Plant Hygiene Manager

Job Description

Since 1750, Finlays has served as the industry’s trusted leader in the supply of tea, coffee, and botanicals extracts to the world’s beverage brand owners. Through engaged employees and a continuous improvement mindset, Finlays has grown this legacy in the North and South American regions. Finlays Americas delivers safe and consistent “fit for purpose” quality products and services, meeting regulatory requirements and customer expectations by being an integrated, customer-centric solution provider.

Role Summary

The Plant Hygiene Manager is a senior leadership position, reporting into the VP of Quality: Finlays Americas, and part of the Senior Leadership Team on site. The position is accountable to deliver high standards of plant hygiene through management of cleaning and sanitation activities, and monitoring of hygiene indicators (e.g., microbiological results, CIP efficacy). The position works closely with the Production Manager, and with guidance from the Plant Manager to influence hygiene standards on site.

Key Responsibilities

Accountable for the development and implementation of the Hygiene Management Program required to deliver a high standard of hygiene on site:

Develop, implement, and monitor execution of the Master Cleaning Schedule, which includes verification of associated records. This defines daily, weekly, monthly, bi-annual, and annual cleaning activities.

Establish a site Sanitation Plan supported by processes, procedures, and SSOP’s that are documented and maintained.

Develop and document effective cleaning and sanitation procedures for all new plant equipment and/or when plant modifications are executed.

Lead root cause problem solving to drive corrective and preventative measures in plant hygiene thus leading to continuous improvement.

Act as a member of the Food Safety Team.

Train the Sanitation Team and Operations personnel in the theory and execution of hygiene tasks (based on processes and procedures):

Develop and train relevant staff on cleaning procedures and SOP’s.

Develop and train relevant staff on sanitation procedures and SSOP’s.

Ensure availability of tools and apparatus required to execute cleaning and sanitation tasks to a high standard.

Drive a culture of hygiene in support of food safety and quality.

Manage validation and verification activities required to assure the efficacy of the Hygiene Management Program:

Facilitate and document annual CIP validation activities for all equipment and CIP routes working collaboratively with Operations to lock-down or correct CIP practices.

Demonstrate efficacy of cleaning and sanitation for new plant equipment through validation to required standards during plant commissioning.

Manage third-party sanitation and chemical service providers to ensure required expertise and support is leveraged. This will include implementing performance standards, agreeing levels of service, and addressing non-performance. Management of chemical supplies on site is included.

Manage the Pest Control service provider to ensure effectiveness of the pest control program as a key food safety prerequisite.

Lead internal audits aimed at assessing compliance of hygiene practices to the Hygiene Management Program and use the non-conformance system to drive corrective and preventative actions.

Build and socialize a suite of hygiene indictors that can be used to govern status and drive actions in collaboration with Operations to continuously improve hygiene.

Responsible for People and Team Development including:

Develop the team through inspiring leadership, and strategy.

Ensure a culture of performance management, recognizing good performance, and addressing poor performance.

Engage with external stakeholders and leaders in the field of Plant Hygiene, bringing in external ideas and driving broader exposure to industry leaders.

Work collaboratively with the Plant Manager, Production Manager, and site Leadership/Management team to deliver site objectives. This includes (but not limited to):

Site Gemba walks.

Participating in site leadership meetings.

Leading/driving and supporting site initiatives to deliver a cohesive and unified San Antonio.

Note that hygiene tasks may take place outside of what are considered normal working hours, and this position will require flexibility in working hours to deliver high standards of plant hygiene.

Person Specification

A degree or diploma in a science-based field, with 5 years’ experience in Cleaning & Sanitation Management.

HACCP (Food Safety) training (Level 3).

Certified internal auditor.

World Class Manufacturing qualification (such as a Six Sigma Certification) preferred.

Experience in managing a team (3-5 years), including performance management.

Above average knowledge of Quality and Food Safety Management Systems.

Knowledge of microbiological monitoring and methods particularly as relevant to hygiene.

Regulatory and legal awareness of Food Safety related legislation (Such as FDA, EFSA or ISO Body exposure or participation.

Experience in risk-based process management.

Experience in Budget planning (Opex and Capex).

Experience in developing and driving a risk-based measuring and monitoring plan.

Expert knowledge in the chemistry and use of chemicals in cleaning and sanitation activities.

Statistical process control knowledge (SPC charts, targets, tolerances, special cause identification).

Demonstrated problem solving capability, and the ability to train team members.

Proficient in Microsoft Office, including using data analysis tools (such as Excel) to analyze data for trends and patterns.

Intermediate to advanced knowledge and use of statistical tools.

Project Management experience would be beneficial.

Experience in the Food & Beverage industry would be an advantage.

Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.

Finlays Americas is an equal employment opportunity employer seeking diversity in qualified applicants for employment. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, gender, gender identity, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, perceived disability, medical condition, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other protected status, as defined by applicable law. Finlays employs individuals that are 18 years of age or older.

This position is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship