HR Junior Generalist / Specialist - Food industry

Job Description

Job Description

Mama’s Creations, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAMA) is a leading marketer and manufacturer of fresh deli prepared foods, found in over 8,500 grocery, mass, club and convenience stores nationally. The Company’s broad product portfolio, born as MamaMancini’s, from a rich history in Italian foods, now consists of a variety of high quality, fresh, clean and easy to prepare foods to address the needs of both our consumers and retailers. Our vision is to become a one-stop-shop deli solutions platform, leveraging vertical integration and a diverse family of brands to offer a wide array of prepared foods to meet the changing demands of the modern consumer. For more information, please visit 

The  People Operations Partner serves as the People Operations leader for the manufacturing facility, partnering closely with Plant Leadership to drive workforce performance, organizational effectiveness, leadership capability, employee engagement, and operational excellence. As a key member of the site leadership team, this role provides proactive consultation, coaching, and workforce development that enable business objectives while fostering a high-performing, inclusive, and engaged workforce. 

Balancing strategic partnership with hands-on execution, the People Operations Partner translates business priorities into practical people solutions that strengthen culture, improve workforce stability, enhance leadership effectiveness, and support sustainable business growth. This role serves as the primary liaison between Plant Operations and People Operations, ensuring company programs, talent initiatives, workforce strategies, and organizational changes are successfully implemented throughout the facility. 

Through a highly visible presence on the production floor, strong relationships with employees and leaders, and data-driven decision making, the People Operations Partner serves as a trusted advisor, culture champion, and change leader while reinforcing Mama's values and commitment to  Grandma Quality . 

Key Responsibilities  

Business Partnership  

• Serve as a member of the Plant Leadership Team, providing People Operations counsel that supports operational goals and business performance. 

• Partner with operations leaders to develop workforce strategies that optimize labor productivity, workforce capability, employee engagement, and organizational effectiveness. 

• Align People Operations priorities with production goals, business initiatives, and long-term workforce planning. 

• Lead the people-related aspects of organizational changes, restructuring, leadership transitions, and business initiatives while maintaining employee engagement and operational continuity. 

Workforce Planning & Organizational Effectiveness  

• Develop proactive workforce plans aligned with production forecasts, seasonal demand, growth initiatives, and succession needs. 

• Assess organizational capability, workforce structure, and talent needs while recommending improvements that support business objectives. 

• Lead workforce reviews analyzing staffing, attendance, turnover, vacancies, overtime, labor utilization, retention, and organizational health. 

• Partner with leaders to develop and execute action plans that improve workforce stability and operational performance. 

  Coaching & Talent Development  

• Coach leaders on leadership effectiveness, communication, accountability, performance management, employee engagement, conflict resolution, and organizational challenges. 

• Guide managers through employee relations issues, difficult conversations, corrective action, investigations, and performance improvement while ensuring consistency and fairness. 

• Facilitate talent reviews, succession planning discussions, and development planning to strengthen organizational capability. 

• Support career pathing, internal mobility, leadership development, and workforce training initiatives that build future talent pipelines. 

• Champion participation in Mama's University, Crafting Futures, leadership development programs, performance management, and employee recognition initiatives. 

  Employee Relations & Culture  

• Serve as the primary People Operations resource within the facility, providing guidance on employee relations, policy interpretation, and workplace practices. 

• Conduct workplace investigations and partner with leaders to resolve employee concerns while balancing legal compliance, fairness, consistency, and business needs. 

• Maintain a highly visible presence throughout the facility, building trusted relationships with employees at all levels. 

• Conduct stay interviews, pulse interviews, employee listening sessions, new hire follow-ups, and exit interviews to identify trends and improve engagement and retention. 

• Foster an inclusive, respectful, and accountable culture that reflects Mama's values and commitment to continuous improvement. 

  Talent Acquisition & Workforce Stability  

• Partner with hiring managers and the Talent Acquisition team to develop staffing strategies that support operational requirements. 

• Coordinate recruiting, onboarding, orientation, and successful new hire integration. 

• Support leaders in addressing attendance, scheduling, overtime, workforce coverage, and retention challenges. 

• Monitor workforce trends and recommend strategies that improve hiring effectiveness, retention, and employee experience. 

  Workforce Analytics & Business Insights  

• Analyze workforce metrics including staffing, turnover, absenteeism, overtime, labor utilization, retention, vacancies, engagement, productivity, training completion, and hiring effectiveness. 

• Develop weekly and monthly workforce reports that provide actionable insights and recommendations for operational leaders. 

• Use workforce analytics to identify trends, mitigate organizational risks, and improve business performance. 

• Present workforce insights and recommendations to Plant Leadership, supporting data-driven decision making. 

  Operational Excellence  

• Support payroll including working with managers to confirm labor hours, review payroll data for completeness, accuracy, and compliance prior to processing

• Support payroll and benefits issue resolution, deductions administration, and employee inquiries.

• Partner with cross-functional leaders to successfully implement People Operations initiatives, organizational changes, and special projects. 

• Reinforce compliance with employment laws, company policies, food safety, workplace safety, ethical standards, and quality expectations. 

• Promote continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to simplify processes, improve employee experience, and strengthen operational effectiveness. 

• Perform other duties as assigned. 

  Qualifications  

• 5+ years of progressive Human Resources experience with increasing business partnership responsibilities.

• Minimum 3 years supporting manufacturing, food production, distribution, warehouse, or other operational environments.

• Bilingual (English/Spanish). 

• Strong employee relations, communication, coaching, and problem-solving skills. 

• Strong business acumen with the ability to balance employee advocacy and business priorities. 

• Excellent communication, influencing, conflict resolution, and relationship-building skills. 

• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a high level of responsiveness. 

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and HRIS platforms; BambooHR experience preferred. 

• SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification preferred. 

#Business Partner