Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance

Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance

At CAVA + Zoës Kitchen, the number one criteria for being a fit for any role is being a culture fit! That’s why our core values are so important to us.

The Core Values:
• POSITIVITY – We believe in the power of positivity. Every one of us has the ability to change someone’s day for the better.
• TRANSPARENCY – We believe in open and respectful communication. We use transparency to help us make decisions and inform how we talk to each other.
• HUMILITY – We can always find ways to improve. The more we learn, the more we see how much we don’t know and how much we need others to help us learn to grow.
• FANATACISM – We are passionate about our mission and turning every guest into a fanatic. We bring that energy to everything we do.
• THOUGHTFULNESS – To us, every detail matters. We go above and beyond for our guests, our teams, and our communities.

The Role!
The Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and guidance on the company’s Food Safety& Quality Assurance programs and will have responsibility for brand protection in terms of global food safety strategy and execution. The Director will also drive implementation of continuous improvement projects to enhance quality processes and enforce food safety policies company-wide, while adhering to compliance with Regulatory Agencies. As the company expands its business, this position will provide critical guidance defining policy, training needs, and providing support to all aspects of the organization (operations, development, supply chain, etc.) to ensure the safety of our product. This position will report directly to the Chief Supply and Manufacturing Officer.

Responsibilities:

• Leads an independent team of FSQA Managers and Analysts.
• Manage successful global food safety strategy and program execution, ensuring brand protection.
• Provide corporate guidance to assess, control and resolve food safety risks in an effective and timely manner.
• Provide strategic leadership and direction to ensure product integrity by setting common quality vision, structure, management systems and processes.
• Research and implement new technologies to enhance food safety, quality and traceability
• Function as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for all Food Safety related trends, regulations, and legislation, while maintaining a high level of expertise on related subjects, to ensure full compliance with all regulatory and 3rd party requirements.
• Develop and maintain business relationships with appropriate regulatory agencies, serving in the role of liaison as related to all Food Safety matters.
• Implement continuous improvement enhancements in the Food Safety area by setting goals and identifying key performance indicators for suppliers, retail operations and CAVA manufacturing facilities.
• Work closely with Operations, Purchasing, Logistics, and other departments to provide guidance on, and assure implementation of, Food Safety programs.
• Develop company-wide benchmarks and corresponding metrics to measure Food Safety performance against industry markers.
• Manage investigations, and reporting of quality issues, market withdrawals and recalls, and implementation of internal audit control processes in the Quality Assurance/food safety arena.
• Define and advocates a culture of food safety throughout the organization.

The skills!
• 10+ years of experience with QSR sector, food manufacturing processes, specifically related to food safety matters, corporate regulatory work, audit procedures and fresh produce with specific knowledge and direct experience related to overseeing compliance with FDA, USDA and International regulations (FSMA training).
• Ability to provide corporate FSQA strategies that align with CAVA’s brand and mission
• Experience and proven ability to effectively process information related to food quality
• Experience leading cross functional teams and overseeing a large network of partners, suppliers and vendors
• In depth knowledge of legal and regulatory ramifications of the food safety area.
• Excellent quantitative/analytical, communication (i.e. written and verbal) skills.
• Must be able to work cross functionally and lead/influence others, including third parties in a supply chain setting.
• Must be able to travel as needed to assigned regions.
• A passion to be part of a team– this is not a job

Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance

At CAVA + Zoës Kitchen, the number one criteria for being a fit for any role is being a culture fit! That’s why our core values are so important to us.

The Core Values:
• POSITIVITY – We believe in the power of positivity. Every one of us has the ability to change someone’s day for the better.
• TRANSPARENCY – We believe in open and respectful communication. We use transparency to help us make decisions and inform how we talk to each other.
• HUMILITY – We can always find ways to improve. The more we learn, the more we see how much we don’t know and how much we need others to help us learn to grow.
• FANATACISM – We are passionate about our mission and turning every guest into a fanatic. We bring that energy to everything we do.
• THOUGHTFULNESS – To us, every detail matters. We go above and beyond for our guests, our teams, and our communities.

The Role!
The Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and guidance on the company’s Food Safety& Quality Assurance programs and will have responsibility for brand protection in terms of global food safety strategy and execution. The Director will also drive implementation of continuous improvement projects to enhance quality processes and enforce food safety policies company-wide, while adhering to compliance with Regulatory Agencies. As the company expands its business, this position will provide critical guidance defining policy, training needs, and providing support to all aspects of the organization (operations, development, supply chain, etc.) to ensure the safety of our product. This position will report directly to the Chief Supply and Manufacturing Officer.

Responsibilities:

• Leads an independent team of FSQA Managers and Analysts.
• Manage successful global food safety strategy and program execution, ensuring brand protection.
• Provide corporate guidance to assess, control and resolve food safety risks in an effective and timely manner.
• Provide strategic leadership and direction to ensure product integrity by setting common quality vision, structure, management systems and processes.
• Research and implement new technologies to enhance food safety, quality and traceability
• Function as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for all Food Safety related trends, regulations, and legislation, while maintaining a high level of expertise on related subjects, to ensure full compliance with all regulatory and 3rd party requirements.
• Develop and maintain business relationships with appropriate regulatory agencies, serving in the role of liaison as related to all Food Safety matters.
• Implement continuous improvement enhancements in the Food Safety area by setting goals and identifying key performance indicators for suppliers, retail operations and CAVA manufacturing facilities.
• Work closely with Operations, Purchasing, Logistics, and other departments to provide guidance on, and assure implementation of, Food Safety programs.
• Develop company-wide benchmarks and corresponding metrics to measure Food Safety performance against industry markers.
• Manage investigations, and reporting of quality issues, market withdrawals and recalls, and implementation of internal audit control processes in the Quality Assurance/food safety arena.
• Define and advocates a culture of food safety throughout the organization.

The skills!
• 10+ years of experience with QSR sector, food manufacturing processes, specifically related to food safety matters, corporate regulatory work, audit procedures and fresh produce with specific knowledge and direct experience related to overseeing compliance with FDA, USDA and International regulations (FSMA training).
• Ability to provide corporate FSQA strategies that align with CAVA’s brand and mission
• Experience and proven ability to effectively process information related to food quality
• Experience leading cross functional teams and overseeing a large network of partners, suppliers and vendors
• In depth knowledge of legal and regulatory ramifications of the food safety area.
• Excellent quantitative/analytical, communication (i.e. written and verbal) skills.
• Must be able to work cross functionally and lead/influence others, including third parties in a supply chain setting.
• Must be able to travel as needed to assigned regions.
• A passion to be part of a team– this is not a job