On-Farm Food Safety Auditor - Southern Okanagan

Looking for an exciting new opportunity to jump start your career? BC Tree Fruits Cooperative is seeking hard-working On-Farm Food Safety Auditors to join our team for the season.

Why Work with BC Tree Fruits?

Agriculture has been foundational to the development of the Okanagan Valley and at BC Tree Fruits, we want to continue that legacy as the Valley grows and evolves. BC Tree Fruits has been bringing the communities of the Okanagan Valley together with our delicious, top of the line fruits since 1936, something we will continue to do for decades to come. The BC Tree Fruits Cooperative is owned by fruit growers throughout the entire Okanagan Valley, employs approximately 500 employees, and operates multiple facilities. Our 300 plus LOCAL grower families work together in the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative as part of a larger community. Each grower nurtures their orchards to create the best possible fruit, and by supporting our growers we get to watch the local agriculture COMMUNITY thrive.

Throughout our 85 years in the business, a lot has changed but people’s love for FRESH local Okanagan Fruit is not one of them! The BC Tree Fruits Cooperative is ‘turning a new leaf’ and is ready to take on the challenges and opportunities of our ever-evolving industry. New technologies have allowed for fruit to be in season all year long, making our business more stable and reliable than ever. As we learnt this past year, certain things are essential, and others are not. Our business at BC Tree Fruits is essential and we need devoted and passionate people to join our team. So if fresh, local, and community driven are important values to you, we would encourage you to consider a career at BC Tree Fruits.

The On-Farm Food Safety Auditor will be responsible for conducting internal audits to verify compliance with the BCTF On-Farm Food Safety (OFFS) Program and will report directly to the Food Safety Manager. This is a temporary 5-6 month seasonal position that will run from beginning of May until end of October or early November.

The Job:

• Conduct internal Food Safety audits and follow up on pending sanctions as described in the OFFS Group Management System Manual
• Participate in shadow audits by OFFS Coordinator and Food Safety Manager to ensure high level of consistency and integrity
• Support the OFFS Coordinator and Food Safety Manager in the implementation and maintenance of the OFFS Group Management System and administrative duties and ensure that documents are completed professionally with a high degree of due diligence
• Collect and submit completed Corrective Actions Report for closure of pending sanctions in a timely manner
• Report grower status in audits, deficiencies, and any changes to grower’s operations through proper reporting structure
• Daily/weekly reporting to supervisor

The Ideal Candidate:

• 2 years post-secondary studies in an agricultural related field and/or orchard experience is an asset
• CanadaGAP auditor and HACCP training (provided) both with a minimum passing grade of 80%
• Must pass a one day practical inspection/auditing skills course setting out basic principles of inspection/auditing.
• Must complete and pass one shadow audit and one witness audit
• Auditing experience is an asset
• Possess a valid license and reliable transportation as travel is required
• Solid verbal and written communication skills
• Advanced planning and organizational skills
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Respectfully able to work with all types of people with different personalities, cultures, and customs

Wage structure:

$25/hour for training

Once auditing starts:

$150 for 1 lot

$180 for 2-3 Lots

$210 for 4+ Lots

$60 re-audit

$25.00/hour for travel hours outside of home location plus mileage

Mileage Rates:68¢ per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres driven. 62¢ per kilometre driven after that

We are also implementing a bonus of 20% of total earnings providing you are available to work through the entire harvest season (May to November)

The position requires travel throughout the Southern Okanagan - Oliver, Osoyoos, Keremeos, Cawston and Creston.

BC Tree Fruits thanks all applicants for their interest. Please note that only those under consideration for the position will be contacted. Visit www.bctreefruits.com for more information on the cooperative and future employment opportunities.