Food and Agricultural Products Center, Program Director

Campus

OSU-Stillwater

Contact Name & Email

Roy Escoubas, roy.escoubas@okstate.edu

Work Schedule

Monday through Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm with occasional evenings and weekends.

Appointment Length

Regular Continuous/Until Further Notice

Hiring Range

$85000 - $110000 Salary

Special Instructions to Applicants

For full consideration, please include a resume, cover letter and contact information for three professional references.

About this Position

ABOUT US:

For many, Oklahoma’s food and agricultural industries evoke thoughts of wheat and cattle. While that is a rich part of Oklahoma’s heritage and a significant portion of our economy, many of these commodities are currently sent to other states or even other countries for further processing into the bakery, meat, and other products that reach the consumers’ table. We strive to help develop value-added enterprises to keep the products, jobs, and dollars in Oklahoma.

For more information, visit https://food.okstste.edu/

This position involves leadership and collaboration in the Food and Agricultural Products Center (FAPC) initiatives. Key responsibilities include:

• Lead and manage research and service food microbiology and chemistry laboratories and coordinate work, data, and customer reports of completed work.
• Identify and address emerging food safety issues that impact food production including changes in processing methods, consumer preferences and regulatory frameworks.
• Lead, manage, and/or participate in competitive external and internal grants for applied food microbiology and chemistry that supports food safety, shelf-life and food quality in animal, grain, produce, tree nuts, toppings & sauces and beverage products.
• Lead, manage, and/or participate in industry food microbiology, food safety and food chemistry science-based programs in animal, grain, produce, tree nuts, toppings & sauces and beverage products.
• Lead, manage, and/or participate in internal and external workshops, and/or mentoring, training sessions and programs in food microbiology and food safety.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D./Ed.D. in Food Microbiology, Food Technology, Food Safety, Food Science, Food Chemistry, or closely related fields.
  (degree must be conferred on or before agreed upon start date)

• Four years of Food Industry, Food Safety or Food Compliance experience.

• Certifications, Registrations, and/or Licenses:

  At least one GFSI Platform Certification and an ASQ Platform HACCP Certification are required for this position.

  • BRCS Certification (GFSI)
  • SQF Certification (GFSI)
  • HACCP Certified (ASQ)

  Professional Training Accomplishments

  • Leadership Development Certification (such as provided by Wharton School of Business)
  • Technology Communications Certification (such as provided by the National Science Policy Network and George Mason University)
• Skills, Proficiencies, and/or Knowledge:

  Ability to:

  • Engage and develop relationships with stakeholders, including academia, government and industry across all levels- from line manufacturing to senior management.
  • Have a thorough understanding of food microbiology, food law, inspection regulations, and regulatory agency compliance.
  • Have a thorough and working understanding of food chemistry, the logic of reactions and interactions between foods and ingredients, and the ability to plan and oversee focused and diverse projects.
  • Proven record of applied research in microbial food safety and food chemistry, with practical applications in manufacturing environments.
  • Demonstrated experience managing multi-stakeholder scientific projects.
  • Interpret customer specifications and apply microbiological and chemical principles to real-world production challenges.
  • Identify and resolve issues in food microbiology and chemistry through innovative, science-based solutions. Strong computer and word processing skills.
  • Communicate scientific findings through technical reports, final project summaries and peer-reviewed publications on food safety and quality.
  • Strong ability for oral expression, verbal defense of findings, and defense of actions.
  • Mentor and supervise undergraduate and graduate students, fostering skill development and ensuring progress toward research goals.
  • Engage with regulatory agencies, industry stakeholders and academic partners to understand current and evolving food safety regulations.
  • Strong experience with managing operating and program budgets.
  • Experience in developing and implementing strategic plans that align with organizational and program goals.
  • Apply multidisciplinary approach to address complex microbial food safety challenges and develop practical and innovative solutions to improve food safety.
  • Strong science communication with experience translating research findings into outreach tools such as fact sheets, guidance documents, infographics and opinion editorials.

  Demonstrated Technical Ability to:

  • Bridge food microbiology knowledge and current literature research with practical food industry applications.
  • Lead food industry applied food safety programs in alliance with USDA, FDA, and CDC.
  • Coordinate applied food safety work across multiple Federal Agencies

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D./Ed.D.

  Ability to: Those noted above, but including

  • Assist food industry clients create safe food manufacturing standard operating procedures (SOPs).
  • Assist food industry clients with in-plant QC programs and potential expansion plans related to food safety and Agency compliance.
  • Write, capture and carry out funded applied research that supports a safe food chain.
  • Be a thought leader by organizing, moderating and/or presenting in local or national scientific meetings.
  • Organize, manage and/or participate in virtual webinars or dialogues for knowledge mobilization.
  • Active engagement in professional organizations and mentoring roles