

• Direct the development, improvement and compliance to supplier quality assurance programs, including supplier approval, audits, and performance monitoring.
• Ensure supplier material specifications are established and enforced, ensuring raw materials, packaging and ingredients meet safety, quality, regulatory, and consistency standards.
• Contract with 3rd party providers of FSVP, gain alignment on risk, and work with Co-packers to mitigate identified risks.
• Partner with operations to ensure adequate documentation and communication is provided to drive timely resolution of quality and food safety material incidents with suppliers.
• Direct the completion of adequate RCA and corrective actions for supplier-related quality issues.
• Responsible for monitoring, measuring, and reporting of supplier performance.

• External Laboratories

• Build a relationship with external laboratories to ensure alignment on expectations for laboratory services.
• Lead investigations and corrective actions associated with issues with external laboratory partners.
• Ensure appropriate test methods, testing frequencies and analysis of test results, including pesticide testing analysis.
• Responsible for monitoring, measuring, and reporting of external laboratory performance.

• Leadership

• Direct the interaction and participation of FSQ with other business units to ensure that product quality is maximized at every step of the operating and development processes.
• Develop and mentor the Food Safety & Quality team and instill a high-performance work environment and a culture of accountability, through SMART goals, measuring & monitoring work, training, and evaluating team effectiveness.
• Foster a team commitment to personal development and way of working through Del Monte Food's Vision & Values.
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Del Monte Foods Leadership Behaviors:

As leaders we:

Ground Our Teams

• Connect our teams to a clear strategy.

• Provide the support our teams need for success.

• Hold ourselves and our teams accountable.

Create the Climate

• Solve problems together with our teams.

• Enable smart risk taking.

• Empower our teams to make decisions and take action.

Nurture the Good

• Are intentional about building trust.

• Lead with empathy.

• Grow and develop our teams.

Qualifications:

• BS/BA degree in Food Science, Science, Agricultural or related required; MS/MBA preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in Food Safety and Quality, Co-manufacturing and Supplier Quality, with experience and comfort in food & beverage manufacturing environments.
• Ability to travel 40 - 60% (includes International).
• Strong working knowledge of all aspects of food manufacturing, packaging, processing, and distribution.
• Experience with and in-depth understanding of the Global Food Safety Initiative, Food Drug Act (Title 21) and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
• Working knowledge of Thermal Processing standards and controls is preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of crisis and incident management processes.
• Demonstrated knowledge of laboratory practices, methods and results analysis, including pesticide compliance.
• Experience and working knowledge of continuous improvement processes such as Lean or Six-Sigma.
• Demonstrated ability to build high-performing teams, influence without authority and collaborate with frontline employees to executive level.
• Demonstrated ability to tactfully be steadfast and standalone against challenges to food safety and quality requirements and expectations.
• Cultural agility to work with international teams, customers and suppliers.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; strong interpersonal skills.

WE OFFER:

• Competitive salary.

• Comprehensive benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, and 401(k).

Please be advised that your application is not complete until you fill out, sign, and submit an Application for Employment for a specific position for which Del Monte Foods is actively recruiting. Your application must reflect that you possess the required qualifications for the position.

No sponsorship is available for this position.

No agencies or 3rd party vendors.