External Operations Quality ManagerDepartment: Quality and Food Safety
Reports To: Director, Quality & Food Safety
Location: Remote / Hybrid
Travel: 30-50%
I. Objective of the PositionThe External Operations Quality Manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously improving supplier quality, contract manufacturing quality, and third-party logistics quality management programs to ensure all externally sourced materials, products, and services consistently meet company food safety, regulatory, customer, and quality requirements.
This position serves as the primary Quality representative for external manufacturing operations and supply chain partners, developing collaborative relationships while ensuring compliance with company standards, GFSI requirements, customer specifications, and applicable regulatory requirements.
The External Manufacturing Quality Manager provides technical leadership, risk assessment, audit oversight, incident management, and continuous improvement support across all approved suppliers, co-manufacturers, co-packers, warehouses, and logistics providers.
II. Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesSupplier Quality Management- Develop and manage the regional Supplier Quality Management Program in partnership with the global team and Grupo Bimbo
- Establish supplier approval, qualification, monitoring, and requalification processes.
- Conduct quality and food safety risk assessments for suppliers and raw materials.
- Evaluate supplier GFSI certifications, regulatory compliance status, and food safety performance.
- Review supplier audit reports, quality documentation, specifications, and preventive control programs.
- Manage supplier scorecards and key performance indicators.
- Lead supplier performance reviews and corrective action discussions.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives with strategic suppliers.
- Partner with Procurement and Supply Chain teams during supplier selection and onboarding activities.
Contract Manufacturing Quality Management- Serve as Quality lead for all contract manufacturing and co-manufacturing partners.
- Ensure compliance with company food safety, quality, sanitation, traceability, and regulatory expectations.
- Perform qualification audits and periodic assessments of co-manufacturing facilities.
- Review and approve product specifications, process controls, validation studies, and change management activities.
- Monitor product quality performance, complaint trends, consumer feedback, and operational metrics.
- Lead investigations involving product deviations, non-conformances, and quality incidents.
- Support new product commercialization and technology transfers to external manufacturing partners.
Third-Party Logistics and Warehouse Quality Management- Develop and oversee quality requirements for warehouses, distribution centers, and logistics service providers.
- Ensure transportation, storage, and distribution practices comply with food safety requirements.
- Support implementation and verification of Sanitary Transportation and Cold Chain regulations.
- Conduct warehouse and logistics audits to evaluate compliance with company and regulatory expectations.
- Monitor temperature control, handling practices, sanitation standards, and traceability requirements.
- Investigate product damage, temperature excursions, storage failures, and transportation-related quality incidents.
- Establish corrective actions and preventive measures with logistics partners.
Audit and Compliance Management- Plan and execute supplier, co-manufacturer, and 3PL audits.
- Support customer audits, regulatory inspections, and third-party certification activities involving external partners.
- Review audit findings and ensure corrective actions are completed and verified.
- Maintain approved supplier and approved external manufacturer databases.
- Ensure compliance with applicable FDA, USDA, FSMA, customer, and GFSI requirements.
Food Safety and Risk Management- Support development and maintenance of supplier food safety risk assessments.
- Review foreign material, allergen, food defense, food fraud, and environmental monitoring controls implemented by external partners.
- Participate in crisis management, product withdrawals, recalls, and mock recall exercises involving suppliers and contract manufacturers.
- Monitor emerging food safety risks affecting ingredients, packaging, and supply chain operations.
- Develop risk mitigation strategies to protect product safety and business continuity.
Quality Systems and Continuous Improvement- Establish performance metrics and scorecards for suppliers, contract manufacturers, and logistics providers.
- Identify trends using supplier complaints, audit results, consumer complaints, and non-conformance data.
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective action programs.
- Drive standardization of external manufacturing quality systems.
- Collaborate with Operations, R&D, Procurement, Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, and Customer Quality teams to improve performance and reduce risk.
III. Minimum QualificationsEducationBachelor's Degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or related technical discipline from an accredited institution.
Experience- 3-5 years of progressive experience in food safety and quality management within food manufacturing.
- Minimum 3 years of experience managing supplier quality, contract manufacturing quality, or external manufacturing quality programs.
- Experience working directly with GFSI-certified facilities.
- Experience conducting supplier and manufacturing audits.
- Experience managing cross-functional projects and external business relationships.
Preferred Experience- Bakery and grain-based food manufacturing experience.
- Multi-site quality management experience.
- Experience with large-scale ingredient and packaging supplier networks.
- Experience supporting customer-branded or private-label products.
- Experience with warehouse and transportation quality programs.
IV. Knowledge, Skills, and AbilitiesTechnical KnowledgeStrong knowledge of:
- FSMA Preventive Controls
- GMPs and prerequisite programs
- HACCP/HARPC
- BRCGS, SQF, FSSC 22000, and GFSI programs
- Supplier Quality Management Systems
- Food Defense and Food Fraud programs
- Allergen Management
- Environmental Monitoring Programs
- Sanitary Transportation requirements
- Traceability and Recall Management
- Statistical process analysis and risk assessment methodologies
Leadership SkillsAbility to:
- Influence without direct authority.
- Manage strategic supplier relationships.
- Lead cross-functional teams.
- Conduct risk-based decision making.
- Resolve complex quality and food safety issues.
- Present findings and recommendations to senior leadership.
- Negotiate corrective action plans with external business partners.
- Manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
Computer Skills- Microsoft Office Suite
- SAP or ERP systems preferred
- Supplier quality management platforms preferred
- Audit management and CAPA systems preferred
V. Physical Requirements- Ability to travel extensively to suppliers, contract manufacturers, warehouses, and distribution facilities.
- Ability to work in manufacturing, warehouse, and distribution environments.
- Ability to climb stairs, walk production floors, and wear required personal protective equipment.
- Ability to travel by automobile and commercial aircraft.
- Ability to work outside standard business hours as needed to support audits, investigations, product commercialization, and business continuity events.
