FSQA Director

Position: FSQA Director - Contract
The Opportunity
The Director, Food Safety and Quality Assurance is accountable for executing the Food Safety, Quality and Technical Services long‑term strategy within Maple Leaf Foods’ vision to Raise the Good in Food. The Director will adhere to and execute the MLF Food Safety and Quality Management System (FSQMS) across several food production facilities and drive continuous improvement in a fast‑paced and demanding environment.

Additionally, the Director will support the establishment and maintenance of positive and collaborative relationships with other functions throughout the organization, regulatory authorities, customers and external contacts.

Snapshot of a Day‑in‑the‑Life
Food Safety

Lead, support, and communicate the MLF FSQATS strategy and drive FSQ performance metric targets.

Guide teams toward meeting MLF’s standards within the FSQATS management system.

Oversee compliance of the HACCP system to meet FSEP and other regulatory requirements where applicable (e.g., USDA, FDA).

Continuous improvement of FSQ programs to enable adherence to Internal Audit and BRC/SQF requirements.

Pathogen Control programs such as EMP testing and oversight, review of related Seek & Destroy activities, pathogen surveillance, and trend analysis of results in Prepared Meats facilities.

Coach and educate teams via a deep understanding of the EMP Standards and SOP.

Oversight and approval of construction protocols at plant level as they impact FSQ.

Lead the review of the Food Safety and Quality Risk Assessment as a key element of the product development (Get‑To‑Market) process both before and after Decision‑To‑Launch.

Review and approve all FSQ risk assessments conducted by assigned plants.

Review and approve plant responses to SIP regulatory non‑conformances from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Collaborative interaction with other Directors, FSQA in support of information sharing, program improvements and consistency within all manufacturing facilities and distribution centres.

Provide thought leadership to continuously improve the MLF FSQA Management System or its effective execution.

Focus effort to reduce waste from the FSQA Management System via Six Sigma methodology.

Strong leadership and support of manufacturing facilities and the corporate FSQ team.

Build strong relationships with other functions that enable positive engagement and results.

Active role in new builds, redesign of current manufacturing processes to ensure Food Safety is built in during design.

Quality

Adhere to the QMS standard and provide guidance to other functions.

Adhere to specifications.

Establish, assure adherence, and continuously improve QMS governance in the responsible plants.

Complete and thorough understanding of QMS.

Trend analysis of QMS performance (CQPs, CTQs, etc.) to identify, enable, and support implementation of process improvements as defined within QMS governance.

Talent Development

Develop FSQA personnel at assigned plants, including succession planning.

Utilize the FSQA Competency Model to hire, coach, mentor, and seek opportunities to develop and execute training.

Provide guidance and direction on training of hourly and salaried FSQA plant staff to assure compliance with Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory Compliance.

Participate in talent planning—short and long term.

Complete hiring waivers, salary reviews, performance discussions including performance assessments, development action plans, performance improvement plans, business objectives, and terminations (as required).

External Customer

Oversight of plant BRC/SQF certification and compliance.

Liaise with Sales to assure delivery of Food Safety and Quality expectations (including specifications, audits, etc.), as required by the customer within the MLF programs and affected plants.

Internal Contacts

Regular interaction with internal customers, Sales and Marketing, Operations, the Operations Leadership Team and Senior Leadership Teams as required.

Network with peers in the industry, related professional associations, and interact as needed with the applicable regulatory agencies.

Work closely with the assigned corporate Operations leads to assure compliance with the aforementioned…