Sanitation Manager Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• At least 7 years of progressive experience in food manufacturing sanitation, with leadership or management responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience in USDA-regulated environments.
• A track record of driving continuous improvement initiatives in sanitation, food safety, or operations.
• Strong knowledge of sanitation programs, including SSOPs, Master Sanitation Schedules, HACCP, allergen control, and environmental monitoring.
• Working knowledge of USDA and FDA sanitation and food safety requirements.
• Understanding of microbiological and chemical validation and verification methods.
• Knowledge of sanitary equipment design and wet and dry sanitation processes.
• Experience with sanitation chemicals, pest-control programs, and vendor management.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, and data tracking and reporting tools.
• Strong continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to identify gaps and implement sustainable solutions.
• Analytical, data-driven problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills across organizational levels.
• Ability to lead change and drive adoption of standardized sanitation practices.
• Strong coaching, training, and team-development skills.
• Effective cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-site environment and make sound business decisions.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Experience supporting multi-site or regional sanitation programs.
• Experience preparing for and supporting regulatory (USDA/FDA), customer, and GFSI audits, including BRC and SQF.
• Familiarity with GFSI standards, including BRC and SQF, and audit expectations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, standardization, and deployment of sanitation best practices across facilities, ensuring consistent execution and compliance.
• Drive sanitation continuous improvement initiatives using tools such as Kaizen, standard work, and root cause analysis.
• Partner with plant teams to redesign sanitation processes to reduce downtime and optimize outcomes, labor, and chemical use without compromising food safety.
• Establish and refine enterprise sanitation standards, including SSOPs, Master Sanitation Schedules, and sanitation KPIs.
• Analyze sanitation performance data and trends to identify risks, gaps, and improvement opportunities across locations.
• Lead and participate in continuous improvement events as the sanitation subject matter expert.
• Conduct sanitation audits, identify gaps, assess program effectiveness, and ensure adherence to USDA, FDA, GFSI, and internal standards.
• Provide actionable audit recommendations and follow up to ensure sustainable corrective actions.
• Support facilities preparing for USDA inspections, third-party audits such as BRC and SQF, and customer reviews.
• Partner with Quality, Operations, Maintenance, and Safety teams to integrate sanitation into operational excellence initiatives.
• Develop and deliver training for sanitation teams and plant leadership on best practices, continuous improvement tools, and regulatory requirements.
• Support environmental monitoring, allergen control, and HACCP programs through improved sanitation practices.
• Oversee sanitation-related vendor performance, including chemical and pest-control vendors, and escalate issues affecting performance or compliance.
• Mentor and support plant sanitation leadership to build capability and ownership of standardized practices.
• Communicate sanitation risks, deviations, and improvement plans to leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

Benefits

• Health benefits beginning on the first day of employment.
• Dental benefits beginning on the first day of employment.
• 401(k) benefits beginning on the first day of employment.
• Wellness benefits beginning on the first day of employment.
• Eligible for a discretionary annual incentive based on company and individual performance.