QA Supervisor
Elk Grove Village, Illinois
Quality – Quality /
Permanent Full-Time /
On-site
IRCA is a prominent international provider of semi-finished ingredients for the bakery, pastry, and gelato markets. They cater to independent producers as well as large food manufacturers, including consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. The company's core product offerings consist of chocolate, chocolate decorations, creams, pastry mixes, gelato ingredients, and various other bakery and pastry ingredients.
Headquartered in Italy, IRCA was acquired by Advent International, a global private equity firm, in July 2022. The company has demonstrated a strong history of growth over the past decade. As part of its growth strategy, IRCA made two bolt-on acquisitions in 2022. They acquired Cesarin, a provider of candied fruits, and Anastasi, a supplier of pistachio ingredients. These acquisitions expanded IRCA's product portfolio and market reach.
More recently, IRCA acquired the leading manufacturer of sweet and cereal products in Europe and the US. The target company focuses on high-value specialty ingredients for the Food Manufacturers segment. Their product range includes sweet particulates, chocolate confections, baked inclusions, variegates, and fruit purées. This deal, successfully completed in March of 2023, is a transformative move for IRCA, establishing them as a global leader in the semi-finished ingredients industry.
With this acquisition, IRCA has a combined revenue of €1 billion in 2023 and a presence in 22 manufacturing facilities across Europe, the US, and Vietnam. This expanded manufacturing footprint and diversified product portfolio positions IRCA as a key player in the market, serving a wide range of customers in the bakery, pastry, and gelato sectors, as well as food manufacturers.
This position reports to the Food Safety and Quality Manager and will directly supervise employees in the QA Lab. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees. The Quality Assurance Supervisor is responsible for coverage when the FSQM is absent. The Quality Assurance Supervisor will be responsible for implementation and continuous improvement of quality programs in the Elk Grove Village facility.
Essential Responsibilities
- Responsible for identifying and resolving problems, and reporting food safety/quality issues to the FSQM or management team.
- Implements various components of quality assurance program comprised of data analysis, systems evaluation, product assessment and quality technology.
- Directs inspection of hardware and systems audit to ensure proper application of management system procedures.
- Responsible for raw material, in-process and finished goods quality inspection.
- Ability to communicate written and orally in Spanish.
- Direct and advises personnel in special test procedures to analyze components and physical properties of product materials.
- Compiles and analyzes test information to determine operating efficiency of process or equipment and to diagnose malfunctions.
- Investigates complaints on existing products and responds to vendors or customers.
- Establish or adjust work procedures to meet testing schedules.
- Trains lab group on safety topics, quality procedures and business updates for the month.
- Participates in and supports corporate and plant initiatives including GMP, HACCP. SQF (as a practitioner), GQMS, KMM, LIMS and others as assigned.
- Participation and /or facilitation as identified in customer, regulatory and 3rd party audits.
- Other duties may be assigned.
Experience, Education & Requirements
- Qualified background in food science, chemistry, biology, microbiology, sensory, food packaging systems and/or food engineering
- 3-7 years’ practical experience in Food Safety or Management of Quality or Production, or Project Management in the food industry.
- Ability to drive continuous improvement
- Ability to affect change through indirect leadership
- Excellent written and verbal skills
- Organized
- Proficient at Word, Excel, & PowerPoint
- Must have strong critical thinking ability along with analytical and problem-solving skills
- Strong interpersonal, communication, coaching and conflict management skills
- Ability to travel infrequently
- Food quality systems including but not limited to SQF, HACCP, GMPs and other related prerequisites
- SQF Practitioner preferred
- HACCP certification
- Writing and implementing policies and procedures
Practical experience requirements
$75,000 - $85,000 a year
Irca Group USA LLC offers career growth opportunities as well as competitive compensation and benefits: Medical, Dental, & Vision, 401(k) matching, Paid Vacation, and Holidays, Employee Education Tuition Reimbursement Program.
Irca Group USA LLC is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Annual Salary Range $7K to $85K for Employees Located in Illinois.
The “base salary range” provided above is a good faith estimate of what we expect to pay for this position. The range provided is for Illinois employees as Irca Group is required by Illinois State Law to post pay rates. Irca Group reserves the right to pay outside of the given range based on a variety of factors including but not limited to candidate skills and experience, complexity of the job, budgetary factors, and location/geography. Irca group conducts regular reviews of compensation ranges and therefore reserves the right to alter this range at any given time.
