Production Manager

Job Description The Production Manager plans, organizes, directs, and controls the plant production function across Packaging and Processing. The role translates business priorities into executable operating plans; ensures compliance with food safety, quality, safety, labor, and regulatory requirements; and owns performance across Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, People, and Sustainability. This leader is expected to understand the economics of the operation, make fact-based tradeoffs, and proactively remove barriers to performance. What Business Ownership Means in This Role: Own results, not activities: understand the drivers behind performance and close gaps with speed and discipline. Run Packaging and Processing as one integrated value stream, balancing throughput, labor, material flow, maintenance needs, quality, and customer service. Make decisions using data, plant economics, operational risk, and consumer impact. Build strong operating routines so performance is visible, abnormalities are escalated, and actions are completed on time. Develop the organization: create clear expectations, coach leaders, strengthen succession, and hold the team accountable for standards and results. Key Responsibilities: KHMS and Operating System Leadership: Lead KHMS as the way the operation is managed, not as a separate initiative. Establish and sustain Daily Management Systems, leader standard work, tiered accountability, visual management, standard work, and structured problem solving. Assess KHMS maturity across Packaging and Processing, identify priority gaps, and build a practical roadmap that strengthens capability and delivers measurable business results. Ensure KPIs, losses, actions, ownership, and due dates are clearly understood at every operating tier. Use PDCA, root-cause analysis, and loss elimination to prevent recurrence rather than repeatedly managing symptoms. Create a culture of continuous improvement in which employees identify abnormalities, solve problems at the right level, and protect standards. Safety, Food Safety, Quality, and Compliance: Own a zero-loss safety culture through visible leadership, risk identification, timely escalation, corrective action, and consistent adherence to Life Saving Rules and plant safety standards. Ensure all production activities comply with GMPs, SOPs, Kraft Heinz specifications, food safety requirements, and applicable regulatory standards. Lead operational readiness for audits and support the development, execution, and sustainment of corrective actions. Partner with Quality to reduce defects, consumer complaints, rework, holds, giveaway, and repetitive failures through robust problem solving and process control. Maintain high standards for sanitation, housekeeping, product protection, and process discipline. Operational Performance and Reliability: Own execution of the production plan across roasting/processing and packaging, delivering schedule attainment, service, throughput, yield, labor productivity, and cost targets. Lead daily and weekly operating reviews, identify the critical constraints, and ensure recovery plans are specific, resourced, and time-bound. Partner with Maintenance and Engineering to improve OEE, strengthen basic equipment care, prioritize planned maintenance, reduce chronic losses, and improve startup reliability. Optimize labor and production schedules based on demand, line capability, changeovers, maintenance requirements, material availability, and cost. Ensure effective shift handoffs, escalation, and cross-functional communication across the 24/7 operation. Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement: Apply Lean principles and tools to improve flow, eliminate waste, reduce variability, shorten changeovers, stabilize processes, and increase asset utilization. Use value-stream thinking to connect Processing, Packaging, Quality, Maintenance, Warehouse, and Supply Planning decisions. Build a prioritized loss pipeline and convert improvement opportunities …

View the full posting and apply