Sanitation Manager

About Sun Opta

Sun Opta delivers customized supply chain solutions and innovation for top brands, retailers, and food service providers across a broad portfolio of beverages, broths, and better-for-you snacks. With over 50 years of expertise, Sun Opta fuels customers’ growth with high-quality, sustainability-forward solutions distributed through retail, club, food service, and e-commerce channels across North America.

The Sanitation Manager will ensure the effectiveness of the cleaning and sanitation program to maintain an appropriate environment for the manufacture of safe products at our Midlothian, TX facility. This role will coordinate Sanitation team activities and ensure teams have the tools, equipment and materials so that cleaning, sanitization, and pest control processes at the plant are done well the first time.

The manager will also own sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOP’s) to ensure the safety and quality of our products while complying with and maintaining the safety, health and environmental requirements applicable to this position.

• Responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of the sanitation program.
• Ensure that all equipment and environmental surfaces are cleaned per SSOP, according to the cleaning record schedule, and using approved chemicals.
• Lead and train all levels of employees on pre-operational inspections of equipment
• Direct sanitation employee activities and establish priorities for cleaning in keeping with effective operation and cleaning schedule
• Ensure safe handling of chemicals and use of approved chemicals, including obtaining Safety Data Sheets.
• Own, review, and create action plans when nonconformances associated with cleaning activities occur.
• Identify challenges/concerns/solutions and communicate corrective actions.
• Responsible for preparing and maintaining all requisite documentation for successful implementation of SQF as it pertains to sanitation and related activities. Including the documents related to: HACCP, SSOP’s, and GMP’s that touch the area of sanitation.
• Responsible for deploying all sanitation department assets in an efficient and safe manner to ensure best in class performance in all sanitation-related internal and external audits.
• Prepare, implement, and audit the Master sanitation schedule to effectively address all equipment and facility cleanliness and suitability to food preparation and manufacture activities.
• Responsible for the selection and usage of appropriate chemicals, dispensing devices and allied equipment, including managing cost benefits aspects.
• Works with third party service providers (such as chemical providers and sanitation consultants) to troubleshoot sanitation issues and drive cost savings.
• Calibrate and clean equipment to ensure results are correct.
• Lead facility CIP validations according to schedule.
• Assist with investigations, troubleshooting, and program review related to incident management.
• Ensure effective safety procedures, tools and record keeping are managed through site leadership.
• Adheres to company GMP’s (good manufacturing practices), safety procedures, and all other quality processes.
• Wear and govern use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) when required.
• All other duties as assigned.

• Responsible for the overall direction, coordination, management, and evaluation of the sanitation team.
• Provide employee coaching and development for team members, if applicable.

• 5+ years of work experience in a Sanitation Leadership role, three years as a HACCP Certified Sanitation Manager for a food manufacturing facility.
• QA related experience in a high-speed automated Consumer Goods manufacturing environment preferred (e.g. production of food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and/or household goods)
• B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Food Science, Microbiology or related field or equivalent related experience.

• Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) Certification
• SQF Certification
• Preventive Control Qualified Individual (PCQI) Certification

• Basic knowledge…