Food Safety Quality Regional Auditor (Minneapolis Preferred, remote eligible)

OVERVIEW

Responsible for auditing ingredient and packaging suppliers to ensure the food safety, regulatory compliance, and quality of General Mills' products.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Conduct ~55 domestic/international (Canada, other countries if/as needed) ingredient and packaging vendor audits per fiscal year.
  
  • Conduct Physical and Virtual maintenance audits of current suppliers and qualification audits for new locations or new lines to support the business
  • The vast majority of this travel is planned well in advance, and when possible, multiple audits will be performed on a trip. The percentage of travel should be below the 40% travel posted.
• Perform risk assessment and manage exception decisions as they relate to policies, procedures, and specifications
• Audit reporting and responsible for follow-up to drive risk reduction for GMI
• Build a strong food safety culture within the supplier network
• Provide training and support to suppliers as needed on ingredients, programs, processes, and systems
• Support the team and plants when significant supplier-related non-conformities occur
• Utilize results, trends, and previous audit reports to evaluate supplier performance and support the development of long-term preventative actions to address key gaps
• Interact with FSQ Regional Category Manager and External Suppliers
• Reviews and ensures maintenance of the supplier database to provide reliable information for the status of the XQM program in the region
• Provide support as needed for global external quality management and regional external quality initiatives, including but not limited to process improvements, process standardization, and team development
• Provides support for Sourcing (Buyers and Category Specialists) and FSQ (Product Managers, Quality Engineers, Regulatory Affairs, Operations Sensory, Specification Writers, and Labelers)

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Food Engineering, or other related degree fields and 2+ years of relevant food safety, quality or auditing experience OR High School Diploma/GED and 6+ years of relevant food safety, quality, or auditing experience with some product development experience.
• 2+ years of relevant food safety, quality, or auditing experience
• Ability to influence diverse audiences/customers
• Provide technical leadership to internal and external teams
• Self-starter who can prioritize workload while meeting commitments
• Ability to work independently, communicate clearly and effectively with a diverse audience, and work as a team player who is willing to help out their teammates as needed
• Willing to be flexible with travel and work schedule (w/ travel being about 40% of the time)

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Highest integrity and standards
• Technically sound with respect to food safety programs
• Willing, active, and respectful participant in team discussions/debates
• Ability to accept and respond appropriately to working in a dynamic environment
• Results-oriented and intrinsically motivated.
• Ability to make and document decisions
• Ability to effectively communicate in written form and influence vendors
• Knows when to ask for support and get others involved

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Applicants for this position must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis, and General Mills will not sponsor applicants for this position for work visas.
• This role has a preference for someone in the Minneapolis market, but will consider an individual who is remote (within 45 min from an international airport). If this person is in Minneapolis, we would look for this individual to come onsite for moments that matter, which means occasionally coming onsite.