Sanitation Manager

Job Description
Sanitation Manager

Fort Lauderdale, FL - First Shift (with accountability across 2nd and 3rd shift)

Sanitation is where food safety is won or lost, and this role sits at the center of it. As Sanitation Manager, you'll own the entire sanitation program for a high-volume food manufacturing operation - setting the standard that lets production run clean, safe, and audit-ready every single day. You'll lead from first shift while directing the Supervisors who carry the program through 2nd and 3rd, building a team and a culture that treats hygiene as non-negotiable and continuous improvement as the norm.

This is a role for someone who wants ownership: of the program, the people, the outcomes, and the results that show up on the audit report.

What You'll Own

• Lead the full sanitation function across all three shifts - coverage, execution, and consistent standards from the first pre-op inspection to the last deep clean.
• Direct, coach, and develop the 2nd and 3rd shift Sanitation Supervisors and their crews, building bench strength and accountability at every level.
• Run the master sanitation schedule and pre-operational program covering production equipment, processing areas, and the surrounding facility - daily, weekly, and periodic deep cleans.
• Keep the plant continuously audit-ready for internal, customer, and third-party audits (SQF, BRC/BRCGS, or equivalent GFSI schemes), and lead the facility through them.
• Ensure full compliance with GMPs, HACCP, FSMA preventive controls, FDA requirements, and OSHA safety standards. (FSMA/FDA framing added - confirm applicable regulatory bodies with client; some facilities are USDA-regulated.)
• Partner daily with Quality, Production, and Maintenance to sequence sanitation around production schedules, changeovers, and equipment needs with minimal downtime.
• Drive measurable continuous improvement in sanitation efficiency, chemical spend, labor utilization, and hygienic/sanitary equipment design.
• Own the sanitation chemical program end to end - vendor and supplier management, inventory, titration/concentration verification, safe storage, and handling protocols.
• Support and help interpret the environmental monitoring program (EMP) and cleaning verification - ATP swabbing, pre-op pass rates, and microbiological results - to catch and correct issues before they reach product. (EMP/verification detail added from larger-org JDs - confirm scope with client.)
• Investigate deviations, non-conformances, and food safety incidents; drive root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions to closure.
• Build and maintain SOPs, SSOPs, and complete sanitation documentation that stands up to any inspector.
• Manage the sanitation department to its KPIs - MSS completion, pre-op pass rate, corrective-action closure time, chemical and labor cost - and report results to plant leadership.

What You Bring

Required

• 5+ years of sanitation leadership experience in food manufacturing.
• Proven success leading teams across a multi-shift operation.
• Strong working knowledge of food safety systems - GMPs, HACCP, SSOPs - and sanitation best practices.
• Hands-on experience supporting or leading GFSI third-party audits (SQF, BRC, or equivalent).
• A track record of driving process improvement and managing to KPIs.
• Strong leadership, communication, and people-development skills, with the credibility to set standards and hold a team to them.

Preferred / Adds Strength

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Biological Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• HACCP certification, PCQI, and/or SQF Practitioner credentials.
• Hands-on familiarity with CIP/COP systems, foaming systems, and high/low-pressure sanitation equipment.
• Experience owning or supporting an environmental monitoring / pathogen control program (e.g., Listeria control).
• Bilingual English/Spanish - a strong plus in many production environments and especially common in the South Florida labor market.