Director Supply Chain, Food Safety and Quality

Director, Supply Chain Food Safety & Quality

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Reports To: VP, Corporate Responsibility, Safety & Quality

Department: Food Safety & Quality

Position Summary

The Director of Supply Chain Food Safety & Quality provides strategic leadership and oversight across an extended supply network that includes co-manufacturers, ingredient and packaging suppliers, shelf-stable product partners, and agricultural operations (fields and coolers). This role ensures that all external partners meet rigorous standards for food safety, regulatory compliance, and product quality—protecting consumers, enabling commercial growth, and strengthening customer trust.

This role collaborates closely with Procurement, Supply Chain, Product Development, and Agriculture teams to embed food safety expectations throughout the value chain—from field to finished goods and from concept to commercialization. The Director also works in alignment with internal food safety leaders to maintain one unified enterprise food safety and quality system across both internal facilities and external supply partners.

This position is both strategic and forward-looking, building resilient processes across a complex supplier network, anticipating emerging risks, and guiding the organization’s capabilities in newer product categories such as shelf-stable and other consumer packaged goods. The Director also plays a key role in supporting the organization’s food safety culture and crisis management processes.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of food safety and quality programs for suppliers, co-manufacturers, shelf-stable product lines, and agricultural operations.
• Oversee supplier approval, qualification, auditing, and corrective action programs using risk-based frameworks.
• Partner with Procurement and Supply Chain teams to embed compliance expectations into sourcing decisions, contracts, and supplier performance programs.
• Collaborate with internal Food Safety & Quality leaders to align standards, share insights, and jointly manage risk across internal and external networks.
• Provide oversight for agricultural and cooler food safety programs, including GAP compliance, field monitoring, and raw product quality predictability.
• Manage co-manufacturer onboarding, audit schedules, commercialization readiness, FSMA/GFSI compliance, and incident response related to external manufacturing.
• Establish KPIs, scorecards, and dashboards to drive visibility, accountability, and continuous improvement across the supply base.
• Represent the organization externally with regulatory bodies, customers, and industry groups; contribute as a thought leader on supplier, RTE, and shelf-stable food safety topics.
• Implement advancements in digital tools, predictive analytics, risk modeling, and supplier accountability systems.
• Lead and develop a team of supplier approval specialists, auditors, and field food safety professionals, fostering a culture of prevention, ownership, and continuous learning.
• Drive innovation in monitoring, traceability, and system design to proactively identify and mitigate upstream risks.
• Serve as a member of the Crisis Management team, offering expertise on supply chain and supplier-related food safety incidents.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive leadership in food safety or quality, with experience in CPG, co-manufacturing, RTE/leafy greens, or shelf-stable categories.
• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Strong knowledge of GAP, LGMA, FSMA, HACCP, GMPs, GFSI standards, and supplier food safety programs.
• Proven experience managing co-manufacturers, suppliers, and agricultural food safety programs.
• Ability to influence senior leaders internally and externally, including customers and regulatory agencies.
• Strong collaboration skills with a track record of aligning cross-functional teams under a unified strategy.
• Experience deploying digital tools, data systems, and continuous improvement methodologies to enhance food safety capability.

Essential Job Functions

• Ability to climb stairs
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs
• Ability to sit at a workstation for extended periods