Just Cut Program Manager

POSITION SUMMARY The Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE), based in Hardwick, VT, seeks a Just Cut Program Manager for our Just Cut Team! Just Cut is CAE’s prepared-produce program which aggregates local and regional produce into ready-to-use products for institutional and bulk buyers- schools, hospitals, colleges, and community food-access partners. The Program Manager owns day-to-day operation of the program - production planning and scheduling, food safety and quality compliance, team supervision, procurement and inventory, and the record-keeping that keeps the program audit-ready and on budget. This is a hands-on role split between the office and the production floor. TO APPLY Email with your resume, cover letter or letter of interest, and include ‘Just Cut Program Manager’ in your email subject line. We’re interested to hear your thoughts on any life or work experience as it relates to this position. Applicants who go on to interview with us will also be asked to provide references. Our application deadline is November 19, 2026. Let us know if you have any questions! JOB DETAILS : Just Cut Program Manager : Food Hub Operations Manager : Hardwick, VT, 40hrs/ week--Monday-Friday, 8:00-4:00 or 9:00-5:00 : $64,000-$68,000.00 annually : Health insurance, Health savings account, Employer-paid short-term disability and life insurance, Generous Paid Time Off, SIMPLE IRA, phone stipend, professional development Minimum Required Qualifications (or equivalent combination of education and experience) 3+ years of supervisory or managerial experience in food processing, food manufacturing, or commercial food service Working knowledge of food safety systems (HACCP, GMPs, sanitation SOPs) Experience maintaining and executing a food safety plan Intermediate proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace Strong written and verbal communication skills Ability to train and support a team in maintaining program standards Willingness and ability to work on the production floor in an industrial kitchen Comfort with automated food safe production equipment SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES Production Operations (40% of time ) Plan and schedule weekly production and staffing around customer orders, time-off requests, appointments, and institutional customer breaks and academic calendars; publish the schedule and communicate changes. Oversee aggregation, preparation, packaging, palletizing, and shipment of weekly fresh and frozen orders (beets, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, etc) Manage customer orders and communications in conjunction with the production schedules Build production efficiencies to meet pricing benchmarks; monitor yields, cost of goods, and production reporting. Lead research and development of new products. Food Safety, Quality and Compliance (20% of time) Maintain the Just Cut Food Safety Plan to FDA Preventive Controls for Human Food (21 CFR 117) and third-party audit standards; lead corrective actions after audits and inspections. Keep documentation of SOPs, monitoring and verification logs, temperature and sanitation records, and corrective actions. Supervise cleaning, sanitizing, verification swabbing consistent with FDA guidance Protect the cold chain and traceability with temperature and storage standards, maintain lot and date codes and shelf-life records. Keep one-up/one-down traceability and recall readiness, and prepare for the FDA Food Traceability Rule Serve as a point of contact for third-party auditors, and state and local health inspectors, Investigate and document quality or safety irregularities Team Leadership and Supervision (10% of time) Supervise 3-4 production team members: schedule, train, monitor performance, approve timesheets each pay period, and hold regular check-ins and quarterly conversations. Maintain a safe, respectful kitchen culture and support sound work ergonomics injury prevention, and prompt incident/injury reporting. Support ongoing professional development of Just…

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