Vice President – Food Safety, Quality

Role Overview

• Provide support to the Food Safety Council by leading assigned subcommittees, technical work groups and taskforces on a variety of activities including the development of practical, science-based “best practice” guidance documents.
• Identify and execute strategies to raise awareness of such resources within the industry as well as other stakeholder communities.
• Serve as a technical ambassador/liaison of the industry and association to government food safety agencies (FDA, FSIS, CDC, SENESECA, EFSA), academia and the media, coalitions, technical committees.
• Provide support to the Vice President Food Safety Regulatory Affairs to evaluate and comment on the scientific and technical aspects of regulatory policies, assist in preparing public comments for regulatory agencies.
• Develop and propose to the Chief Science Officer long-term strategies for the association’s global food safety and quality priorities based on horizon scanning of trends and industry knowledge gaps.
• Provide vision and direction to, and serve as a resources and catalyst to multi-disciplinary teams, ensuring alignment of food safety goals with the IFPA Strategic Plan and execution against annual business plans.
• Lead with adaptability, leveraging digital tools (Wrike, Teams, AI platforms) to plan, track, and communicate progress.
• Model self-awareness, professionalism, and openness to feedback in a feedback-rich environment, building trust and cohesion among diverse teams.
• Mentor, coach, and develop direct reports and high-potential staff to strengthen the food safety leadership pipeline.
• Leverage AI and data-analytics platforms to deliver scalable, timely, and accurate responses to member needs.
• Provide direct responses to individual member inquiries on all technical aspects of fresh produce safety and quality during production, processing, and handling throughout the supply chain.
• Document outcomes to ensure transparency and service consistency.
• Analyze trends in technical requests to inform the development of approaches to meet members’ food safety, quality, and other technical needs in a way that is efficient and scalable, and recommend outputs and projects based on the member inquiries data.
• Connect industry members with practical, science-based services and solutions, either at the commercial or developmental phase.
• Lead global food safety education and outreach partnerships, developing and executing a strategy that ensures training programs remain current with science, regulations, and industry needs.
• Serve as a subject matter expert, providing technical content and review for educational initiatives, with the support of the Manager, Food Safety Programs.
• Deliver training in formats assisted by modern technology and through partnerships on food safety and quality.
• Coordinate the creation and evaluation of technical resources with the education, marketing, and analytics teams to measure impact and inform continuous improvement.
• Translate research outcomes into practical tools, guidance, and communication materials for members within defined timelines.
• Advocate for the produce industry’s research needs by aligning IFPA priorities with public and private funding opportunities and championing projects that advance food safety, quality, and innovation.
• Serve as a liaison between academia, industry, and internal departments to ensure research findings inform policy, education, and advocacy initiatives.
• Leverage digital databases and AI tools for horizon scanning and evidence synthesis.
• Provide technical consultation and insight to research and service providers.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Applicants must explicitly highlight in their cover letter both their technical expertise and leadership experience/readiness to successfully complete responsibilities for this position; include 3-5 relevant impactful examples that highlight technical expertise, core competencies, and experience in leading organizational change
• D. (or comparable) degree in microbiology, public health, food science, agriculture, or related scientific field with specific course work in food microbiology is required.
• Bioinformatics/ biostatistics, genomics, molecular biology, post-harvest physiology, organic, are a plus.
• Demonstrated agility and adaptability in a fast-paced, feedback-driven environment.
• Strong self-direction and accountability for deliverables with minimal supervision.
• Excellent communication and emotional intelligence skills — ability to read context, adjust tone, and build consensus across diverse stakeholders.
• Proven ability to translate complex scientific or technical concepts into actionable guidance for non-technical audiences.
• Experience leading or contributing to multi-stakeholder projects involving industry, academia, and regulators.
• Strong conflict resolution and team leadership skills , including the ability to hold others accountable while maintaining trust.
• Familiarity with AI and data-driven systems for risk analysis, surveillance, or member resource curation (experience working with technical teams on AI projects is acceptable).
• Demonstrated success in developing business or strategic plans aligned with organizational strategy.
• Proven ability to author or oversee scientific white papers, best practice guidance, or industry standards documents .
• Technological proficiency: must be comfortable using project management systems (e.g., Wrike, Asana, or Smartsheet) and CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce); demonstrated ability to learn new digital tools quickly and integrate them into daily workflow.
• At least 10 years relevant technical and leadership experience in produce safety/quality in industry or regulatory. Academic experience alone is not sufficient for this position.
• Well versed in the hazards and risks associated with various production systems (pre-harvest, post-harvest, organic, controlled environment, etc.)
• Comprehensive understanding of the elements of produce production, handling, and distribution that impact product quality and safety, such as the role of transportation, organic production, etc.
• Familiarity with the FDA processes
• Direct experience handling recalls, outbreaks, and related crises.
• Bi or multi-lingual, especially Spanish fluency, is a plus, but not required.

Benefits

• Business related travel required, not to exceed 12 times per year