Production Manager

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At Lactalis in the USA, we're committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our people to learn, grow, and thrive-whether you're just starting your journey with us or looking to take the next step in your career. From day one, we offer the tools and support to help you succeed.

As the world leader in dairy, Lactalis is a family-owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Each day, we're proud to produce award-winning dairy products that bring people together.

In the US, we proudly offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani Italian cheeses and ricotta, President specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone's cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond cheddar, and Parmalat milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi's, Stonyfield Organic, Brown Cow, Oui, Yoplait, Go-Gurt, :ratio, Green Mountain Creamery, and Mountain High, along with a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun, Gopi, and Arz.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values-Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We foster a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone's unique background and ideas are valued.

Even if you don't meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We want to hear about your PASSION, your STORY, and how your EXPERTISE can help us shape the future of dairy.

From your PASSION to ours

Lactalis Midwest Yogurt, part of the Lactalis family of companies, is currently hiring a Production Manger based in Murfreesboro, TN. As a leader of the Production Department the Production Manager spends 60 % of his/her time on the shop floor managing the area on a daily basis to ensure Safety, Food Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery and Motivation requirements are met through effective management of front-line leaders and support functions.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Responsible for all aspects of food safety and quality as defined in plant and department procedures.
• Manage headcount, overtime, and temp employees to ensure business needs are met and within budget.
• Responsible for the department and its KPI's including Safety, Quality, Operations, Maintenance, Costs and people management.
• Effectively contribute to problem resolution by participating in and/or leading PSG efforts.
• Leads the Daily Management System in his/her area, solving daily nonconformities and elevating problems to the proper level and prioritizing short and long-term actions and completion of action plans.
• Ensure people safety through behavior-based audits and participation in the culture change for zero incidents.
• Lead initiatives to improve and sustain product quality and costs through implementation and training of standard operating procedures and standardized best practices.
• Direct team of front-line management in the department to ensure alignment through communication, direction and goal setting, results measurement, and regular feedback.
• Active involvement in the employee selection, competence development, and performance evaluation.
• Drive teamwork and motivate through results-driven activities.
• Contributes to performance vision and targets definition.
• Builds and implements processes and projects to reach predefined targets.
• Trains, coaches, and provides Problem Solving tools to the operational teams to create a culture of fact-based decision-making and analytical skills.
• Coaches Production Supervisors regarding Food Safety, Quality, Cost and Problem Solving.
• Reports results and reviews department performance as part of the Production Leadership Team on a weekly basis.
• May represent Manufacturing on teams for design review, process improvement, or special projects as assigned.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Environmental Responsibilities:

• Oversee the efficient implementation of quality standards, programs and processes to improve operational efficiencies and reduce/eliminate production waste and spoilage.
• Proactively look for ways to reduce negative impacts on the environment.

Safety Responsibilities:

• Proactively work in a safe manner in the context of performing the functions of your position.
• Ensure consistent enforcement of Safety policies including PPE use.
• Ensure appropriate safety trainings are completed and safety communications shared to employees.
• Ensure timely incident reports are filled out with details of safety incidents to aid in quicker resolution of the issues.
• Actively support employee participation in safety programs and teams and makes all necessary resources available to support those efforts on a routine basis.

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

• Education Requirement: Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing/Engineering/Business Management/Food Science.
• 3-5 years of high speed production management experience in a manufacturing environment; dairy and food experience preferred.
• Past Cell experience as a Performance Engineer or Maintenance Planner is preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
• Theoretical and practical knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement methodologies
• Able to transform discussions into practical steps; ability to solve proactical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where limited standardization exists.
• Balanced, disciplined& good at working through others.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to maintain excellent relationships and communicate with multiple levels within the organization.
• Strong leadership and time management skills.
• Strong computer skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to encourage teams to prioritize and meet deadlines within specified time constraints.
• Ability to operate in a team environment.
• Ability to adapt in a changing work environment.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to safely lift 50 lbs.
• Ability to bend and reach files and cabinets where records are stored
• Office environment repetitive motion through computer use required
• Manufacturing environment operating in areas where high noise, machinery and chemicals are present

At Lactalis, we offer a comprehensive Total Rewards Program with a variety of affordable benefits and coverage options. We support insurance costs significantly, contribute generously to retirement plans, and offer Paid Time Off from day one. We are committed to your professional growth, providing training and development opportunities, including Education Reimbursement. Join us and grow your career.

Lactalis is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities. Further, any division of the Company that is an Affirmative Action Employer will comply with all related legal obligations.