Senior Production Supervisor

Senior Production Supervisor

The Senior Production Supervisor provides leadership and oversight of daily production operations to ensure safety, quality, compliance, and efficiency expectations are consistently achieved. This position directs shift activities, communicates production priorities, monitors line performance, audits documentation, and maintains accurate awareness of all active lines and batches. The supervisor is responsible for coaching employees, enforcing accountability, verifying training compliance, promptly escalating operational or performance issues, and adapting effectively to schedule changes. Through visible floor presence, clear communication, sound decision-making, and leadership by example, the Senior Production Supervisor promotes a collaborative work environment and ensures operations are conducted in accordance with established procedures, company standards, and regulatory requirements.

The Senior Production Supervisor has the authority to direct and coordinate daily production activities, assign personnel, enforce company policies and procedures, address performance and behavioral concerns, and take immediate action to maintain safety, quality, compliance, and operational effectiveness within the department. The position is responsible for ensuring adherence to regulatory and company requirements, escalating significant operational or personnel issues as needed, and making day-to-day decisions necessary to achieve production objectives and support continuous improvement initiatives.

Accountability - Responsibilities - % of Time

• Floor Operations - Maintain continuous floor presence by routinely monitoring all active production lines to ensure operational targets, staffing requirements, and production schedules are achieved. Provide real-time direction and support to supervisors, team leads, and operators to quickly resolve operational issues and minimize downtime. Ensure line status, throughput, and batch progress are accurately tracked, communicated, and escalated when performance gaps are identified. Verify production documentation, logbooks, and batch records are completed accurately and contemporaneously. Hold team members accountable for meeting productivity, attendance, and performance expectations while fostering a culture of ownership and accountability. - 60%
• Quality Events - Lead the immediate response, investigation, and documentation of deviations, non-conformances, complaints, and other quality-related events. Ensure quality events are thoroughly investigated with documented root cause analysis and effective corrective actions. Coordinate cross-functional resources to support timely closure of investigations and implementation of corrective actions. Monitor trends in quality events and proactively identify opportunities to reduce recurrence through process improvements. Promote a quality-first culture by ensuring all personnel understand and adhere to established quality standards and procedures. - 10%
• Process Improvement - Identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, productivity, efficiency, and cost performance within production operations. Lead continuous improvement initiatives utilizing operational metrics, performance data, and employee feedback. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to evaluate, develop, and implement process enhancements and best practices. Measure and communicate the effectiveness of improvement initiatives through established performance indicators. Drive a culture of operational excellence by encouraging innovation, problem-solving, and employee engagement in process improvement activities. - 30%
• Compliance - Ensure all operations are conducted in accordance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), company procedures, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations. Maintain departmental readiness for internal audits, customer audits, and regulatory inspections. Verify employees are appropriately trained and qualified prior to performing assigned job duties. Ensure all production documentation is complete, accurate, and maintained in accordance with data integrity requirements. Address compliance risks promptly and escalate significant issues to management and Quality as appropriate. - continuous
• Safety - Promote and maintain a culture where safety is the highest operational priority and safe work practices are consistently followed. Ensure all employees comply with safety policies, procedures, PPE requirements, and hazard-control measures. Lead incident reporting, investigations, and corrective actions to prevent recurrence of workplace injuries and safety events. Conduct routine safety observations and audits to identify and eliminate unsafe conditions and behaviors. Hold employees accountable for maintaining a safe work environment while actively supporting continuous improvement in safety performance. - continuous

Education & Experience - Minimal acceptable level of education, work experience and certifications required for the job

Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related field, or equivalent experience. Minimum of 5 years of progressive leadership experience in pharmaceutical, animal health, or regulated manufacturing environments. Strong working knowledge of cGMPs, safety regulations, and quality systems in a non-sterile manufacturing environment. Proven experience leading manufacturing and/or packaging teams. Experience in a contract manufacturing (CDMO) environment. Experience with liquid manufacturing and packaging operations. Lean manufacturing or continuous improvement experience.

Knowledge & Technical Expertise - Proficiency in a body of information required for the job e.g. knowledge of FDA regulations, GMP/GLP/GCP, Lean Manufacturing, Six-Sigma, etc.

Demonstrates advanced knowledge of pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging operations, including batch record execution, production scheduling, equipment utilization, and operational workflow management. Possesses a thorough understanding of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), FDA regulations, data integrity principles, and company standard operating procedures. Maintains expertise in quality systems, including deviations, investigations, CAPAs, change controls, non-conformance management, and audit readiness. Utilizes production metrics, throughput data, OEE, labor efficiency, and performance indicators to drive operational decision-making and continuous improvement initiatives. Demonstrates strong technical proficiency with manufacturing equipment, packaging systems, computerized systems, and production documentation requirements. Applies root cause analysis, risk assessment, and structured problem-solving methodologies to identify, investigate, and resolve operational and quality-related issues. Maintains a working knowledge of safety regulations, hazard identification, incident investigation processes, and risk mitigation strategies to ensure a safe work environment. Effectively trains, coaches, and develops supervisors, team leads, and operators by leveraging technical expertise, regulatory knowledge, and operational best practices to improve workforce capability and performance.

Skills & Abilities - Often referred to as “competencies”, leadership attributes, skills, abilities or behaviors that may be enterprise, functional or job specific e.g. coaching, negotiation, calibration, technical writing etc.

Strong leadership and team development skills with the ability to motivate employees, drive accountability, and foster a culture of engagement, performance, and continuous improvement. Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate expectations, priorities, and operational updates across all levels of the organization. Proven problem-solving and decision-making abilities with the capacity to analyze complex situations, identify root causes, and implement effective solutions in a timely manner. Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, adapt to changing business needs, and consistently meet production objectives. Ability to effectively influence cross-functional teams, manage conflict professionally, and lead through change while maintaining a focus on safety, quality, compliance, and operational excellence.

Physical Requirements - Physical & mental requirements e.g. lift 40 pounds, walk across plant/warehouse, business travel (% of time), driving as part of work responsibilities, etc.

Occasionally required to reach with hands and arms; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include color vision. Occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications. Management reserves the right to change or modify such duties as required.

Monday - Thursday 5:00am - 3:30pm Mandatory Fridays as needed