Production Manager

Production Manager

Position Summary

We are seeking an energetic and dynamic Production Manager to join our team! The Production Manager is pivotal in driving operational success by exceeding standard KPI’s, exceeding food safety & quality standards, fostering people development, and maintaining regulatory compliance (FDA, HACCP, OSHA, etc.). The Production Manager will drive compliance of programs and policies, through accountability measures and oversight. The Production Manager will ensure industry best practices by leading continuous improvement initiatives and promoting a safe and positive work environment for employees.

Required Qualifications

• A minimum of five years of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience in food manufacturing is preferred.
• B.S. or B.A. degree in business management or relevant fields is preferred.
• At least five years of prior experience in FDA and HACCP processes is preferred.

Desired Qualifications

• A minimum of three years of related USDA experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience in food manufacturing is preferred.
• Knowledge and aptitude of Sanitation and Environmental programs.

• Knowledge of LOTO (lock out tag out) and safety guidelines.

• Experience conducting regular inspections and audits (SQF) to ensure compliance with food safety standards.

• Knowledge and aptitude of operating budgets and concepts.
• Strong supervisory, administrative and employee relations skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Sound understanding of retail operations.
• Strong computer skills (Outlook, Excel, Word).
• Sound judgment, decision making, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience leading a large group of employees and ability to motivate.
• Ability to respond to continually changing priorities and coordinate multiple projects.
• Ability to work closely with internal and external customers.
• Ability to comply with FDA, OSHA, and all other regulatory agencies.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills with demonstrated multi-tasking and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for daily and timely startup of the plant.

• Oversees production and sanitation processes to meet company and customer standards, while ensuring compliance of regulations, programs, and policies.
• Ensures “Safety First” is always practiced and observes and adheres to all job safety rules.
• Ensures the safety of all employees operating equipment through proper training on procedures, enforcement of safety rules, enforcement of proper documentation, and overall departmental safety.
• Maintains FDA, HACCP, and food safety and quality standards, including participating in any required audits and/or inspections.
• Assures regulatory compliance, including, but not limited to FDA, HACCP, OSHA, etc.
• Responsible for efficient and effective execution of production schedules, to optimize productivity.
• Oversees entire production cycle and its various stages, from the receipt of raw materials into production area to completing finished product while following sanitation processes and meeting FSQA requirements.
• Leads and trains staff on food safety procedures and protocols to be audit ready.

• Collaborates with management and staff to identify potential food safety risks and solutions.

• Responds to food safety incidents and coordinates corrective actions.

• Drives continuous improvement initiatives to enhance production performance and to ensure company’s processes are most efficient and innovative.
• Prepares and reports on standard KPI’s, while monitoring productivity data and helping develop corrective action plans when necessary to achieve productivity improvements. Strives to exceed KPI standards on a daily basis.
• Utilizes data and root-cause analysis to resolve operational and maintenance issues to prevent operational delays.
• Collaborates cross-departmentally, acting as a liaison between production, warehouse, planning, purchasing, sales, and HR, to ensure production goals are met through effective resource management.
• Develops and mentor’s department leadership and employees, fostering a skilled and engaged team.
• Communicates performance standards to team members, recognizing and rewarding individual and team accomplishments, and addressing individual performance opportunities.
• Demonstrates positive leadership by motivating and creating a positive work environment for the production team, encouraging open communication, trust, accountability, and collaboration across all levels.
• Achieves forecasted costs and percentages as expected by leadership team, by developing and implementing strategies for cost savings, waste reduction, and optimization.
• Responsible for equipment and people performance including efficiencies, losses, waste, and yields.
• Encourages employee cross-training and development, to drive constant improvement.
• Provides coverage for production supervisors as needed.
• Must be able and willing to work night and weekends when needed.
• Performs additional duties as requested to meet business needs.

Physical Requirements/ Environment

• While performing the duties of this job, the team member is regularly required to talk and hear.
• The team member is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, and use their hands and fingers to handle or feel and reach with hands and arms.
• The team member must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
• Must be able to stand for long periods of time and take frequent walks.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Latitude 36 Foods is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we take great pride in our diverse and talented workforce.  We are looking for diversity in candidates for employment.  We recognize that our continued success depends largely on the collective strengths of our associates.