Guided Search Partners (GSP)
Guided Search Partners is an Executive Search firm built on Trust, Transparency, Specialization, and Long-term Relationships.
We connect high-performing professionals with organizations that value people, performance, and growth, helping leaders find roles where they can make an impact and build meaningful careers.

About the Opportunity
We’re supporting a search for a Senior Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager with a growing food ingredient manufacturing organization. This role will lead plant-level food safety and quality assurance, strengthen quality culture, oversee regulatory and certification programs, and drive continuous improvement across manufacturing operations. The Senior FSQA Manager will partner cross-functionally to reduce complaints and non-conformances, improve quality performance, maintain audit readiness, and support continued organizational growth.

What You’ll Do
You’ll lead food safety and quality assurance activity with a focus on compliance, certifications, continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and team development.

Key areas of focus include:

• Champion a strong quality and food safety culture across plant operations
• Lead operational quality excellence and continuous improvement initiatives
• Partner cross-functionally to reduce waste, complaints, and non-conformances
• Lead customer complaint investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective actions
• Maintain compliance with SQF, HACCP, FDA, FSMA, GMP, allergen, foreign material, and preventive control requirements
• Manage Halal, Kosher, RSPO, Organic, and GFCO certification programs
• Prepare for and lead regulatory, customer, and certification audits
• Manage the Environmental Monitoring Program
• Develop and track quality metrics and performance data
• Use quality data to identify trends and drive improvements
• Support recall readiness and regulatory compliance
• Mentor, train, and develop quality assurance personnel
• Build accountability and a proactive quality mindset on the manufacturing floor
• Collaborate with Operations and other departments to strengthen quality processes
• Support customer confidence through effective complaint resolution and quality performance

Who You Are
You are an experienced food safety and quality leader who can elevate standards while remaining closely connected to plant operations.

You understand quality systems, regulatory requirements, certification programs, audits, root cause analysis, and corrective action. You can lead through growth, develop quality personnel, and work cross-functionally to strengthen systems and performance.

You would do well here if you are hands-on, transparent, collaborative, and comfortable taking ownership of quality and food safety in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Preferred Experience & Attributes
• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Engineering, or related field
• Master’s or advanced degree preferred
• 7–10 years of quality assurance and food safety experience in food, ingredient, beverage, or consumer packaged goods manufacturing
• Approximately 5 years of leadership experience preferred
• SQF Practitioner certification required
• PCQI certification required
• HACCP certification required
• SQF or BRC Practitioner experience required
• Experience leading GFSI certification programs such as SQF, BRC, FSSC, or IFS
• Experience leading regulatory inspections and customer audits
• Knowledge of FDA, USDA, FSMA, HACCP, and GMP requirements
• Experience managing Halal, Kosher, RSPO, Organic, or GFCO certifications
• Root cause analysis and corrective action experience
• Strong organizational and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment
• Lean or Six Sigma training preferred
• Experience with quality metrics and reporting tools preferred

Why This Role Matters
This role will help move the organization from a quality control mindset toward a stronger quality assurance and continuous improvement model. The Senior FSQA Manager will have the opportunity to elevate standards, strengthen programs, develop the quality team, and build systems that support continued growth. This is a strong opportunity for someone who wants ownership, autonomy, and the ability to make a visible impact.