Food Safety Manager Europe

At Barry Callebaut, we are on a journey to transform the cocoa and chocolate industry. As the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, our actions truly shape the future of our industry. We are a business-to-business company, serving the entire food sector, from the cocoa bean to the finest chocolate product. We are a company with a purpose, we believe in doing well by doing good and reinvesting in the communities we operate. We have a long-standing commitment to sustainability and our goal is to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future. We are headquartered in Zurich, and have more than 12,000 passionate Employees working in more than 40 countries worldwide. We are very proud of who we are and what we do. And of course, we are always looking for talented people to help us have a positive impact on our industry and beyond

About the Role   The Food Safety Manager Europe is responsible for keeping abreast of changes in technology and processes and ensuring compliance for the facilities in the Europe region to BC food safety policies, standards, and procedures as needed to ensure that regulatory, GFSI certification and customer requirements concerning food safety are achieved or exceeded. The Food Safety Manager Europe is a regional subject matter expert about Microbiology, Sanitation, Sanitary Hygienic Design, Hygienic Zoning, Environmental Monitoring, Allergens and Toxicology food safety risks.

The Food Safety Manager Europe links and collaborates with Plant QA managers, Engineering, Plant managers, Regional R&D, Regional OSCO VP, Global Account manager, Business Development Director, Regional Quality director, Global Head Food Safety and microbiology, Global Engineering, Global Microbiology, Global QA (Vendor & Rawmat), Sanitation & Hygiene managers, and with similar stakeholders from all the other regions (Africa, Americas, Asia, Cocoa). Externally with external customers, training organizations, suppliers, and service providers including but not limited to pest control operators, metal detector manufacturers, sanitarians, and industry consultants.

Key Responsibilities Include Drive improvement in food safety standards
Developing, improving, and maintaining food safety standards and guidelines based on industry best practices, GFSI standards, and customer requirements.
Collaborating in the development and review of global food safety standards (e.g. GMP, allergens, food safety policy).
Coordinate, audit , and review implementation of food safety and GSFI standards
Coordinate the auditing of sites in the region against corporate and regional QMS standards, GFSI standards, and customer requirements. Providing an overview of main issues (food safety) arising in the factories, identifying areas of concern, and proposing improvement actions.
Audit the sites and inform the relevant local and regional staff of audit findings.
Working with Operations/QA/Maintenance to address audit issues and agreeing with local and regional teams on corrective actions, including food safety investments.
Drive and support the Implementation of new or improved standards
Driving the implementation of BC and GSFI standards and procedures and training local management in food safety requirements.
Supporting facilities for compliance with key customer requirements and BC standards, supporting food safety crises (e.g. allergen issues, CCP failures).
Driving continuous improvement of the systems by sharing best practices among sites and providing food safety support
Identifying and communicating food safety risks to the sites, and providing advice on food safety programs.
Coordinating gap assessments of global food safety policies in the region, in the frame of a Global Standardization Framework project, to identify capex/opex/documentation-related gaps in the sites and provide support.Working with Global QA and Engineering in defining the scope and format for compliance summary reporting.
Provide expertise and support by partnering with R&D, Supply Chain, Customer Service and Procurement
Ensure the application of risk assessments in the development of ingredients, products, and processes to help identify solutions. Ensure food safety is engaged in the process and develop appropriate training for R&D
Author Statements related to Food Safety as and when required
Lead specific Food Safety Projects, as and when required
Support in Issue Management, as and when required
Provide support for emerging challenges and provide technical solutions
Continuously improve own food safety-related knowledge
Audit, exchange information, and support, on all questions related to food safety (global policies, FSSC 22000 implementation)
Ensure sharing of best practices
Draft, contribute, and review global, regional, and local standards
Lead regional projects to improve food safety standards
Understand EMP programs and how to design, assess, and improve
Give guidance to factories during incidents

About You Master's degree in Microbiology, Food Science, Food Engineering, or equivalent
Formal training in HACCP
Advanced training in Microbiology, Sanitation, and Sanitary Design
PCQI certification
Fluent in English, and other languages an asset
Travel requirements: 50%
10+ years experience at a GFSI-certified food manufacturer
Experience in communicating with customers, auditors, and regulatory agencies.
Experience performing audits of internal and external food safety audits for facilities/suppliers
Experience working with the design and implementation of food safety plans/programs.
Experience with Root Cause Analysis and Continuous Improvement
Experience working with, designing, and implementing Environmental Monitoring Programs
7+ years of experience in Quality Assurance and Food Safety in an international food, pharmaceutical, or feed company
Experience in auditing
Project Management
Knowledge of Food Safety Management, HACCP management, Hygiene, GMPs (Hygiene practices, Sanitation, Environmental Monitoring, etc), and GFSI certification schemes (BRC, FSSC 22000).
Drive to deliver, taking initiative, and strong leadership skills
Compliance focus
Internal and external customer focus
Transversal managerial skills (sharing knowledge and experience)
Being an effective communicator, navigating through different audiences
Team spirit
Change Management, as a key driver

We offer: Employment on a regular basis in the sweetest company in the world.
Annual bonus based on your work results.
Lunch card to be used for groceries and restaurants.
Private medical care in Lux Med (basic package fully financed by BC).
Fit Profit sports card co-financed by BC.
PPE: we care about your future, and we save money for your retirement.
Cafeteria Program as a part of Social Fund.
Group life insurance.
Hybrid working model: min. 8 days in the office a month.
As part of our work-life balance culture, we can start work between 7 am and 10 am.
Free consultation with a lawyer once a quarter.
Chocolate Yes, surprising but we have chocolate in the office, for Christmas, BC’s Birthday, and many other occasions during the year.
And if chocolate is still not enough, you can join one of our theme clubs, where together with other employees we develop our passions and interests.
Daily delivery of fresh fruits and veggies to the office.
You can purchase our sweet products with a special discount.
Relax zone in the office and plenty of options to choose from: PlayStation 5, football table, pool table, Ping-Pong, library, table games, and massage chairs.
Sport @work? Sure We have treadmills and indoor exercise bikes with a laptop station.
We like to party as much as we like chocolate We have integration budgets we can use for team events.
Forever Chocolate and Event Team: you can join them and have a real influence on social life in BC and CSR activities.

At Barry Callebaut, we are committed to Diversity & Inclusion. United by our strong values, we thrive on the diversity of who we are, where we come from, what we’ve experienced and how we think. We are committed to nurturing an inclusive environment where people can truly be themselves, grow to their full potential and feel they belong.  #oneBC - Diverse People, Sustainable Growth.

If you want to learn more about Barry Callebaut, please find further information here.

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