Triumph Foods is a leader in the pork industry, generating in excess of $1.4B in annual revenues. Triumph Foods has positioned itself as one of the leading pork processors in the United States, and is recognized as a top exporter of premium pork products worldwide. The company began operations in 2006 in St. Joseph, Missouri, and is producer-owned. Triumph’s state-of-the-art facility processes in excess of 6 million hogs each year, and is the newest facility of its kind in the United States. The processing facility features the latest food quality, safety innovations, and humane handling practices in the industry, and the company prides itself on producing the highest quality pork products found in the market today.
Approximately 25% of Triumph’s products are exported to countries such as Korea, Mexico, Japan and historically China and Russia; again, making Triumph Foods a leader in the pork export market.
With a dedicated workforce of over 2,800 employees, Triumph Foods provides a variety of pork products to some of the highest quality food distributors and producers in the world through a unique marketing and sales agreement with Seaboard Foods (NYSE: SEB). Triumph Foods’ commitment to quality, processing excellence, innovation, and the dedication of its workforce separates Triumph Foods from others in the industry.
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RECRUITMENT SPECIFICATIONS
RESPONSIBILITIES
Triumph Foods is seeking a senior leader, Assistant Vice President, Food Safety, QA, and Technical Services; responsible for overall swine disposition and food safety. Direct departmental oversight of Food Safety, Quality Assurance, and Swine Technical Support Services are critical responsibilities of this role.
Priorities of this role include:
- Identify conditions, trends, and issues of incoming swine from producer farms (lung conditions, skin disorders, arthritis, frostbite, spine disorders, general detection of infection) and in turn organize and provide feedback to management and owner representatives on these live hog and carcass observations and outcomes (DOA’s, Euthanizations, Conditions, Health Status, Delivery Condition Opportunities, USDA findings) to optimize margins
- Determine or contribute to the epidemiology and pathology of same and communicate potential solutions to veterinary staff of swine producers for healthier herds leading to increased yields and ROI
- Participation in research of swine herds
- Evaluate and understand swine health, nutrition, and growth cycles to influence and mitigate potential USDA recommendations for condemnation, trimming and sorting
- Manage interactions, correlations and outcomes with USDA veterinary staff on carcass assessments, condemnations, trimming and sorting procedure to optimize margins and ensure food safety
- Serve as a credible technical resource which interacts with swine producers, and again the USDA
- Staff management for the Quality Assurance, Food Safety and Microbiology Departments
- Compliance with all USDA, FSIS food safety and inspection rules and regulations
- Oversee all HACCP, QA and Microbiology Plan development, modifications and re-assessments necessary to meet regulatory requirements and Company objectives
- Engage in continuous Staff training and development to ensure the organization is proficient and efficient in its efforts to fulfill the duties assigned
- Interact with Seaboard Foods, our marketing partner, to formulate, integrate, and influence quality and food safety programs and procedures
- Provide professional feedback to Sales and integrate Customer feedback to continuously improve product quality and integrity
The position would directly supervise two management staff members that have responsibilities for specific areas in Food Safety and Microbiology (see below). Indirectly this leader would oversee a staff of approximately 70 employees.
The successful candidate has the opportunity to provide a remarkable leadership impact through strong animal health and meat science acumen, command of regulatory requirements, and delivery of risk mitigation solutions (to swine producers and the plant) which improve yield and ROI.
The position currently reports to the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, & PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
- Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine (DVM), or Animal/Meat Science with emphasis in agriculture and large animal medicine and epidemiology
- Five plus years of experience using veterinary and research/technical skills in field agriculture, livestock care and nutrition, epidemiology, and meat processing applications
- Expertise in swine production and herd health management
- Expertise identifying trends, collecting data and interpreting results
- Influential leader with expertise in communicating with all types of teams to include end users, USDA, management, and producers
- Develops strong, sustainable relationships
- A strategic thinker who can address issues quickly and pro-actively
- Ability to lead, motivate, and provide effective management of staff. Good communicator both verbally and in writing
- Self-motivated and hands-on
- Exudes confidence, yet is approachable and leads with credibility; is technically and socially competent
- Does not support the status quo, but gets behind initiatives that matter and make a difference; is a change leader
COMPENSATION
Compensation will be market-based corresponding to the experience level, credentials and personal characteristics of the candidate. An annual performance-based bonus is part of the overall compensation program. A full range of employee benefits will also be offered to the successful candidate.
TO APPLY
Interested individuals, please email your resume and a short cover letter to the attention of:
Nancy Fox
Vice President Human Resources
nfox@triumphfoods.com
Include the position title (Assistant Vice President Food Safety, QA, TS) and your last name in the subject line of the email message.
NON-DISCRIMINATION
Triumph Foods firmly supports the principle and philosophy of equal opportunity for all individuals, regardless of age, race, gender, creed, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected category pursuant to applicable federal, state or local law.