Plant Quality Systems and Compliance Specialist

POSITION TITLE: Plant Quality Systems and Compliance Specialist

REPORTING TO: Sr. QA Manager

LOCATION: St. Albans, VT

About the Role:

Site Quality Systems and Compliance Specialist is accountable to developing, maintaining and communicating the site’s quality management system (QMS) that supports implementation of BC’s policies and standards on Quality, Food Safety, Sanitation and Regulatory Compliance. Additionally, they will ensure that the site's QMS meets and exceeds regulatory requirements, GFSI and customer requirements. This position contributes to and nurtures a culture of “Safety, Food Safety First and Quality Always” mindset across all teams and leaders in the site, in line with the Barry Callebaut ‘Go for Zero’ objective (0 accidents, 0 defects, 0 delays, 0 environmental impact and a 0-loss mindset). She/he/they have the responsibility to act and speak up when deviations cannot be solved locally (example: infrastructure or resource issues that prevent complete execution site’s QMS procedures).

SHIFT HOURS:  Monday - Friday 7:00am - 4:00pm

Key responsibilities include: 

The duties and responsibilities described are not a comprehensive list and that additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time; or the scope of the job may change as necessitated by business demands. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Own and maintain the site Quality Management System in alignment with Barry Callebaut global and North America standards, policies and applicable regulatory, certification and customer requirements.
• Manage site document control and the controlled-document lifecycle, including creation, review, approval, revision, obsolescence and record retention in accordance with established requirements.
• Champion good documentation practices and ensure site quality-system documents remain current, controlled and inspection-ready.
• Coordinate the site internal quality and food safety audit program, including the audit schedule, readiness, findings, action tracking and escalation of overdue or recurring gaps.
• Coordinate site readiness and governance for customers, regulatory and GFSI/certification audits; organize required documentation, support audit execution and track resulting actions.
• Govern the site CAPA process by maintaining visibility to actions, aging, due dates, effectiveness checks and escalation; functional owners remain accountable for investigation and closure of their assigned CAPAs.
• Maintain the site quality and food safety compliance calendar and ensure required QMS activities, reviews and certifications are completed on schedule.
• Coordinate site Management Review preparation, required input, records, actions and follow-up.
• Coordinate deployment of global and North America quality-system standards, policies and regional programs at the site and track implementation to completion.
• Coordinate QMS and compliance training requirements, including assignment, completion visibility and maintenance of required training records; partner with functional owners on technical training content.
• Monitor QMS effectiveness through audits, recurring findings, CAPA trends, compliance checks and other system indicators; identify systemic gaps and recommend improvements.
• Coordinate site traceability and mock-recall system readiness, required exercises, documentation and follow-up in accordance with regional requirements; support actual recall execution through the site's established recall process.
• Support quality-system aspects of change management to ensure impacted procedures, records, training and compliance requirements are addressed before implementation.
• Lead sharing of QMS best practices and lessons learned and support standardization of site quality-system processes.
• Communicate significant compliance gaps, overdue actions and systemic risks to the Plant QA Manager and appropriate site leadership.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Food Safety, Laboratory, Customer Quality and other site functions to embed quality-system requirements into routine operations.
• Support a strong quality and compliance culture through visible coaching, disciplined follow-up and timely escalation when requirements are not met.

About you:

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Quality or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Typically 3–5+ years of quality systems, compliance or quality assurance experience in food manufacturing or another regulated manufacturing environment.
• Working knowledge of Quality Management Systems, GMPs, document control, CAPA, internal auditing and certification requirements.
• Working knowledge of a GFSI-recognized food safety standard, preferably FSSC 22000 or BRCGS, and applicable food manufacturing regulatory requirements.
• Internal auditor or quality-system training preferred; ASQ or other relevant quality certification is a plus.
• Strong organization, documentation, analytical, problem-solving and follow-through skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to train, coach and influence cross-functional teams.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and applicable quality/document-management systems; experience with SAP or other manufacturing systems is beneficial.
• English proficiency and applicable local-language proficiency as required by the site.

  Knowledge & Technical Competencies

Quality Systems & Compliance:

• Strong working knowledge of QMS principles, controlled documentation, CAPA, audit programs, compliance calendars and management review.
• Ability to translate global, regional, regulatory and certification requirements into practical site-level processes and controls.
• Experience maintaining inspection-ready records and supporting customer, regulatory and certification audits.

Audit, CAPA & Risk Governance:

• Able to coordinate internal audits, evaluate recurring findings and maintain disciplined follow-up of corrective and preventive actions.
• Uses data, audit results and compliance trends to identify systemic risks and escalate appropriately.

Execution & Standardization:

• Strong organization and follow-through in maintaining schedules, records, training requirements, action plans and governance routines.
• Demonstrated ability to standardize processes and sustain compliance across multiple plant functions.

Communication & Influence:

• Able to communicate requirements and compliance risks clearly to site leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Effective trainer and coach who can influence action and accountability without direct authority.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES & PERSONAL STYLE

• High ownership, discipline and attention to detail.
• Strong systems thinking with the ability to recognize recurring and systemic compliance gaps.
• Practical and solutions-oriented while maintaining required standards.
• Confident in escalating compliance risks and overdue actions.
• Collaborative and able to influence without direct authority.
• Clear communicator who can simplify standards and procedures for different audiences.
• Organized, consistent and able to manage multiple compliance priorities.
• Continuous-improvement mindset focused on making the QMS effective, usable and sustainable.

What you can expect from Barry Callebaut:

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package
• 12 paid holidays, generous PTO, plus your birthday off
• Environment that welcomes workplace flexibility
• An atmosphere where diversity is embraced, and inclusivity is second nature. We call it #OneBC! Just ask our champions with the Americas Women’s Forum and the Racial Equality Forum!
• Ability to grow personally and professionally within an organization that values development and internal career growth
• Be part of our mission in making sustainability the norm through Forever Chocolate with priorities centered around prospering farmers, zero child labor, carbon and forest positive, and creating 100% sustainable ingredients in all of our products.