Sanitation Supervisor - Food Manufacturing

We are partnering with a leading food manufacturer to identify an experienced Sanitation Supervisor to oversee sanitation operations and ensure the highest standards of cleanliness, hygiene and food safety across its manufacturing facility.

This is a key frontline leadership position within a fast-paced production environment where sanitation effectiveness, regulatory compliance and product integrity are critical to operational success. The successful candidate will be responsible for supervising sanitation teams, coordinating cleaning activities and ensuring equipment, production lines and facility areas meet established sanitation standards before, during and after production.

Working closely with Production, FSQA, Maintenance and plant leadership, the Sanitation Supervisor will play a pivotal role in maintaining hygienic manufacturing conditions, preventing contamination risks and supporting consistent production performance.

The business is seeking a proactive, hands-on leader who can develop sanitation personnel, strengthen cleaning procedures and drive a culture of accountability, food safety and continuous improvement across the facility.

Key Responsibilities

• Sanitation Leadership: Supervise daily sanitation activities, ensuring production equipment, processing lines and facility areas are cleaned and sanitized to the required standards.

• Team Management: Lead, coach and develop sanitation employees, team leads and cleaning personnel, promoting accountability, engagement and strong performance.

• Sanitation Programs: Implement and maintain sanitation procedures, Master Sanitation Schedules and cleaning frequencies in line with operational and food safety requirements.

• Pre-Operational Inspections: Coordinate and verify pre-operational sanitation inspections, ensuring equipment and production areas meet required standards before production begins.

• Food Safety & Hygiene: Ensure sanitation activities support food safety programs, GMPs, HACCP prerequisite programs and applicable regulatory requirements.

• Chemical Management: Oversee the safe handling, dilution, storage and use of cleaning chemicals, ensuring compliance with established procedures and safety requirements.

• Environmental & Microbiological Controls: Partner with FSQA to support environmental monitoring, investigate sanitation-related positives and implement appropriate corrective actions.

• Cleaning Effectiveness: Verify the effectiveness of cleaning and sanitizing procedures through inspections, testing and documented verification activities.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with FSQA, Production and Maintenance teams to resolve sanitation issues, address equipment access challenges and maintain hygienic operating conditions.

• Labor & Resource Planning: Coordinate staffing, shift schedules, sanitation assignments and resources to ensure cleaning activities are completed within required timeframes.

• Regulatory Compliance: Maintain compliance with applicable USDA-FSIS, FDA, OSHA and other relevant requirements, depending on the facility and product classification.

• Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities to improve sanitation effectiveness, reduce cleaning time, optimize chemical usage and strengthen operational efficiency.

• Corrective Actions: Investigate sanitation failures, recurring deficiencies and inspection findings, implementing corrective and preventive actions to prevent recurrence.

• Equipment & Facility Care: Ensure sanitation personnel properly clean and protect processing equipment, production infrastructure and facility surfaces.

• Documentation & Reporting: Maintain accurate sanitation records, chemical usage logs, inspection reports, cleaning verification records and other required documentation.

• Safety Management: Enforce workplace safety procedures, including chemical handling, PPE requirements, confined-space protocols where applicable and safe equipment-cleaning practices.

• Audit Readiness: Support internal, customer and third-party audits, ensuring sanitation programs are documented, effective and consistently followed.

• Performance Monitoring: Track sanitation KPIs, including pre-operational pass rates, sanitation completion, audit findings, repeat deficiencies and labor efficiency.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be an experienced sanitation professional with a strong background in food manufacturing and a proven ability to lead cleaning teams within a regulated production environment.

Key requirements include:

• Previous experience in a Sanitation Supervisor or similar sanitation leadership role within food manufacturing.

• Experience in protein, meat, poultry, seafood, dairy or other high-volume food manufacturing environments would be highly advantageous.

• Strong understanding of industrial sanitation, cleaning and sanitizing procedures, GMPs and food safety requirements.

• Experience managing sanitation teams across production shifts, including overnight or pre-operational cleaning where applicable.

• Knowledge of sanitation chemicals, chemical safety, cleaning equipment and hygienic manufacturing practices.

• Experience coordinating pre-operational inspections and resolving sanitation deficiencies before production startup.

• Familiarity with environmental monitoring, microbiological testing and sanitation-related corrective actions.

• Understanding of HACCP principles and relevant food manufacturing regulatory requirements.

• Demonstrated ability to investigate recurring sanitation issues and implement sustainable corrective actions.

• Experience supporting regulatory inspections, customer audits and third-party food safety audits.

• Strong leadership, communication and organizational skills, with the ability to motivate teams and maintain high standards of performance.

• A hands-on approach, with a visible presence on the production floor and a strong focus on sanitation effectiveness and employee accountability.

• A relevant qualification in Food Safety, Sanitation, Environmental Health or a related discipline would be advantageous.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

Leadership & Visibility: Take ownership of day-to-day sanitation operations and work closely with FSQA, Production and plant leadership.

Food Safety Impact: Play a critical role in preventing contamination, maintaining hygienic manufacturing conditions and protecting product integrity.

Team Development: Lead and develop sanitation personnel while establishing consistent standards, clear expectations and accountability.

Continuous Improvement: Improve sanitation effectiveness, cleaning processes and operational efficiency across the facility.

Career Progression: Develop your leadership and technical capabilities within an established food manufacturing business, with potential opportunities to progress into Sanitation Manager or broader plant leadership roles.

Business Impact: Help ensure the facility consistently meets the sanitation, food safety and regulatory standards required to manufacture high-quality products.