Donald's Fine Foods - VP Food Safety/ Quality Assurance/ Regulatory Affairs

Donald's Fine Foods is a Canadian family-owned and operated business that was established in 1993. From our humble beginnings with two full-time employees and one part-time driver, we have grown to operate three corporate sites and one customer-owned site with an employee base exceeding over nine hundred team members across western Canada. We are also currently working on expanding our organization to operate two new sites and by 2024, we will have an employee base of over eleven hundred team members. As we continue to transition from a SMB to a medium/large size organization, we are growing a more senior executive team, while maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit. The Vice President of Human Resources and Vice President of Food Safety/Quality Assurance / Regulatory Affairs are newly created roles that will help our organization reach to the next level. We are expecting continual rapid growth in our organization and welcome anyone who is willing to take up the challenge.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Title:
VP Food Safety/Quality Assurance/Regulatory Affairs (VP FSQARA)

Department:
Food Safety / Quality Assurance (FSQA)

Location:
Lower Mainland, BC - Richmond, Langley

Reports to:
CEO

Company Background

Donald's Fine Foods is a Canadian family owned and operated business since 1993. We are a specialty meat and food manufacturer with six facilities located in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Our products are sold in Canada and around the world.

Brief

The Vice President of Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs (VP FSQARA) is a strategic leadership role responsible for ensuring the highest standards of food safety, quality, animal welfare, and regulatory compliance across the organization's operations. The VP FSQARA will lead a team of FSQA professionals and collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive food safety, quality, animal welfare, regulatory, and SFCR compliance programs. The role involves overseeing all aspects of food safety, quality assurance, animal welfare, interactions with government and regulatory agencies, especially the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and adherence to the SFCR.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership:
  

• Develop and communicate the company's food safety, quality assurance, animal welfare, regulatory affairs, and SFCR compliance vision, strategy, and goals.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to integrate these considerations into business strategies and decisions.

• Program Development and Implementation:
  

• Design and implement effective food safety, quality assurance, animal welfare, regulatory, and SFCR compliance programs, policies, and procedures across all operational areas.
• Establish and maintain standardized operating procedures (SOPs) for quality control, food safety, animal care, regulatory compliance, and SFCR adherence.
• Ensure alignment with industry best practices, evolving regulatory requirements, SFCR, and animal welfare standards.

• Regulatory Compliance, CFIA Interactions, and SFCR Adherence:
  

• Stay current with relevant food safety, quality, animal welfare, and regulatory regulations, laws, guidelines, particularly those set by CFIA and the SFCR.
• Lead interactions with government and regulatory agencies, including CFIA, ensuring timely and accurate submissions, reporting, and compliance.
• Ensure full adherence to the SFCR, including proper documentation, traceability, labeling, and reporting.

• Animal Welfare:
  

• Develop and oversee the organization's animal welfare policies, ensuring alignment with ethical standards and industry guidelines.
• Collaborate with veterinarians, animal scientists, and other experts to ensure the well-being of animals within the company's operations.

• Risk Management:
  

• Identify potential food safety, quality, animal welfare, regulatory, and SFCR compliance risks, assess their impact, and develop proactive strategies to mitigate and manage them.
• Lead investigations into incidents, recalls, animal welfare concerns, regulatory compliance issues, and SFCR non-compliance, implementing corrective actions as needed.

• Team Management:
  

• Recruit, develop, and mentor a high-performing team of food safety, quality assurance, and animal welfare professionals.
• Provide guidance, training, and performance management to ensure team members are equipped to meet their objectives.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  

• Collaborate with various departments, including production, R&D, supply chain, and marketing, to integrate these considerations throughout the product lifecycle.
• Act as a subject matter expert, providing guidance on food safety, quality, animal welfare, regulatory, and SFCR compliance matters to cross-functional teams.

• Audits and Inspections:
  

• Prepare for and manage internal and external audits, inspections, and third-party certifications related to food safety, quality, animal welfare, ethical sourcing, regulatory compliance, and SFCR adherence.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards (e.g., BRC/GFSI), animal welfare certifications, CFIA regulations, SFCR requirements, and customer-specific mandates.

• Continuous Improvement:
  

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance food safety, quality, animal welfare, regulatory, SFCR compliance processes, systems, and performance metrics.
• Analyze data and key performance indicators to identify trends and areas for improvement.

Other duties as required

Requirements

• Master's degree in Food Science, Animal Science, Veterinary Science, Regulatory Affairs, or a related field (PHD degree preferred).
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in food safety, quality assurance, animal welfare, regulatory affairs, interactions with CFIA, and SFCR compliance, including managerial and leadership roles.
• In-depth knowledge of food safety regulations, quality standards, animal welfare principles, ethical sourcing practices, CFIA regulations, and the SFCR.
• Strong experience with HACCP, GMPs, animal care practices, regulatory submissions, SFCR documentation, and other relevant management systems.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to drive cross-functional collaboration, influence stakeholders at all levels, engage with regulatory authorities like CFIA, and ensure SFCR adherence.
• Experience with crisis management, recall processes, ethical sourcing audits, regulatory inspections, and SFCR assessments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Certification in food safety (e.g., Certified Food Safety Professional) and/or animal welfare is a plus.