The Corporate Quality Manager provides strategic leadership in the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of Ring’s quality management system, customer complaint management, food safety, and regulatory affairs partnering with the “Corporate Quality Manager – Systems and Analytics.”. This role builds a proactive, risk-based quality culture through clear standards, practical training, and cross-functionally collaborates closely with manufacturing facilities, product development, IT, and engineering to ensure Ring’s operations meet internal requirements, customer expectations, and regulatory standards.

Key Job Responsibilities

Quality Management System Leadership

• Lead, develop, and support the establishment of Ring’s Quality Management System at both the corporate level (Corporate Quality Policy) and facility level (Sample Quality Management System) to establish the foundation of Ring’s commitment to excellent quality.
• Lead, develop, and support establishment of Ring’s non-conforming material control program and ensure plants maintain effective nonconforming material control processes.
• Support the application of the company-wide testing control plan and Commissioning, Qualification, and Verification (CQV) processes.

Food Safety and Food Defense Leadership

• Lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of the food safety and food defense programs.
• Lead efforts to ensure the company’s food safety policies are current and compliant with all pertinent federal, state, and local regulations, as well as third-party food safety certification standards (e.g., Safe Quality Foods, British Retail Consortium, American Institute of Baking). Continue on-going food safety education to stay abreast of the latest regulations and third-party food safety certification standards as the company’s Food Safety Subject Matter Expert.
• Proactively mentor and coach Quality Systems Managers in building risk- and HACCP-based food safety and food defense programs that reinforce a proactive food safety culture with strong management commitment.
• Monitor food safety compliance activities across all facilities.
• Monitor and manage company-wide third-party food safety certification status for all facilities in SQFI’s CMX1 system and internal tools.
• Lead and support the Purchasing Department in the supplier approval process. Conduct audits to support approval of new primary raw material suppliers and according to requirements. Ensure that raw and packaging materials are safe for food contact use when applicable and are aligned with internal, customer and regulatory requirements.
• Manage the regulatory, quality, and food safety documentation requested by customers. Maintain the company Letter of Continuing Guarantee and Supplier Compliance Guarantee, as well as customized letters as needed.

Customer Relationship and Complaints Governance

• Lead the design, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the companywide customer complaints and claims systems, ensuring ease of use and quality of information.
• Ensure that complaints, claims, and returns are effectively documented in the complaint system, and effective communication has been distributed internally and externally in a timely manner. Provide guidance to Quality Managers as needed.
• Ensure that root cause(s) have been effectively identified within the CRM Complaint System, and that effective solutions have been strategically implemented. Provide guidance to Quality Managers when gaps are identified.
• Collaborate with plants and customers to manage setup and ensure fulfillment of customer documentation requests in external systems (e.g., ICIX, Repositrak, TraceGains).

Continuous Improvement and Problem Solving

• Lead and participate in cross-functional teams to identify and resolve systemic problems in manufacturing, quality, and customer performance.
• Develop and support strategies to reduce quality and food safety risk through process simplification, standardization, automation, and other sustainable improvements.
• Present Ring’s quality and food safety programs and metrics to customers, alongside Sales and Product Development.
• Facilitate best practice sharing and maintain a repository of quality and food safety tools.
• Lead and support initiatives to identify and close the gaps at high-risk facilities with regards to quality and food safety deficiencies. Plan and execute internal audits and gap assessments of programs, processes, and products at high-risk facilities.
• Lead the multi-site Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) committee to provide a plant perspective, ideas, and feedback on planned initiatives.

Training and Coaching

• Provide new Quality Managers orientation training and mentor team members on core quality management systems (customer complaints, problem solving, food safety, quality testing control plan, etc.).
• Lead training on evidence-based problem-solving methodology and strategic root cause analysis.
• Facilitate biennial Quality Leaders meetings and ongoing quality/food safety meetings with plant management to communicate, teach, and share quality, customer relationship, and food safety tools and practices.
• Provide training for corporate and plant teams on quality initiatives, programs, practices, and tools.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in manufacturing quality assurance of food or food packaging industry
• A Bachelor of Science Degree in Food science, Packaging, or related scientific field
• Proven experience with the implementation of quality management systems and food safety/defense programs
• Comprehensive knowledge of HACCP and food safety audit schemes (e.g., AIB, SQF, BRC)
• Able to work with a high degree of independence and make decisions based on data, risk assessment, and established standards
• Multi-site experience preferred
• Skilled in presenting observations, findings, and recommendations in a clear and structured manner to internal and external partners
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage and prioritize multiple assignments and follow through to completion