Vice President- Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA)

Job Description

Job Description

Salary: 185k-200k

Mamas Creations, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAMA) is a leading marketer and manufacturer of fresh deli prepared foods, found in over 8,500 grocery, mass, club and convenience stores nationally. The Companys broad product portfolio, born as MamaMancinis, from a rich history in Italian foods, now consists of a variety of high quality, fresh, clean and easy to prepare foods to address the needs of both our consumers and retailers. Our vision is to become a one-stop-shop deli solutions platform, leveraging vertical integration and a diverse family of brands to offer a wide array of prepared foods to meet the changing demands of the modern consumer. For more information, please visit VP, FSQA is an enterprise-level role responsible for the strategic direction, governance, and execution of food safety and quality assurance systems across all company facilities and co- manufacturing partners, as well as external warehouse and distribution centers. This role serves as the enterprise authority on food safety, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance, ensuring that every product reflects Mamas commitment to Grandma Quality, uncompromising food safety, craftsmanship, and integrity, while supporting operational scalability and growth. The VP, FSQA partners closely with Operations, People Operations, Supply Chain, R&D, and Executive Leadership to embed food safety and Grandma Quality as non-negotiable cultural and operational pillars, not just compliance requirements.

Key Responsibilities
Establish and execute a company-wide FSQA strategy aligned with business growth, M&A activity, and operational excellence.
Serve as the executive owner of food safety and quality governance across all facilities, ensuring consistent standards across the enterprise.
Lead, mentor, and develop FSQA leaders and teams, building a strong bench of technical and people leadership capability.
Act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on food safety risk, regulatory exposure, and Grandma Quality performance.
Ensure full compliance with USDA, FDA, FSMA, SQF/BRC (as applicable), and customer audit requirements.
Own readiness for all regulatory inspections, customer audits, and third-party certifications, including corrective action planning and execution.
With a primary focus on preventative actions, serve as the primary escalation point for food safety incidents, recalls, regulatory actions, or customer quality issues.
Maintain enterprise-level policies, SOPs, and documentation related to food safety, sanitation, allergen control, HACCP, preventive controls, and GMPs.
Standardize FSQA processes, metrics, and reporting across all sites to ensure consistency, visibility, and accountability.

Partner with Operations and OpEx/CI leaders to drive root cause analysis (RCA), corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), and continuous improvement initiatives.
Ensure quality systems scale appropriately with production growth, new products, and new facilities.
Drive a proactive, preventive approach to quality, reducing rework, waste, and customer complaints.
Collaborate with Operations leadership to balance production efficiency with uncompromised food safety and Grandma quality standards.
Partner with People Operations to ensure FSQA training, accountability, and leadership behaviors are embedded into onboarding, performance management, and leadership development.
Work with Supply Chain and Procurement to ensure supplier qualification, audits, and quality standards meet enterprise expectations.
Support R&D and NPD teams on new product development, formulation changes, and process validations.
Establish and oversee the enterprise laboratory testing strategy, ensuring appropriate microbiological, chemical, and environmental testing programs across all facilities, driving for standardization on insource vs outsourced testing.
Ensure all internal and third-party laboratory testing meets regulatory, customer, and certification requirements, including validation, verification, and documentation standards.
Provide executive oversight of environmental monitoring programs (EMP), finished product testing, and raw material testing, including trend analysis and risk-based adjustments.
Review and act on testing results, trends, and deviations, ensuring timely escalation, root cause analysis, and corrective and preventive actions.
Ensure laboratory practices, data integrity, and recordkeeping support audit readiness and regulatory inspections at all times.
Lead FSQA diligence, risk assessment, and integration for acquisitions and new facilities.
Ensure newly acquired operations are rapidly aligned to Mamas FSQA standards, culture, and expectations.
Build scalable systems that support long-term growth without increasing food safety or regulatory risk.
Lead in alignment with Mamas core values of Commit to Craftsmanship with technical expertise, precision, and attention to detail.
Set uncompromising standards for food safety and Grandma Quality, taking pride in delivering products that meet the highest expectations.
Honor Heritage by protecting the integrity of Mamas products, recipes, and brand reputation through disciplined quality systems.

Balance innovation and growth with respect for proven processes and standards.
Nurture Relationships by building strong, trust-based relationships across plants, departments, regulators, and external partners.
Coach and develop teams through clear expectations, accountability, and support.
Other related tasks, as necessary to drive results and support the business.

Qualifications
Bachelors degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related field (advanced degree preferred).
15+ years of progressive leadership experience in FSQA within food manufacturing, including multi-site responsibility.
Hold and maintain active, industry-appropriate certifications.
Deep working knowledge of USDA/FDA regulations, FSMA, HACCP, preventive controls, and audit frameworks.
Proven experience leading teams, managing audits, and driving culture change in manufacturing environments.
Experience supporting or leading FSQA integration during M&A strongly preferred.

Essential Physical Requirements
Ability to regularly walk, stand, and move throughout manufacturing facilities, including production floors, warehouses, coolers/freezers, and sanitation areas.
Ability to navigate stairs, and uneven surfaces safely within a food manufacturing environment.
Ability to observe, inspect, and assess production processes, equipment, and products, including visual and auditory inspection to identify quality, safety, and compliance concerns.
Ability to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE) such as hair and beard nets, gloves, smocks, safety glasses, hearing protection, and protective footwear.
Ability to occasionally lift, carry, push, or pull up to 25 pounds (e.g., sample cases, documentation boxes, equipment).
Ability to work in varying environmental conditions, including temperature-controlled areas (hot and cold), noise, humidity, and exposure to food ingredients and cleaning/sanitation chemicals.
Ability to travel between facilities and off-site locations as required, including overnight travel.
Ability to sit for extended periods while performing administrative, analytical, and reporting functions.

Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, verbally and in writing, with employees, leadership, auditors, regulators, and external partners.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills required. Duties, responsibilities, expectations, and reporting structures may change at any time based on business needs, organizational priorities, or operational requirements, with or without notice.