Director, Technical Services & Quality Assurance

Director, Technical Services & Quality Assurance – Markham, Ontario

Reporting to the VP Technical Services, Manufacturing and QA, this position:

• Directs and coordinates Technical Services requirements for the Clover Leaf Seafoods Company’s Canadian and International businesses, including Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Product Development, Regulatory Compliance, and any associated project management activities.
• Acts as the key Canadian & International Regulatory and Industry Affairs contact for technical issues impacting the Company.
• Leads a team of three people across Domestic and International business units:
  Senior QA Manager, QA specialists (2).
• This role also carries a strong, indirect (“dotted line”) reporting relationship with the General Manager, Clover Leaf Seafoods located in the Markham office.
• This position is based in the Markham, ON, office and will require some travel to our sites in New Brunswick and overseas supplier locations.

• Lead all efforts within the Company to ensure that the necessary resources are allocated to support the on‑going development, maintenance, execution, and continuous improvement of Technical Services including oversight of Food Safety, Quality Assurance programs, Regulatory Compliance and Product Development Support.
• Ensures that these programs follow all Canadian and international standards to enable smooth execution of business activities and delivery of reliable and predictable outcomes within all serviced markets.
• Lead and manage the on‑going development of an effective and efficient Technical Services and Quality Assurance team. Coach and mentor them to grow and deliver results that meet or exceed the Company’s expectations of the Function as a whole.
• Prepare and maintain an annual budget for your area of responsibility. Manage expenses to assure compliance with the budget.

• Accountable for the Quality Assurance activities within the Company’s Canadian and International businesses directing the Senior Manager, QA. Ensure that all programs and procedures associated with the Company’s Preventative Control Program for Canada and International Markets are kept current with Canadian regulatory requirements including Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations.
• Work closely with the Corporate Technical Services team to coordinate needed support in Food Safety, Thermal Processing and Supplier Management activities. Enable strong interactions between the Markham‑based team and their counterparts in Bumble Bee US and Bumble Bee Asia to assure that all processes and projects are well understood and being implemented according to designated timelines.
• Establishes and tracks Quality‑related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) relevant to the business and leads activities toward on‑going improvement.
• Advocates for the adherence to Clover Leaf’s strict quality standards. Identifies any gaps to meeting quality standards as reported by the Consumer Response Center and initiates appropriate corrective action with suppliers and company‑owned plants.

• Assure compliance of all product labels, Marketing and Sales materials, Company websites, etc. with the regulations of the countries in which the associated products are being marketed. Ensure that all such information is stored in the appropriate internal and external (e.g. GS1 database). Provide technical support to the business’ international distributors and assure regulatory compliance within those markets.
• Build strong relationships with government agencies and industry associations as the company’s technical lead on Food Safety, Regulatory, and Industry Affairs.
• Monitor regulatory changes, communicate business impacts across Canadian and International operations, serve as the company’s primary contact with the CFIA, and lead advocacy efforts with Health Canada.
• Assure that the Company has an effective and efficient Consumer Affairs investigation process in place to address complaints and concerns in an effective and timely manner.

• Lead product and process development, and related project…