Food Safety & Quality Associate Manager - Blue Buffalo - Richmond, IN

OVERVIEW

Richmond serves as a premier plant for Blue Buffalo and manufactures several varieties of dry dog and cat food. Our commitment to culture, rooted in the Cohesive Team structure, and our business imperative to unlock capacity, make Richmond the destination of choice. Richmond produces ~400MM pounds of the world's best pet food with a goal that will require us to run ~600MM pounds in just a few years. The Pet segment is unique in General Mills' portfolio because of the deep integration with the business and Supply Chain. There truly is no place like BLUE.

The Pet platform is growing rapidly within General Mills, and it is critical that our plant FSQ programs evolve rapidly to meet this growth trajectory. This position will provide leadership for quality and food safety programs across the Blue Buffalo plant in Richmond, IN, in addition to direct day-to-day food safety and quality accountability for the operation at the site. This position works alongside a team of direct reports. In this role, you have the opportunity to develop people leadership skills, influencing skills, project management skills, and technical food safety and quality skills in a dynamic, complex manufacturing plant.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Lead and develop Quality Engineer, Sanitation team, and International Lead personnel.
• Ensure compliance with corporate policies, SQF standards, and regulatory requirements across a multi-platform site.
• Lead SQF and General Mills compliance for the site.
• Partner with operations and other support functions to manage financial and human resources to execute food safety and sanitation programs.
• Monitors and identifies quality and food safety improvement opportunities, determines next actions, and influences the change.
• Other duties per business and function need.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 7 years of related experience
• Expertise in food safety and quality systems for manufacturing
• Humble, Hungry, and Smart leadership with demonstrated ability to deliver results
• Strong knowledge of FSQ best practices, including FSRA, risk grid, sanitary design, sanitation validation, and microbiological risk management.
• Strong knowledge of Quality Engineering and statistical problem-solving techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to develop remarkable solutions and drive sustained change.
• Ability to influence a wide range of stakeholders, from production technicians to corporate executives.
• Strong project management skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and priorities.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse, cross-functional teams and with external resources, including vendors.
• Ability to experiment, assess risks, and make data-based recommendations and decisions.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong understanding of statistical process control and application for product quality.
• Computer proficiency, including Excel, Word, Minitab, and PowerPoint.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• PCQI training and/or SQF practitioner
• Strong technical skills: Problem-solving (root cause), preventative actions, HACCP, regulatory, food safety systems, quality systems, etc.
• Demonstrated history of strong cross-functional collaboration and business partnership
• Excellent problem-solving skills and judgment, especially related to risk assessment
• Results orientation with a commitment to continuous improvement
• Ability to excel in a high-performance, team-based environment
• Ability to visualize a future state, streamline, and simplify current systems

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Applicants for this position must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis, and General Mills will not sponsor applicants for this position for work visas.
• International relocations or remote assignments will not be considered for this role.

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best - bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one other and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what's next.