Quality & Food Safety Systems Specialist

Summary:  
Lead the governance and effective operation of the Quality, Regulatory & Compliance (QRC) programs for the Malaysia manufacturing plant. Assists and support in the development, documentation, implementation, and maintenance of Quality and Food Safety Management Systems in line with Malaysian regulations, GFSI requirements, and global product quality standards.
Responsible for internal & external audits and interacts with regulatory officials on behalf of the Malaysia plant. Develops effective working relationships with manufacturing management, QA, and other technical disciplines.  Document, implement, and review pre-requisite, plant QA programs, QA training, and specifications. In alignment with government regulations provide a consistent framework for Global product quality requirements relative to our manufacturing processes and products, and establishment of policies and procedures to ensure regulatory compliance. 

Summary of major duties:
Compliance: Expected to be involved in direct interaction with regulatory agencies (i.e. participating in plant audits conducted by religious or federal agencies).  Implements and monitors quality systems and programs to ensure food safety, food quality and regulatory compliance are consistently achieved.  Provides training programs, assessing of quality systems, complex troubleshooting and large-scale incident management.  Ensures selected HACCP, GFSI, Halal and Kosher standards are met. Supports the Quality pillar program, Management reviews, HHH meeting coordination.
•    Auditing: Supports the planning and execution of plant quality system audits by conducting compliance assessments and providing recommendations and guidance to ensure applicable quality and regulatory standards are met. Prepares audit summaries, tracks corrective action implementation, and provides regular progress updates to the Associate Manager, QRC.
•    Documentations: Reviews plant compliance against global procedures, policies, and standards, identifies gaps, and supports the implementation and follow up of corrective actions. Supports risk assessment verification and navigation activities to ensure effective risk control and compliance outcomes.
Contributes to the development, documentation, implementation, and periodic review of prerequisite programs, quality and food safety programs, plant QA programs, QA training materials, and product specifications.
Provides proactive status updates, findings, and risk observations to the Associate Manager, QRC, to support informed decision making and timely escalation where required.
•    Training:  Supports the development and delivery of training programs related to regulatory, religious, and quality requirements, and conducts and coordinates QA training programs to ensure plant personnel are adequately trained and compliant with applicable standards.
•    Digitalization: Supports digitalization initiatives by simplifying QRC processes, policies, documentation, audit tracking, and risk assessments, improving efficiency, compliance visibility, and governance effectiveness in alignment with regulatory and global quality requirements.
•    Adhoc: As assigned priorities and risk.
Project / New Product Support: Acts as a plant representative on multi-functional project teams and new product teams.  Responsible for ensuring compliance with Hershey’s food safety and quality systems.

Subject Matter Expert: This position requires a broad and thorough knowledge of food quality and safety principles, quality system development and implementation, GFSI certification schemes, regulatory requirements ISO9001, Rainforest, RSPO, Halal, Kosher including labeling, industry practices, and corporate policies related to these areas. 
Global Leadership Behaviors – manage and coach direct reports, provide timely feedback of performance and guide career development of staff

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements:  

• Degree or Master  in Food Science, Microbiology, or related field.                 
• Degree  with Min 3 years’ experience in food industry or equivalent experience.
• Master with  Min 3 years’ experience in food industry.
• Strong leadership skills, ability to lead projects and teams.
• Ability to develop self and others.
• Superior communication skills in verbal and written form.  Advanced presentation skills.
• Ability to effectively interact with all levels of employees (from production to plant management level).