Sanitation Manager

Decko Products•Sandusky, OH

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Sanitation Manager leads and continually improves the facility’s sanitation program to ensure equipment, production areas, and supporting spaces are clean, sanitary, and ready for safe food production. This role provides leadership and oversight of sanitation activities, including internal sanitation personnel and sanitation service providers. The Sanitation Manager works closely with Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA), Operations, Maintenance, and Engineering to ensure sanitation practices meet company standards, customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and applicable GFSI/SQF standards. The position is responsible for maintaining an effective, compliant, and audit-ready sanitation program while driving continuous improvement in sanitation effectiveness, safety, and operational performance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Biology, Chemistry, or a related field required.
Minimum 3–5 years of sanitation experience in a food manufacturing environment, including supervisory or management experience.
PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual) certification required.
Strong leadership, accountability, coaching, and team-development skills.
Working knowledge of FDA regulations, including 21 CFR Part 117, and applicable OSHA standards.
Experience supporting regulatory and SQF/GFSI audits.
Strong problem-solving, root cause analysis, and decision-making skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, schedules, documentation, and sanitation activities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
Ability to effectively collaborate with FSQA, Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, and other cross-functional teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a facility operating under SQF or another GFSI-benchmarked food safety standard.
Familiarity with organic, gluten-free, and RSPO certification requirements.
Experience managing both internal sanitation employees and third-party sanitation service providers.
Experience with environmental pathogen investigations, corrective actions, and sanitation-related root cause analysis.
Experience developing or improving sanitation programs, SSOPs, MSS programs, and sanitation verification processes.
Experience in an FDA-regulated food manufacturing environment.
Experience with sanitation chemical management and chemical supplier relationships.
Demonstrated ability to identify process improvements and improve sanitation effectiveness and efficiency.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to food safety, quality, and employee safety.

Responsibilities

Lead, manage, and continually improve the facility’s sanitation program to ensure equipment, production areas, and supporting spaces meet established sanitation and food safety standards.
Establish, implement, and maintain sanitation procedures, work instructions, and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs).
Manage the facility’s Master Sanitation Schedule (MSS) and ensure required sanitation activities are completed, verified, and properly documented.
Lead, coach, train, and develop sanitation personnel, including ensuring employees understand and follow sanitation, food safety, chemical handling, and safety requirements.
Ensure sanitation activities are performed safely and in accordance with company policies, regulatory requirements, and approved procedures.
Partner with FSQA to ensure equipment and production areas are properly cleaned and ready for pre-operational inspection and production.
Support the facility’s Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) in partnership with FSQA, including sanitation response, investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective actions related to environmental pathogen or indicator organism findings.
Manage sanitation chemical usage, storage, inventory, and application to ensure chemicals are used safely and in accordance with manufacturer instructions and facility procedures.
Monitor sanitation performance and identify opportunities to improve cleaning effectiveness, efficiency, safety, and compliance.
Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, and FSQA to address sanitation-related equipment, facility, production, and food safety concerns.
Ensure sanitation records and documentation are accurate, complete, and maintained in accordance with company and regulatory requirements.
Lead sanitation readiness for regulatory, customer, and third-party audits, including maintaining required programs, records, and documentation.
Investigate sanitation deficiencies and recurring issues and implement or support corrective and preventive actions.
Manage and monitor third-party sanitation service providers, as applicable, to ensure services meet company standards and expectations.
Ensure sanitation equipment, tools, and supplies are properly maintained, available, and suitable for use.