Production Manager

Position Summary

The Production Manager is responsible for leading and managing all production activities within the sweet potato processing facility. This position ensures that products are manufactured safely, efficiently, consistently, and according to customer specifications, company standards, and applicable food safety and regulatory requirements.

The Production Manager will oversee production employees and supervisors, coordinate daily production schedules, monitor operational performance, control labor and production costs, and work closely with Quality Assurance, Maintenance, Warehouse, Procurement, and Management to achieve plant objectives.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader with strong food manufacturing experience, excellent problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to build an accountable, safety-focused production team.

Key Responsibilities

Production Operations

• Manage daily production operations to meet production schedules, customer requirements, and established quality standards.

• Plan and coordinate production activities based on raw material availability, customer orders, labor requirements, equipment capacity, and scheduled maintenance.

• Monitor production lines to ensure efficient operation and minimize downtime, waste, rework, and product loss.

• Establish and monitor production goals, including throughput, yield, labor efficiency, downtime, and overall equipment effectiveness.

• Ensure proper handling, washing, sorting, grading, peeling, cutting, cooking, freezing, packaging, or other processing activities as applicable to the plant.

• Identify production bottlenecks and implement corrective actions to improve productivity and flow.

• Coordinate changeovers, sanitation activities, startup, shutdown, and line scheduling.

• Maintain accurate production records and ensure timely reporting of production results.

Food Safety & Quality

• Maintain a strong food safety culture throughout the production department.

• Ensure employees follow HACCP, GMP, SSOP, allergen-control procedures, sanitation requirements, and company food safety policies, as applicable.

• Work closely with Quality Assurance to ensure products meet specifications and regulatory requirements.

• Immediately address quality or food safety deviations and ensure appropriate corrective actions are implemented.

• Support internal, customer, regulatory, and third-party audits.

• Ensure traceability and proper identification of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished products.

• Promote proper product handling and prevent contamination, foreign material, and cross-contact risks.

Employee Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop production supervisors, leads, and hourly employees.

• Establish clear expectations for safety, quality, attendance, productivity, housekeeping, and workplace conduct.

• Ensure adequate staffing for scheduled production activities.

• Assist with recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, training, and performance management of production employees.

• Conduct regular production meetings and communicate goals, priorities, and operational issues to the team.

• Build a culture of accountability, teamwork, continuous improvement, and respect.

• Address employee performance issues consistently and in accordance with company policies.

Safety

• Maintain a safe working environment and ensure compliance with company safety procedures and applicable OSHA requirements.

• Ensure employees receive appropriate training on equipment operation, PPE, lockout/tagout, chemical handling, ergonomics, and other applicable safety procedures.

• Investigate workplace incidents and near misses and implement corrective actions.

• Conduct or participate in regular safety inspections and safety meetings.

• Promote safe equipment operation and immediately address unsafe conditions.

Maintenance & Equipment

• Partner with the Maintenance Department to minimize equipment downtime and improve equipment reliability.

• Communicate equipment issues and prioritize repairs based on production requirements and safety considerations.

• Assist with preventive maintenance planning and production scheduling around planned maintenance.

• Support installation, commissioning, and startup of new equipment and process improvements.

• Identify opportunities to improve equipment efficiency, capacity, and reliability.

Inventory, Materials & Cost Control

• Coordinate with Warehouse and Procurement to ensure adequate availability of sweet potatoes, packaging materials, ingredients, and other production supplies.

• Monitor raw material utilization, product yields, waste, and production losses.

• Help control labor, overtime, packaging, utility, and other production-related costs.

• Investigate significant yield losses, material variances, and production inefficiencies.

• Ensure proper inventory control and product movement within the production area.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify and implement opportunities to improve productivity, quality, safety, yields, and operating costs.

• Use production data and performance metrics to identify trends and root causes.

• Lead or participate in Lean Manufacturing, 5S, Kaizen, or other continuous improvement initiatives as applicable.

• Establish corrective and preventive actions and follow up to ensure effectiveness.

• Encourage employees to identify opportunities for improvement.

Key Performance Indicators

The Production Manager will be responsible for monitoring and improving metrics such as:

• Production volume and schedule attainment

• Labor efficiency and labor cost per unit

• Production yield and raw material utilization

• Product waste and rework

• Equipment downtime

• OEE / line efficiency

• Changeover time

• On-time completion of production orders

• Food safety and quality performance

• Employee safety and incident rates

• Sanitation and housekeeping performance

• Overtime utilization

• Customer complaints and quality deviations

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of progressive experience in food manufacturing or food processing.

• 2+ years of supervisory or management experience in a production environment.

• Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation, quality control, and manufacturing processes.

• Experience managing hourly production employees and production supervisors.

• Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

• Ability to work flexible hours, including nights, weekends, holidays, and extended hours when production requirements dictate.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and production reporting systems.

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Manufacturing, Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or a related field.

• Experience in vegetable, potato, sweet potato, frozen food, fresh-cut produce, or other agricultural processing.

• Experience with HACCP, SQF, BRCGS, or other recognized food safety systems.

• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience.

• Experience with ERP, MES, or computerized production management systems.

• Experience managing seasonal production and agricultural raw materials.

Physical & Work Environment

• Work is performed in both office and food-processing plant environments.

• Frequent exposure to wet, cold, hot, noisy, and fast-paced production areas.

• Ability to wear required PPE and follow all plant safety and food safety requirements.

• Ability to stand and walk throughout the facility for extended periods.

• Ability to climb stairs, access production areas, and safely navigate around processing equipment.

• Occasional lifting and movement of materials may be required.

• Schedule may vary depending on production demands, seasonal volumes, equipment issues, and customer requirements.

Leadership Expectations

The Production Manager is expected to lead by example and demonstrate:

• Safety-first decision making

• Strong accountability

• Respectful and effective employee leadership

• Attention to quality and food safety

• Data-driven decision making

• Cost awareness

• Continuous improvement

• Clear communication

• Teamwork and collaboration

• Professionalism and integrity

Compensation & Benefits

Salary: $[Range] per year, depending on experience and qualifications.

Benefits may include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) and company match

• Paid time off

• Paid holidays

• Life and disability insurance

• Performance bonus

• Employee assistance program

• [Other company benefits]

Equal Opportunity Employer

[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workplace free from unlawful discrimination and harassment. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, experience, performance, and business needs.

Note: This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees in this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications.