External Operations Quality Manager

Department: Quality and Food Safety
Reports To: Director, Quality & Food Safety
Location: Remote / Hybrid
Travel: 30-50%

The External Operations Quality Manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously improving supplier quality, contract manufacturing quality, and third-party logistics quality management programs to ensure all externally sourced materials, products, and services consistently meet company food safety, regulatory, customer, and quality requirements.

This position serves as the primary Quality representative for external manufacturing operations and supply chain partners, developing collaborative relationships while ensuring compliance with company standards, GFSI requirements, customer specifications, and applicable regulatory requirements.

The External Manufacturing Quality Manager provides technical leadership, risk assessment, audit oversight, incident management, and continuous improvement support across all approved suppliers, co-manufacturers, co-packers, warehouses, and logistics providers.

• Develop and manage the regional Supplier Quality Management Program in partnership with the global team and Grupo Bimbo
• Establish supplier approval, qualification, monitoring, and requalification processes.
• Conduct quality and food safety risk assessments for suppliers and raw materials.
• Evaluate supplier GFSI certifications, regulatory compliance status, and food safety performance.
• Review supplier audit reports, quality documentation, specifications, and preventive control programs.
• Manage supplier scorecards and key performance indicators.
• Lead supplier performance reviews and corrective action discussions.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives with strategic suppliers.
• Partner with Procurement and Supply Chain teams during supplier selection and onboarding activities.

• Serve as Quality lead for all contract manufacturing and co-manufacturing partners.
• Ensure compliance with company food safety, quality, sanitation, traceability, and regulatory expectations.
• Perform qualification audits and periodic assessments of co-manufacturing facilities.
• Review and approve product specifications, process controls, validation studies, and change management activities.
• Monitor product quality performance, complaint trends, consumer feedback, and operational metrics.
• Lead investigations involving product deviations, non-conformances, and quality incidents.
• Support new product commercialization and technology transfers to external manufacturing partners.

• Develop and oversee quality requirements for warehouses, distribution centers, and logistics service providers.
• Ensure transportation, storage, and distribution practices comply with food safety requirements.
• Support implementation and verification of Sanitary Transportation and Cold Chain regulations.
• Conduct warehouse and logistics audits to evaluate compliance with company and regulatory expectations.
• Monitor temperature control, handling practices, sanitation standards, and traceability requirements.
• Investigate product damage, temperature excursions, storage failures, and transportation-related quality incidents.
• Establish corrective actions and preventive measures with logistics partners.

• Plan and execute supplier, co-manufacturer, and 3PL audits.
• Support customer audits, regulatory inspections, and third-party certification activities involving external partners.
• Review audit findings and ensure corrective actions are completed and verified.
• Maintain approved supplier and approved external manufacturer databases.
• Ensure compliance with applicable FDA, USDA, FSMA, customer, and GFSI requirements.

• Support development and maintenance of supplier food safety risk assessments.
• Review foreign material, allergen, food defense, food fraud, and environmental monitoring controls implemented by external partners.
• Participate in crisis management, product withdrawals, recalls, and mock recall exercises involving suppliers and contract manufacturers.
• Monitor emerging food safety risks affecting ingredients, packaging, and supply chain operations.
• Develop risk mitigation strategies to protect product safety and business continuity.

• Establish performance metrics and scorecards for suppliers, contract…