Operations Manager (FP)

Combined Selection Group Ltd; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Combined Selection Group Ltd in the United States is seeking an Operations Manager for a high-volume hamburger production facility. The role emphasizes safe, efficient, and profitable production with accountability for production, safety, food safety, quality, labor, yield, productivity, throughput, OEE, waste and schedule attainment. You will lead supervisors and production teams, driving a culture of safety and continuous improvement to ensure the right product is produced on time and to spec.

Qualifications

• Experience as a manufacturing leader in ground beef, hamburger, meat processing or high-volume protein environments.
• Hands-on leader with plant-floor presence and strong safety culture.
• Ability to drive continuous improvement focused on safety, quality and cost.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations across all processing areas to meet safety, efficiency and schedule targets.
• Provide leadership to Production Managers, Supervisors and Team Leaders on the floor.
• Drive improvement in yield, OEE, waste reduction and line efficiency across the operation.
• Ensure HACCP, food safety and allergen controls are consistently followed and inspected.

Skills

Operations leadership

Production management

Lean manufacturing

Food safety

OEE

Safety

Team leadership

Process optimization

Job description

Position Summary

The Operations Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day operational performance of a high-volume further processed hamburger manufacturing facility , ensuring the safe, efficient and profitable production of high-quality products to customer specification. The role will have primary accountability for production, safety, food safety, quality, labor, yield, productivity, throughput, OEE, waste and schedule attainment across the manufacturing operation. The successful candidate will be an experienced manufacturing leader with a strong background in ground beef, hamburger, meat processing, food manufacturing or another high-volume protein environment . This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership position. The Operations Manager will spend significant time on the plant floor, leading supervisors and production teams, identifying operational losses and driving a culture of safety, food safety, accountability and continuous improvement . The successful candidate will understand that the objective is not simply to produce more product, but to produce the right product, at the right cost, safely, consistently and on time .

