Food Safety and Quality Manager

BrightFarms is The Place to Grow!

At BrightFarms, we’re on a mission to revolutionize the way leafy greens are grown. But we don’t just want to grow great tasting greens, we want them to do good as well: for the planet, for the health of people, and for the well-being of our employees. We give BrightFarmers the tools, training, support, and opportunities they need to do better for themselves and the world every day. Because when you do good for your people, they do good for the world.

BrightFarms is a national leader in the booming indoor farming industry, transforming how produce is grown and delivered with its expanding network of high-tech, sustainable hydroponic farms. We currently operate six high-tech greenhouse farms, with four new regional salad greenhouse hubs breaking ground to begin opening in 2024. BrightFarms' fresh lettuce options, from classic greens to crunchy mixes and salad kits, are available in more than 3,700 retail stores across the East Coast and Midwest.

At our greenhouse in Rochelle, we grow more than 1 million pounds of leafy greens per year serving Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri. We are currently in need of a FSQ Manager to support our team. In this role you will be responsible for day-to-day management of the greenhouse, Food Safety, quality, and inventories plan in a safe and efficient manner. You will effectively manage a team with the constant goal of continuous improvement and enforces protocols and documentation as related to Food Safety and Quality.

Specifically, you will:

• effectively and efficiently manage Production employees to ensure the quality of our product, consistency maintaining SQF requirements.
• collect samples (water samples, swabs, product samples and media samples) as per the regular schedule and in coordination with any regulatory agencies.
• train and manage the FSMS day-to-day operations of greenhouse.
• oversee the sites pest control management system and conduct regular reviews of the system
• lead site audits, both external and internal
• guarantee appropriate Food Safety regulations are implemented and adhered to
• ensure customer compliance and specifications are met
• manage sites supplier approval program
• manage sites preventative maintenance register and schedule
• ensure the cleanliness of the production area and facility
• consistently work with GM/Growers to improve and maintain the SQF practices.
• communicate all Food Safety and Quality issues and concerns to the GM/Grower
• standardize best practices and creates forms necessary to collect KPIs.
• maintain daily production and Food Safety logs, monitor and verify logs
• address concerns about SQF.
• ensure staff safety to minimize injury, lifting strain, etc.
• be capable of maintaining a calm and collected composure during times of disorder, speaking to others in a respectful manner, and is skilled at productively handling multiple personality types
• be proficient in effectively communicating with employees throughout the organization orally and written
• have a willingness and desire to assist in unrelated and/or unassigned tasks to ensure the effective operation of the Greenhouse.
• be accountable for coordinating supplies with vendors/partners.
• be a problem solver and be capable of identifying areas of efficiencies
• report Food Safety and Quality problems to the GM or directly to Senior Management.
• complete other duties as assigned

The ideal candidate will:

• Bilingual English/Spanish is preferred
• have a 4-year degree in a related discipline.
• have 3-8 years of experience in a production environment or related work experience

• have excellent written and verbal communication and can create documents such as standard operating procedures, safety rules, label mixing instructions.
• exhibit excellent leadership skills, lead by example – set the highest possible standards for quality, efficiency, productivity, and behavior.
• be detail oriented and data driven
• be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook (Power Point
  and Access Database knowledge beneficial)
• have the ability to meet the physical requirements of the job including lifting up to 50 pounds.
• be a self-starter and a problem solver with strong relationship building and communication skills. Ability to navigate a dynamic and quickly evolving environment is a must

Salary Range: $80,000 - $100,000 annually based on experience and expertise

BrightFarms is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer - All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.