Manager, Food Safety

Mastronardi Produce pioneered the commercial greenhouse industry in North America, and we’re now the leading greenhouse vegetable company on the continent. Our award-winning, flavorful produce is packed under the SUNSET® brand and is available at leading grocery retailers across North America. Family owned for over 65 years, we pride ourselves on having the most flavorful products and the best people in the industry. We are constantly pushing boundaries to be a leader in fresh produce innovation. We seek individuals that demonstrate our PRIDE values (Passion, Respect, Innovation, Drive, Excellence) to help us fulfill our mission to inspire healthy living through WOW flavor experiences.

Our Greenhouse facility at Backyard Farms, located in Madison, ME is a 42-acre greenhouse. We are seeking a Food Safety Manager to join the team. In this role you will help build a proactive safety (food, plant and employee) culture and an environment where employees, supervision and Greenhouse functional leaders are engaged in working safe. You would also be responsible to perform audits against numerous internal and external standards such as SQF, HACCP, MiOSHA, Health programs while delivering on time arrival of audit reports.

Values: To perform the job successfully, the incumbent’s behavior must be consistent with the PRIDE values expected of all Mastronardi Produce employees: be Passionate; have Respect; be Innovative; be Driven and strive for Excellence.

Primary Responsibilities:

•  Directly responsible for the oversight and maintenance of the SQF Program at the assigned Mastronardi Produce, growing center.
• Serves as the designated Safe Quality Foods (SQF) Practitioner and is compliant with relevant FSMA trainings.
• Help build a proactive safety (food, plant and employee) culture and an environment where employees, supervision and Greenhouse functional leaders are engaged in working safely.
• Perform audits against numerous internal and external standards such as SQF, HACCP, MiOSHA, Health programs while delivering on time arrival of audit reports.
• Oversee all customer and regulatory auditors including government, 3rd party, SQF
• Prepares, organizes, leads and conducts follow-up for third-party, government, and customer audits
• Corrective Action and Preventative Measures – log and track non-compliances and FSS incidences, do investigations, coordinate follow-up and bring outstanding issues to closure.
• Work side-by-side with General Manager to assure compliance to HACCP/GMP and food safety requirements are met
• Participates and is part of the leadership team at assigned facility
• Maintain a focus on the Quality key process indicators (KPI’s) and Improvement against defined targets.
• Manage the day-to-day operations of all quality functions, safety and health.
• Conduct routine inspections of internal Food Safety Program to ensure compliance.
• Provides quality input and advice on the creation, implementation and revision of SOP’s.
• Training and manage Sanitation department staff in all aspects of production and quality control measures and SOP’s.
• Stays attuned to and prepares adaptation to change in customer, company and regulatory changes
• Identifies potential risks before they become a problem, focusing on root cause analysis and preventative actions.
• Educate employees in proper safety procedures, safe work practices and
• Investigate injuries/illnesses, near-misses to determine root cause of incidences and provide corrective action plan. Manage and track injury and illness data.
• Perform process checks throughout the greenhouse including production, packaging, sanitation and warehousing functions of the greenhouse, including pre-operational checks, sanitation verification, label checks and net weight checks.
• Maintain thorough training records for Mastronardi and Agency Staff. Conduct routine audits of training records for review by Management.
• Records – conduct routine checks to verify proper record keeping by Operations Team
• Assist in the development of new training programs.
• Maintain FSS documents, database, records, binders & filing. Ensure an “audit ready” state of compliance at all times.

Education/Background Requirements:

•  4 years food production experience or at minimum College Degree with 3 years of relative industry experience
• HACCP, SQF, Grower Safety Training Certifications required
• 3 Years’ experience of managing a team of 3 or more
• Industry knowledge of HACCP, GMP and OSHA, EPA guidelines
• Ability to manage multiple production teams under pressure in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills at all levels inside the business and externally with suppliers, customers and regulatory agencies.
• Proven leadership experience in a Team setting
• Excellent critical and analytical skills

Specific Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required

•  Communicate effectively and professionally, both oral and written with the ability to foster positive relationships
• Must maintain current HACCP certificate, PSA Grower Training certificate and Implementing SQF Systems training documentation
• Proficient with MS Office Products
• Ability to prioritize and deal with competing demands while considering the full business impact
• Strong organizational, interpersonal and time management skills.

Working Conditions:

• Greenhouse Environment where the temperatures averages 70F or more and background noise approaches 70 dcbs
• Refrigerated warehouse, where the temperature averages 50°F. 
• Position requires sitting, standing, walking and bending on a regular basis.
• Must have manual dexterity to perform computer skills.
• Occasional lifting and physical lifting may be required
• Must be able to work around bees

We are pleased to offer the following Benefits:   

• Paid weekly
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance
• 401K
• Paid time off 
• Employee Engagement & Recognition Programs