Potato Distributor Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

Position Title: Manager Food Safety- Supplier
Position Type: Regular - Full-Time
Grade: Grade 06
Requisition ID: 43483
Manager Food Safety- Supplier
Oakbrook, Illinois
In every role, McCainers are ambitious, curious, and passionate about creating exceptional work experiences - together. With a customer-first mindset, we make doing business with McCain easy.
About the role.
The Manager, Food Safety - Suppliers and External Manufacturing is responsible for the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of global food safety systems across the company's external manufacturing network, including ingredient suppliers, co-manufacturers (co-mans), and Distribution. You will shape and improve supplier quality systems, audits, and performance metrics to boost product quality and risk mitigation.
This role combines quality leadership with global collaboration to sustain supply chain resilience in both Potato and Snacking sectors. Your work helps drive customer satisfaction and regulatory alignment while enabling sustainable, high-quality production.
This role ensures that all third-party partners meet or exceed company, regulatory, and GFSI-aligned food safety and quality standards, while driving risk-based oversight, compliance, and capability building to protect consumers and brand integrity.
What you'll be doing.

• Supplier Quality Strategy & Governance: Define global food safety standards for external manufacturing, including suppliers and co-manufacturers. Ensure GFSI compliance, regulatory requirements, and internal policies.
• Establish and maintain a risk-based approach to supplier and external manufacturer qualification, approval, and performance management.
• Create framework to ensure the global integrity of ingredients and packaging are within FSQ defined specifications
• Performance Monitoring & Metrics: Track key suppliers' KPIs to drive improvement in quality, cost, and delivery.
• Drive reduction in supplier related Foreign Material incidents globally
• Global performance monitoring, trends and partnership with procurement to drive change. Manage CAPA processes and cross-functional alignment.
• Risk Management: Develop risk mitigation plans for the supply chain to ensure resilience.
• Execute global, complex mock traceability exercises across suppliers to validate traceability, lot tracking, and documentation integrity.
• Align with Regulatory, R&D and procurement on supplier requirements, documentation, TraceGains workflows, and CAPA processes.
• Own globally the Trace Gains systems, Support digital tools and dashboards
• Serve as SME for external manufacturing food safety risks.
• Analyze trends and drive systemic improvements: Standardize supplier approval and monitoring processes.
• Conduct on-site evaluations, on-boarding, training and coaching of internal teams and suppliers to promote a strong food safety culture.

What you'll need to be successful.

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in food quality assurance or product development.
• Frozen foods manufacturing experience is critical (Potato experience preferred).
• Deep knowledge of food safety systems (HACCP, GMP, FSMA, GFSI), continuous improvement, and problem-solving.
• Experience in supporting or leading product commercialization.
• Strong project management, analytical, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team on multiple projects.
• Ability to identify aromas and basic tastes.
• Familiarity with sensory science, packaging, and shelf-life testing.

REQUIRED TRAVEL: Estimated up to 30-40%
About McCain.
Click Here to learn more about McCain and how we provide you with opportunities to make an impact that matters.
Leadership principles.
At McCain, our leadership principles guide how we engage with customers, collaborate as a team, and achieve success. We focus on understanding customer needs, driving innovation, empowering people, and taking ownership to clear obstacles and deliver results.
The McCain experience.
We are McCain. This statement is a testament to our collective strength and our individual value. Your contributions play a vital role in our success. Our winning culture is rooted in authenticity and trust, empowering us to bring out the best in one another. Here, you'll find opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Join us and experience why we're better together.
Compensation Package : $97,500.00 - $130,000.00 . USD annually + Bonus eligibility
The above reflects the target compensation range for the position at the time of posting. Hiring compensation will be determined based on experience, skill set, education and training, and other organizational needs. This posting is for an existing vacancy.
Benefits: At McCain, we're on a mission to create a winning culture that puts employee safety and well-being at the heart of what we do, every day. We understand and appreciate that each person's needs are unique and ensure our benefits & well-being programs reflect that. Employees are eligible for the following benefits: health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug), retirement savings benefits, and leave support including medical, family and bereavement. Well-being programs include vacation and holidays, company-supported volunteering time, and mental health resources. Coverages are aligned with applicable law and can vary by work level, location, and nature of the role. Additional benefit detail available during the application process.
Your well-being matters to us, and we're here to provide you with the necessary resources to support you in being your best self at work - and at home.
McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions.
Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain's Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy , as applicable. McCain leverages AI in the hiring process, though all final decisions are made by humans. You can understand our approach to AI and how your personal information is being handled here .
Job Family: Quality & Food Safety
Location(s): US - United States of America : Illinois : Oakbrook Terrace || US - United States of America : Illinois : Chicago
Company: McCain Foods USA, Inc.