Senior Supervisor of Operations

Dog food Company

The Senior Supervisor directs day-to-day plant production and shipping under the Plant Manager. This position leads the production and shipping supervisors, turns the schedule into a staffed and executable plan, tracks results against targets, and removes obstacles before they become missed orders, excess cost, or food safety problems.

Responsibilities

• Own execution of the daily production and shipping schedules. Confirm product, sequence, labor, materials, equipment readiness, changeovers, order priorities, and expected output before startup; adjust the plan with the Plant Manager when conditions change.
• Set clear hourly and shift targets for production output, yield, labor use, downtime, quality, order completion, and shipping accuracy and timeliness. Review actual performance throughout the day, assign corrective actions, and verify recovery.
• Lead and coach production and shipping supervisors. Hold startup and handoff meetings, conduct regular floor and warehouse check-ins, follow up on commitments, remove barriers, and hold supervisors accountable for staffing, records, housekeeping, and team performance.
• Allocate people across lines based on skill, demand, and safety. Coordinate attendance coverage, training, cross-training, breaks, and overtime recommendations; document performance concerns and support fair, consistent coaching.
• Work with Maintenance on breakdowns and repeat downtime; with Jerry and Inventory on shortages and material movements; and with Shipping on order staging, load readiness, and shipment priorities.
• Enforce approved GMPs, sanitation, traceability, labeling, weight, metal detector, and other production control procedures. Stop and escalate questionable product or unsafe work. QA retains authority for product holds, disposition, and release.
• Verify that production and shipping records, counts, downtime reasons, rework, scrap, yields, shipment checks, and handoff notes are complete and accurate. Communicate daily results, constraints, and next-shift priorities to the Plant Manager.
• Drive practical improvements in line balance, changeover time, training, waste, and repeat problems. Follow corrective actions to completion and confirm that gains hold.

Requirements

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree preferred in a related field, such as Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or Business Administration.
• Minimum three years of supervisory experience in food manufacturing or a comparable high-volume plant; experience leading production and shipping teams preferred.
• Strong practical math and data skills: calculate rates, labor productivity, yield, variance, and attainment; use production trackers, spreadsheets, and written records accurately.
• Able to make sound floor decisions, coach respectfully, communicate across departments, and enforce standards. Able to repeatedly lift up to 50 pounds, stand and walk for prolonged periods, perform repetitive tasks, and work in hot and cold production areas. Comfortable working around blood, raw meat, and animal organs.