Job Purpose: Under the direction of the VP of Operations, the Production Manager is responsible for planning, organizing and control production in an organization to ensure that goods are produced efficiently, on time, within budget and to standard. Responsible for team development, meeting department KPI’s and ensuring a positive culture of safety and engagement.

Essential Functions include the following:

Main Job Tasks and Responsibilities

• Plan, implement and control production schedule for the job, make adjustments as needed to both material and human resources to complete the job and meet production targets.
• Partners with HR, Training and Safety leaders to manage selection and development of team members, ensure employee engagement, proactively address employee concerns and maintain a positive plant culture.
• Make decisions about appropriate equipment use, maintenance, modification and procurement.
• Establish and implement standard operating procedures (SOP’s) for production operations, and ensure that they are adhered to.
• Ensure implementation and adherence to GMP’s and health and safety procedures
• Set product quality standards, implement and enforce quality control and tracking programs to meet quality objectives.
• Monitor quality standards of products.
• Analyze production and quality control KPI’s to detect and correct problems.
• Determine and implement improvements to the production process.
• Prepare and maintain production reports.
• Build critical KPI’s and manage the team to drive continuous improvement.
• Monitor and review the performance of staff and coach for improvement.
• Estimate production costs, establish and manage production budgets, and implement cost control programs as necessary.
• Ensure efficient collaboration and co-ordination between relevant departments including procurement, distribution and management

• Associate's Degree and 5+ years relevant work experience, ideally in the food or pet food industry or a combination of education and experience.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) strongly preferred.
• Excellent knowledge of sanitary design, sanitation and pest management in food processing.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal).
• Excellent understanding of food safety.
• Excellent understanding of microbiological organisms and their impact on process, design, sanitary design and sanitation.
• Previous experience with government regulatory requirements in the processing of food.
• Strong planning and organizational skills required
• Strong continuous improvement mindset
• Management skills: demonstrate leadership by influencing others in implementing sanitation programs through effective communication, individual technical knowledge, and training
• The person in this position is committed to assuring that Stella & Chewy’s, LLC produces safe, legal and wholesome pet food products that meet our consumer’s expectations.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the person occupying this position. You may be required to perform other job-related duties as requested by Management.