Sr Specialist Food Safety Compliance

Job Location: Hazleton, PA Summary: The Hershey Company Hazleton plant is a Union plant producing products such as Cadbury, Milk Bars, Almond Bars, Extra Dark Bars, Caramel Bars, Candy Coated Eggs, and Kit Kat, in a high-speed complex environment. Under minimal guidance, the Food Safety Compliance Specialist’s primary role is to coordinate efforts to achieve and maintain Global Food Safety Initiative certification and to ensure adherence to Hershey’s Product Excellence Program. Responsibilities include ensuring compliance to all company and regulatory policies/procedures pertaining to product safety/quality. The incumbent shall be responsible for coordination of the following programs, including but not limited to, food defense, monthly employee training, activities around Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), and quality and food safety culture. The specialist shall lead the development, maintenance, and governance of the plant’s food safety and quality plans and related programs. Responsibilities: Food Safety/Quality Program Compliance: To assure compliance to the food safety/food quality programs, facilitate required employee training, complete required internal assessments, develop corrective/preventive actions, lead internal and 3rd party audits, and complete required validation and verifications of the system. PEP / GFSI Program Compliance: Lead the development, implementation, review, and maintenance of the plant’s food safety/food quality program to assure compliance with The Hershey Company’s Product Excellence Program and GFSI standards. Training / Communication: Assure employee ownership of programs by communicating essential information related to food safety/food quality to all employees including management and line operatives. Manufacturing Support: The position serves as a technical resource for Manufacturing and Engineering along with providing leadership and guidance in the areas of weight control, packaging, incident investigation and resolution, troubleshooting and other related matters. Support shall also be provided for employee training and product/process audits. The position provides QA support to the various Business Units across the plant. Scope of Position: Scope of interaction: All plant departments / other plants / corporate teams / external contacts Coordination of activities: Plant management level and below / corporate teams / external contacts Scope of involvement: All production lines and plant processes / corporate / external contacts Minimum knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform major duties/responsibilities: Effective communication of technical and non-technical information to various levels, both internally and externally to the organization. Strong working knowledge of QA principles. Working Knowledge of federal and state food industry regulations. Understanding of sanitation and pest control practices. Strong understanding of The Hershey Company’s Product Excellence Program (PEP) and HACCP. Strong understanding of GFSI standards. Safe Quality Food (SQF) Practitioner Certification strongly preferred. Strong computer and document management skills. Strong documentation skills and attention to detail. Strong communication skills and ability to work collaboratively with all levels internal and external to the plant to deliver timely results. Strong auditing/assessment skills. Knowledge of manufacturing operations. Strong leadership skills and ability to influence management, enabling the activities of employee teams that do not have direct reporting to the Specialist. Ability to interact effectively with 3rd party and internal auditors. Position will primarily work 1st shift but work schedule flexibility is required to support a 24/7 manufacturing operation is required. Minimum Education and Experience Requirements: B.S. in Food Science, Microbiology, or related field Minimum of 5 years related experience. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) Certification is strongly preferred. Safe Quality Foods (SQF) Certification is strongly preferred. Preventive Control Qualified Individual (PCQI) Certification is desirable. #LI-CM1