Key Responsibilities

1. Overall Operations Leadership Lead the day-to-day production operation across all assigned processing areas. Ensure production plans are achieved safely, efficiently and on schedule. Establish clear operating standards and performance expectations. Provide leadership and direction to Production Managers, Supervisors and Team Leaders. Maintain a highly visible presence on the production floor. Establish effective communication between shifts and departments. Lead daily operational meetings and performance reviews. Escalate significant operational, food-safety, quality or personnel issues appropriately. Ensure production priorities remain aligned with customer and business requirements. Build a culture of accountability and operational discipline.
2. Production Management Own production performance across the hamburger manufacturing process, which may include:
   • Raw material receiving
   • Frozen and fresh meat handling
   • Thawing
   • Grinding
   • Blending
   • Formulation
   • Seasoning
   • Patty forming
   • Portion control
   • Cooking, where applicable
   • Freezing IQF systems
   • Packaging
   • Metal detection X-ray inspection
   • Case packing
   • Palletizing
   • Cold storage
   Responsibilities include:
   • Achieve daily and weekly production targets.
   • Ensure production follows the approved schedule.
   • Optimize line speeds and staffing.
   • Minimize production interruptions.
   • Improve line balance.
   • Identify bottlenecks.
   • Improve changeover performance.
   • Reduce startup losses.
   • Ensure standard work is followed.
   • Ensure production records are complete and accurate.
   • Maintain appropriate product flow through the facility.
3. Food Safety Food safety is a fundamental responsibility of the Operations Manager. Ensure all employees follow company food-safety procedures. Maintain strict adherence to HACCP programs and prerequisite programs. Work closely with Quality and Food Safety leadership. Ensure product is manufactured within approved specifications. Ensure appropriate temperature controls are maintained. Prevent cross-contamination. Ensure allergen controls are followed where applicable. Ensure foreign-material prevention procedures are effective. Ensure metal detection and X-ray systems are operated correctly. Ensure product identification and traceability requirements are followed. Support USDA/FSIS inspections and audits. Ensure food-safety deviations are immediately escalated and addressed. Never compromise food safety in pursuit of production targets. The Operations Manager must create a culture where employees understand that "stop and correct" is always the right decision when food safety may be compromised .
4. Raw Material & Product Control In hamburger manufacturing, effective control of raw materials and formulation is critical to yield, quality and profitability. The Operations Manager will:
   • Ensure raw materials are handled according to specification.
   • Minimize temperature abuse and unnecessary product exposure.
   • Ensure correct material is supplied to each production line.
   • Support accurate formulation and batching.
   • Prevent material mix-ups.
   • Control rework according to approved procedures.
   • Minimize product loss during grinding, forming and packaging.
   • Ensure product specifications are consistently achieved.
   • Work with Quality and Supply Chain to resolve raw-material issues.
5. Yield & Giveaway The Operations Manager will have significant accountability for manufacturing yield. Responsibilities include:
   • Establish yield targets by product and process.
   • Monitor raw-to-finished yield.
   • Control trim and process losses.
   • Reduce product giveaway.
   • Improve patty weight accuracy.
   • Reduce off-specification product.
   • Minimize rework.
   • Reduce startup and changeover waste.
   • Analyze yield loss by product, line, shift and operator.
   • Lead corrective actions against chronic yield losses.
   The successful candidate should understand the financial relationship between: Raw Material Cost → Yield → Giveaway → Labor → Throughput → Cost per Pound → Margin.
6. Labor & Workforce Management Develop appropriate staffing plans by production line and shift. Optimize direct labor. Control overtime. Improve labor efficiency. Establish effective employee deployment. Cross-train employees to improve workforce flexibility. Monitor attendance and turnover. Work closely with HR on recruitment and retention. Ensure new employees receive appropriate training. Develop Team Leaders and Supervisors. Establish clear accountability at every level of the organization. Where applicable: Operate effectively within a unionized workforce. Maintain positive labor relations. Ensure compliance with the collective bargaining agreement.
7. Productivity & OEE Develop and manage a structured approach to operational performance. Key areas include: OEE Line efficiency Pounds per labor hour Throughput Changeover time Downtime Startup losses Labor utilization Schedule attainment Yield Waste The Operations Manager will identify the biggest sources of operational loss and ensure structured improvement plans are developed and executed.
8. Equipment & Maintenance Partnership Work closely with Engineering and Maintenance to maximize equipment reliability. Identify equipment-related production losses. Ensure production teams report equipment problems accurately. Prioritize chronic equipment issues. Participate in root-cause analysis. Support preventive-maintenance activities. Coordinate planned downtime. Ensure operators perform appropriate basic equipment checks. Develop strong operator-maintainer relationships. Ensure equipment is operated within defined parameters. Support capital projects and equipment upgrades. The Operations Manager should understand that equipment reliability is a shared responsibility between Operations and Maintenance .
9. Continuous Improvement Lead operational improvement initiatives using appropriate Lean and continuous-improvement tools. These may include:
   • Lean Manufacturing
   • TPM
   • 5S
   • Kaizen
   • Standard Work
   • Visual Management
   • Root Cause Analysis
   • 5 Why
   • Pareto Analysis
   • SMED
   • Six Sigma
   Prioritize projects that improve: Safety Food safety Throughput Yield Labor productivity OEE Quality Changeover Waste Cost per pound The Operations Manager should establish a culture in which supervisors and operators are actively involved in identifying and solving problems.
10. Safety Own safety performance within the Operations function. Establish a strong employee-safety culture. Ensure employees follow all safety procedures. Conduct regular floor-level safety observations. Address unsafe behaviors and conditions immediately. Support ergonomic improvements. Ensure appropriate PPE is used. Support machine-guarding compliance. Ensure employees follow Lockout/Tagout requirements when applicable. Investigate incidents and near misses. Implement corrective actions. Work closely with EHS to reduce workplace injuries. OSHA identifies machinery, ergonomics, slips and falls, noise, chemicals and other hazards as important safety considerations within meat-processing environments. ( osha.gov )