Purpose of the Position

• Primary (Program Leadership & Compliance Oversight
  Execute Inspire’s enterprise safety programs across brands, governing third‑party assessment strategy, calibration, data capture, reporting, and analytics. Drive risk reduction and continuous improvement through clear KPIs, standardized processes, and cross‑functional coordination.
• Secondary (Technical Services & Design Enablement
  Provide technical safety guidance for menu innovation support, restaurant layout, equipment, and smallwares, embedding sanitary design and regulatory requirements into stage‑gate decisions.
• Tertiary (Crisis Readiness, Regulatory Liaison & Culture
• Strengthen organizational safety culture and crisis readiness.  Serve as liaison to support Brand Crisis Teams and incident response.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Governance & Auditing

• Manage the 3rd‑party assessment program end‑to‑end: vendor management, capability assessment, calibration to brand standards, methodology updates, and SLA/KPI management; integrate digital solutions for real‑time compliance monitoring.

• Establish audit frameworks for operations safety checks and health department inspection follow‑up; ensure corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) are documented, trended, and closed in a timely manner.
• Develop enterprise dashboards for safety metrics (e.g., audit closure rate, training and calibration, training completion, equipment sanitation non‑conformance trends)

Risk Management & Regulatory Alignment

• Align Inspire programs to the latest version of FDA Food Code for retail food protection/OSHA; ensure consistency across brands.

Technical Services & Design Enablement

• Provide sanitary design support for new equipment and layouts; reference NSF/ANSI food equipment standards and hygienic design guidance; partner with design, engineering, equipment innovation, facilities/supply chain to ensure certified equipment selections.
• Review smallwares and utensils for cleanability and durability; incorporate equipment acceptance criteria and commissioning checks referencing applicable standards.

Incident Response, Health Department & Crisis

• At the Inspire level, support the triage of enterprise-wide food safety complaints and illness allegations; coordinate root‑cause analysis, CAPA, and communication with health authorities; support crisis management exercises and post‑incident learning cycles.
• Primary liaison between Inspire safety and supporting teams to ensure consistent and up to date standards related to local/state/federal changes.

Communications & Culture

• Maintain safety content including the publishing of alerts and monthly topics to reinforce culture.  
• Contribute technical guidance to brand publications; lead campaign(s) that make risk controls visible and actionable in restaurants and throughout the enterprise.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Food Safety, Microbiology, Biology, Culinary Science or related field.
• CP‑FS (NEHA) credential for retail food safety expertise; widespread corporate preference.
• Preferred familiarity with GFSI programs and auditor calibration methods.
• 5+ years in retail food safety/FSQA/regulatory/auditing; multi‑brand or multi‑site governance experience strongly preferred.
• Experience leading third‑party audit programs, health department relations, and crisis/illness allegation response.
• Hands‑on knowledge of restaurant operations, equipment, sanitation, and design review for safety; familiarity with NSF/ANSI.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and analytics tools (Excel, Power BI, SharePoint, Teams) for dashboarding and program management.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS or ABILITIES

• Strong HACCP/FSMA risk‑based thinking; root‑cause analysis; CAPA leadership.
• Ability to foster cross‑functional collaboration and a positive food safety culture; clear written/verbal communication; effective public speaking.
• Sound judgment with autonomy to recommend policy/process changes; ability to travel.

 

Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,000 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide.

We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.