About Us:The Michigan Milk Producers Association is a dairy farmer owned cooperative and dairy processor. Founded in 1916, the MMPA serves dairy farmers in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Quality milk and dairy products begin on the farm and continue through every step at Superior Dairy. Michigan Milk Producers Association's family dairy farmers take pride in producing wholesome, nutritious milk with care and integrity. That commitment to quality carries forward as member milk is bottled and processed at Superior Dairy, MMPA's wholly owned subsidiary in Canton, Ohio. Founded in 1922, Superior Dairy honors its Great Lakes heritage while delivering trusted dairy products to customers in 44 states.
Why you'll love working here:- Competitive salary
- Health and wellness benefits with medical coverage through Blue Cross Blue Shield, including mental health benefits
- Disability insurance
- Paid time off
- Employer-matched 401(k) retirement savings plan
- Personal and professional growth opportunities
- Employee appreciation events and recognition awards
- Employee wellness initiatives
- Employee feedback and suggestion forums
Position Summary
The Sanitation Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing all sanitation programs within a dairy manufacturing and packaging facility. This role ensures compliance with food safety, quality, and regulatory requirements through the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of sanitation programs, procedures, and training initiatives. Working closely with plant and quality leadership, the Sanitation Manager drives sanitation performance, supports audit readiness, leads root cause investigations, and promotes a culture of food safety and operational excellence. This position provides leadership to a team of sanitation supervisors.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and manage all plant sanitation activities to ensure compliance with food safety, quality, regulatory, and company standards.
- Develop, implement, and maintain the facility's Master Sanitation Schedule and related documentation.
- Ensure sanitation activities are completed according to established frequencies and standards.
- Train sanitation and plant personnel on sanitation procedures, chemical handling, food safety, and regulatory requirements.
- Develop and maintain Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs).
- Partner with plant leadership, quality assurance, and quality leadership teams to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve sanitation-related issues.
- Monitor, track, and trend sanitation performance data and lead root cause investigations and corrective actions.
- Support internal, customer, regulatory, and third-party audits and inspections.
- Manage sanitation chemical inventories and maintain relationships with sanitation chemical suppliers.
- Collaborate with contracted sanitation and chemical providers to implement best practices and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Support preventive maintenance programs for critical dairy processing equipment, including pasteurizers, separators, pumps, and valves.
- Enforce GMP, food safety, sanitation, and workplace safety policies throughout the facility.
- Lead continuous improvement efforts focused on sanitation effectiveness, efficiency, and compliance.
- Travel occasionally to other MMPA facilities for training or operational support.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Required
- Minimum of 5 years of progressive sanitation experience within a food manufacturing or food processing environment, including supervisory responsibilities.
- Strong knowledge of food sanitation principles and best practices.
- Experience with Clean-In-Place (CIP), Clean-Out-of-Place (COP), and SSOP programs.
- Knowledge of food safety and regulatory requirements, including FSMA, GMPs, sanitation controls, OSHA requirements, and SSOP compliance.
- Experience leading sanitation teams and training employees.
- Strong communication, leadership, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to analyze sanitation trends, conduct root cause investigations, and implement corrective actions.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
- Demonstrated ability to lead change and engage employees in continuous improvement initiatives.
Preferred
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Animal Science, a scientific discipline, or a related field.
- Dairy manufacturing experience.
- Experience supporting regulatory, customer, or third-party food safety audits.
- Experience managing sanitation programs in a high-volume food processing environment.
- Bilingual English/Spanish communication skills.
Physical Requirements
- Regularly required to stand and walk for extended periods in a manufacturing environment.
- Frequent use of hands, arms, hearing, and verbal communication.
- Ability to reach, bend, lift, and move throughout the facility as needed.
- Routinely lift up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift up to 50 pounds.
- Ability to work in wet environments and around cleaning chemicals, steam, production equipment, and elevated platforms.
- Must be able to follow all plant safety procedures and utilize required personal protective equipment.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each responsibility satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the responsibilities.
This job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive list of responsibilities that are required of the role. Responsibilities may change at any time with or without notice.
MMPA provides the opportunity for meaningful work that makes a difference in the dairy industry and in our communities. The diverse talents and perspectives of our employees help us to meet the needs of our member farms and the customers we serve.
We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States.
MMPA is committed to maintaining a safe, healthy, and productive environment for all employees as one of our top priorities. As part of our commitment to your well-being and workplace safety, all applicants are required to undergo a drug screening and background check as part of the hiring process.
We are not accepting unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals, or rsums from third-party recruiters or staffing agencies for this position.
MMPA is an equal opportunity employer.
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