Food Safety & Quality Leader

The Food Safety & Quality Assurance Leader will support and help drive food safety, quality assurance, and continuous improvement initiatives. This role partners cross-functionally with our sales teams and account managers to support client driven initiatives.  This role will also work with internal teams and suppliers to support food safety programs, quality standards, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence initiatives.

The position will help ensure alignment with company and customer expectations related to food safety and quality while supporting ongoing process improvements, issue resolution, and program development. This individual will serve as a key resource for food safety and quality-related initiatives and help support strategic priorities across the business.

This role will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including procurement, supply chain, sales, operations, and compliance to support company initiatives and maintain strong food safety and quality practices throughout the supply chain.

The ideal candidate brings strong technical food safety knowledge, relationship-building skills, operational awareness, and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Who are we?

Buyers Edge Platform is one of the fastest-growing companies in the exciting Foodservice Technology industry.   Buyers Edge Platform is made up of more than a dozen companies who work together to help restaurants and other foodservice operators reduce their costs, streamline their supply chains, and utilize technology to run their businesses more efficiently and profitably.  We are driven by our entrepreneurial spirit, diverse portfolio of companies and our inclusive and collaborative atmosphere.  Our values-focused culture is best experienced at one of our 14 offices, including marquee locations in Chicago, West Palm Beach, New London, CT and Waltham, MA.

The Buyer’s Edge Platform Fresh Division is an entity comprised of both Fresh Concepts and Produce Alliance with over 35 years of produce management solutions. The Fresh Division provides fresh produce category management services including procurement, national distribution, information services, and food safety assurance to food service clients across North America, the Caribbean and beyond. The Fresh Division has a national footprint of over 125+ industry leading distributors in North America, partnerships with the most premier grower shippers, and combined purchasing power of over 6 billion.

This position is remotely based. We are unable to offer work sponsorship for this role. 

Your impact:

• Support and help advance food safety and quality assurance initiatives across the organization
• Partner with internal teams and external stakeholders to support food safety, quality, and compliance objectives
• Assist in maintaining and improving food safety programs, processes, and documentation
• Support supplier and product quality initiatives, including issue resolution and corrective actions
• Provide technical support related to specifications, food safety standards, and quality expectations
• Monitor industry trends, regulatory updates, and emerging food safety risks
• Help ensure alignment with applicable food safety regulations, customer requirements, and internal standards
• Participate in cross-functional projects and continuous improvement initiatives
• Support communication and collaboration between departments to drive operational effectiveness
• Contribute to development and implementation of best practices across food safety and quality programs

About you:

• A positive attitude, with a we before me mentality
• Accountability – holding yourself and others accountable for commitments.
• Professional Integrity – keeping commitments, acting with honor, conveying respect, and maintaining high moral standards.
• Trust – conduct business in a way that builds confidence in all team members.
• Competence – apply what you know in an effective manner, building team and client credibility, and ensuring the best possible results.
• Desire – genuine drive and interest to help our clients and team members.
• Leadership- Lead by example. Embrace and enforce our corporate values.
• Independence- Ability to work autonomously through high priority projects.
• Teamwork – contribute positively to team objectives, work positively with others to achieve both personal goals and team goals. Can work with the Food Safety team as well as cross functional teams across the Fresh Division.
• Excellence With Agility – ability to seek solutions and solve problems.
• Efficiently Deliver Solutions - work with the Fresh Division Food Safety team to follow our processes and procedures to maintain efficient working structures.
• Strong relationship and networking skills are a must. The ability to develop and maintain great personal and business relationships is paramount to success.
• Supply chain knowledge including distribution and logistics, procurement, manufacturing, transportation, and inventory management, accounting, supply chain visibility, etc.
• Solid understanding/aptitude for technical and analytical skills, demonstrating experiences with several of the following: spreadsheets, databases, SCM planning and execution applications, including ERP systems.
• Solid Team Building and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated experience of individual and team-based problem solving.
• Great organizational skills including planning, organizing, goal setting, and execution.
• 8+ years experience in a food safety role, preferably Produce, Meat and/or Seafood.
• 3+ years experience in a processor or distributor facility OR within a National Foodservice organization (one of our current clients or the like preferred)
• Master’s degree in food science / safety or related studies preferred.
• Solid Leadership and Business Accountability Track Record
• Foodservice industry experience highly desirable, either on supplier, distributor, or client sides.
• Demonstrated project management and superior personal productivity and oral, written communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work positively with cross functional teams.
• Excellent communication skills required. Including listening, written, oral, and demonstrated group presentation. Excellent personal productivity skills and communications such as word, power-point, excel, etc.

What's in this for you?

Amazing coverages to start. Medical, dental, and vision coverages are just the beginning! We also offer ancillary plans, such as flexible spending accounts for both health and dependent care, critical illness, accident, and voluntary life as well as company paid life and long-term-disability plans! On top of this, we also offer a 401(k) plan with company match.

Invest in your success. We will provide you with a thorough training and development program; and offer competitive compensation.

Live well = Work well. Relax with our Personal Responsibility Paid Time Off policy where you don’t have to accrue time off in order to take it!