Manager, Retail Food Safety

Brand:

Bagel Brands is the parent company for your favorite breakfast brands, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Bruegger's Bagels, Noah's NY Bagels, and Manhattan Bagel. We believe in the bagel and how it has the unique ability to bring people together. Our team has a standard set of values and behaviors that allow us to spread a little more joy and happiness in the world. They let us laugh, smile, and enjoy each other's company a little more. These are the behaviors that guide how we work, how we treat each other, and how we treat our guests. We believe that there is no better way to make someone's day than with a warm, fresh-baked bagel and a heart-felt good morning.

POSITION MISSION

The Manager, Retail Food Safety is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining food safety and sanitation systems across all retail bakery locations of Bagel Brands. This role ensures compliance with federal, state and local food safety regulations, internal brand standards, and best-in-class QSR practices. The manager drives a culture of food safety and guest trust, supports training and development of store leadership, and serves as a strategic partner to operations in risk mitigation, audit readiness, and continuous improvement.

Please Note: The range provided below encompasses a wide range of Bagel Brands roles. The specific salary range for this role is:

• Department: Store Operations
• Base Salary Range: $100,000-$120,000 annually
• Bonus: 15% annual incentive target
• Compensation is based on experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

Food Safety Systems & Compliance

• Own the development, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the company's retail HACCP plans and food safety systems for all brands.
• Conduct annual HACCP reviews and training; implement plan edits as required by health department updates, new product introductions, or supplier-driven changes.
• Partner closely with QA and Supply Chain to ensure alignment during product launches, LTOs, or vendor transitions that impact HACCP documentation or food safety controls.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of applicable food safety regulations and ensure bakery operations are audit-ready at all times.
• Lead internal audits and inspections of retail sites, manage findings and corrective actions, and verify closure within expected timelines.

Training & Culture

• Design and deliver food safety training programs for store management, shift leaders and team members-including onboarding, refreshers, certification (e.g., Certified Food Protection Manager) and support documentation.
• Act as a change-agent to build and sustain a food safety culture across retail operations: engaging store teams, promoting ownership of food safety behaviors, and recognizing/communicating best practices.
• Coach and support Store General Managers and Assistant GMs to embed food safety into day-to-day behavior (daily log reviews, temperature checks, sanitation rounding, allergen controls).
• Serve as the key driver of food safety culture across retail operations by partnering with field leaders to embed proactive behaviors, continuous learning, and accountability into daily operations.

Operational Partnership & Risk Management

• Partner with Operations leadership to ensure food safety is integrated into all aspects of bakery operations, including training, audits, and sanitation practices.
• Collaborate with QA and Supply Chain to align on vendor and supplier food safety requirements; oversee bakery-level service vendors (e.g., sanitation and audit vendors such as Ecosure).
• Support the company's recall and product withdrawal processes in coordination with the QA Director, acting as a key operational liaison during response and communication efforts.
• Contribute to root cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives following product or process incidents, ensuring timely follow-up and documentation.
• Maintain readiness for regulatory inspections, supporting the coordination of responses at the retail level.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities for process improvement, automation, digital tools (e.g., temperature sensor systems, audit software) and lead projects to improve food safety efficiency, compliance and guest trust.
• Benchmark against industry peers (QSR/retail foodservice) and bring in best practices for store sanitation, food defense, allergen controls, and audit readiness.
• Create and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions and documentation relevant to retail bakery operations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Onboarding Support

• Partner with the QA and Supply Chain teams to ensure clear alignment of responsibilities and seamless communication across departments.
• During the transition period, collaborate with existing food safety leaders to gain familiarity with current HACCP plans, audit processes, and vendor relationships before establishing independent ownership of the role.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Bachelor's degree preferred (Food Science, Public Health, Microbiology, Hospitality/Restaurant Management or related).
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive food safety, quality assurance or retail/restaurant operations experience in a multi-location environment (QSR/fast-casual preferred).
• Strong knowledge of HACCP, prerequisite programs, sanitation/GMP, allergen management, and regulatory food safety practices.
• Prior experience leading or managing food safety audits, regulatory inspections and corrective action programs.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written), able to present to senior leadership, partner cross-functionally (operations, supply chain, legal, training).
• Strong analytical skills, proficient in generating reports, tracking metrics, conducting root-cause analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to lead change, influence culture, train and develop others.
• Ability to travel regularly to retail locations (regional/national) as required; flexible schedule including early mornings, weekends if needed.
• Certifications preferred: Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM), HACCP Certified, or other ANSI/ISO accredited food safety certification.

Key Metrics of Success

• Percentage of stores passing internal and external food safety audits with high scores
• Reduction in food safety incidents (customer complaints, regulatory violations, product holds/recalls)
• Completion rate of food safety training/certification at store level
• Time-to-closure for corrective actions post-audit or inspection
• Engagement level of store teams in food safety programs (e.g., participation in rounding, reporting near-misses)
• Integration of food safety into new store openings and remodels without delays or operational issues

Working Conditions/Physical Demands:

• Office-based (head office/regional) combined with frequent retail store visits; role may involve walking, standing, bending, climbing ladders, and entering production/retail back-of-house environments.
• Occasional exposure to food production/retail equipment, cold storage, sanitation chemicals, and potential allergens.
• Travel may include overnight stays depending on region and number of locations.
• Must be able to work under periodic high pressure in incident response situations or during regulatory inspections.

The duties of this position may change from time to time. The Company reserves the right to add or delete duties and responsibilities at the discretion of the Company or its managers. This job description is intended to describe the general level of work being performed. It is not intended to be all-inclusive.

Bagel Brands is committed to providing equal employment opportunity, and fair treatment in employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender/gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, military status or any other basis in protected by applicable federal, state and local law. Bagel Brands makes employment decisions based solely on qualifications for the position.

Compensation Range:

*Starting pay is subject to Local and State Minimum Wage regulations.

**Ranges reflect what employer reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for such position.

The physical demands for this position are sits, stands, bends, lifts, and moves intermittently during working hours. These physical requirements may be accomplished with or without reasonable accommodations.

The duties of this position may change from time to time. Bagel Brands reserves the right to add or delete duties and responsibilities at the discretion of the company or its managers. This job description is intended to describe the general level of work being performed. It is not intended to be all-inclusive.

Bagel Brands is committed to providing equal employment opportunity, and fair treatment in employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender/gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, military status or any other basis in protected by applicable federal, state and local law. Bagel Brands makes employment decisions based solely on qualifications for the position.