Production Manager, 2nd Shift

Furlani Foods; North Liberty (IA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Furlani Foods in North Liberty, IA is seeking a Second Shift Production Manager to oversee daily production for a food manufacturing facility. Lead production teams, manage schedules, ensure quality, and drive a safe, high‑performing work environment.

The role requires 3–5 years in production leadership, experience in a unionized facility, and strong knowledge of food safety systems and lean methods.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; equivalent manufacturing leadership experience considered.
• 3–5 years of production or manufacturing leadership experience required.
• Experience in a unionized manufacturing facility with CBAs.
• Familiarity with SQF, BRCGS, HACCP, or other food safety systems.
• Experience with lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and waste reduction.
• Knowledge of production scheduling, labor management, and performance metrics.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to analyze production data and implement corrective actions.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and production reporting systems.
• Ability to work second shift and adjust hours as needed.

Responsibilities

• Oversee second-shift production activities to meet schedules and customer requirements.
• Monitor daily performance, labor utilization, yields, waste, downtime, and efficiency.
• Ensure proper staffing and assignment of employees for shift needs.
• Coordinate with Maintenance on equipment breakdowns and interruptions.
• Ensure SOPs and GMPs are followed and production records are accurate.
• Lead shift meetings and provide clear shift performance updates to leadership.
• Drive continuous improvement to boost productivity and reduce costs.
• Collaborate with QA, Sanitation, and HR to support compliance and training.

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

3–5 years of leadership experience

Experience in a unionized facility

Food safety systems knowledge (SQF, BRCGS, HACCP)

Lean manufacturing & continuous improvement

Production scheduling & labor management

Data-driven problem solving

Strong communication & leadership

MS Office / production reporting systems

Ability to work second shift

Tools

MS Office

Production reporting systems

Lean tools

Job description

Shift: Second Shift, Monday-Friday 1:30 pm-10:30 pm

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced and results driven Second Shift Production Manager to oversee daily production operations at our food manufacturing facility. This position is responsible for leading production employees and supervisors, ensuring production schedules are achieved, maintaining product quality and food safety standards, and promoting a safe, efficient, and productive work environment.

The Second Shift Production Manager will provide leadership and direction to production teams while collaborating with Quality Assurance, Sanitation, Maintenance, Warehouse, and Human Resources to support operational goals and maintain compliance with company policies, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), and applicable regulatory requirements.

The ideal candidate is a strong leader who can manage competing priorities, develop employees, resolve operational challenges, and drive continuous improvement in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Production Operations

• Oversee all second-shift production activities to ensure production schedules, output targets, and customer requirements are met.
• Monitor daily production performance, labor utilization, yields, waste, downtime, and efficiency.
• Ensure production lines are properly staffed, and employees are assigned to meet operational needs.
• Review production schedules and communicate priorities, changes, and challenges to appropriate departments.
• Identify and resolve production issues that impact efficiency, product quality, or delivery schedules.
• Coordinate with Maintenance to address equipment breakdowns, repairs, and production interruptions.
• Ensure production employees follow established work instructions, standard operating procedures, and operating practices.
• Monitor material usage, product changeovers, line performance, and production reporting for accuracy.
• Communicate shift performance, outstanding issues, and operational concerns to plant leadership and incoming shifts.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity, reduce waste, minimize downtime, and control operating costs.

Employee Leadership and Development

• Provide leadership, direction, and accountability for production supervisors, leads, and hourly production employees.
• Establish clear performance expectations related to productivity, attendance, safety, quality, and conduct.
• Coach and develop supervisors and employees to improve performance, engagement, and accountability.
• Support employee training, onboarding, cross-training, and development initiatives.
• Address attendance, performance, and employee relations concerns consistently and in accordance with company policies.
• Partner with Human Resources on employee relations matters, investigations, corrective action, and workforce planning.
• Promote positive employee engagement, teamwork, communication, and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Ensure adequate staffing and effective labor allocation throughout the shift.
• Apply company policies and applicable collective bargaining agreement provisions consistently, where applicable.

Food Safety, Quality, and Sanitation

• Ensure production activities comply with GMPs, food safety programs, quality standards, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Enforce employee compliance with hygiene, handwashing, protective clothing, allergen controls, and other food safety procedures.
• Partner with Quality Assurance to address product holds, quality concerns, deviations, and corrective actions.
• Coordinate with Sanitation to ensure required cleaning activities are completed and production areas are released before operations begin.
• Verify that production areas, equipment, and materials meet established cleanliness and food safety requirements.
• Ensure required production, traceability, lot identification, and quality documentation is completed accurately.
• Support food safety audits, customer audits, regulatory inspections, and internal compliance initiatives.
• Immediately escalation potential food safety risks and ensure affected products are appropriately controlled.

Safety and Compliance

• Promote a safe working environment and ensure employees follow established safety procedures.
• Ensure compliance with applicable OSHA requirements, PPE requirements, and company safety policies.
• Identify workplace hazards and implement corrective actions to prevent injuries and incidents.
• Participate in incident investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective action planning.
• Ensure employees receive appropriate training on equipment, safe work practices, and emergency procedures.
• Maintain a clean, organized, and safe production environment.

Communication and Continuous Improvement

• Conduct shift meetings to communicate production goals, safety updates, quality expectations, and operational priorities.
• Maintain effective communication with Plant Management, Maintenance, Quality Assurance, Sanitation, Warehouse, and Human Resources.
• Provide accurate shift reports detailing production results, staffing, downtime, quality concerns, and unresolved issues.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives focused on operational efficiency, waste reduction, labor productivity, and process standardization.
• Use production data and key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify trends, address recurring problems, and improve results.
• Support implementation of new processes, equipment, procedures, and operational initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in manufacturing, Operations Management, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent manufacturing leadership experience may be considered.
• Three to five years of production or manufacturing leadership experience required.
• Experience in a unionized manufacturing facility and knowledge of collective bargaining agreements.
• Familiarity with SQF, BRCGS, HACCP, or other applicable food safety management systems.
• Experience with lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, root cause analysis, and waste reduction.
• Demonstrated knowledge of production scheduling, labor management, manufacturing processes, and performance metrics.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to analyze production data and implement corrective actions.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and production reporting systems.
• Ability to work second shift and adjust hours as needed to support business operations.

Physical and Work Environment Requirements

• Ability to work in a food manufacturing environment with exposure to varying temperatures, noise, wet or humid conditions, and active production equipment.
• Ability to walk production areas for extended periods and access multiple areas of the facility.
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment and comply with facility hygiene requirements.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Furlani Foods is an equal opportunity employer and complies with applicable federal, state, and local employment laws.