Team Leader

Job Summary

The Production Lead is responsible for overseeing personnel, materials, equipment, and raw material warehouse operations. This role drives performance with a strong focus on safety, quality, productivity, and on-time delivery while supporting daily production execution.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Safety & Compliance

• Promote a strong safety culture by communicating hazards, concerns, and near-miss incidents.

• Report all safety incidents promptly to the supervisor.

• Submit work orders for safety-related issues and equipment repairs.

• Ensure compliance with all Safety, GMP, Quality, and sanitation procedures.

• Support investigations and root cause analyses related to safety, quality, and process issues.

Quality & Documentation

• Raise non-conformances (NCs) for any raw material or process-related issues.

• Maintain departmental quality, sanitation, and ILVT practices.

• Randomly audit shop floor documentation to ensure completeness and accuracy.

• Reconcile label counts per process order and coordinate verification with Quality Control.

• Perform post-cleaning swabs to verify sanitation effectiveness before starting the next process order.

Operations & Workflow Control

• Control workflow to maximize capacity utilization and ensure effective use of labor, tools, and equipment.

• Distribute process orders to the team and align execution with planning strategies and sequencing.

• Continuously evaluate operational capabilities, employee skills, and resource needs.

• Keep storage areas organized; ensure pallets are properly wrapped and maintained in good condition.

• Maintain area readiness for the next shift to ensure smooth handover and continuity of production.

• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives and communicate performance gaps to the supervisor.

• Complete required reports, including packing and shift reports.

• Accurately enter and confirm process orders (POs) and finished goods locations in SAP and related spreadsheets.

Production & Team Leadership

• Lead and supervise employees during assigned shifts to meet production schedules while maintaining safety, quality, efficiency, and delivery requirements.

• Conduct a Tier 1 (T1) start-of-shift meeting to communicate safety and quality topics, production goals, targets, and other relevant updates.

• Assign daily targets and expectations to operators and material handlers and actively track performance throughout the shift.

• Manage employee break schedules and coordinate with Maintenance to support required maintenance activities.

• Act as a working lead, providing hands-on support on the floor as needed.

Job Requirements

• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment as part of a team.

• Previous manufacturing experience preferred.

• Availability to work weekends as needed to fulfill customer orders.

• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs. without difficulty.

• Ability to weigh ingredients accurately using floor scales and bench scales.

• Quick learner with the ability to identify and recommend process improvements.

• Ability to wear a full-face respirator and/or PAPR when required for handling specific materials.

• High School Diploma or GED required.

• Computer literate with the ability to navigate multiple systems, windows, and transactions.

Preferred Qualifications

• SAP knowledge and experience.

• Forklift certification or prior forklift operation experience.

We are a global leader in taste, scent, and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability.

Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more