Sanitation Excellence Leader | Multi-Site CI & Compliance

Maker’s Pride, LLC; Downers Grove (IL); On-site; USD 124,818 - 171,624; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Dental

401(k)

Wellness benefits

Job summary

Maker’s Pride, LLC in Downers Grove, Illinois, seeks a Senior Manager Sanitation Excellence to lead standardization and continuous improvement across all facilities, elevating sanitation programs to minimize microbiological, chemical, and foreign material risk while boosting efficiency and compliance with USDA, FDA, and customer requirements.

This role provides strategic direction and hands‑on support, partnering with plant leadership and cross‑functional teams to implement sustainable

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive experience in food manufacturing sanitation with leadership or management responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience in USDA‑regulated environments is required.
• Proven track record of driving Continuous Improvement initiatives within sanitation, food safety, or operations.
• Experience supporting multi-site or regional sanitation programs preferred.
• Experience preparing for and supporting regulatory (USDA/FDA), customer, and GFSI audits (BRC, SQF).

Responsibilities

• Lead development, standardization, and deployment of sanitation best practices across facilities to ensure consistency and compliance.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives within sanitation using CI tools (Kaizen, standard work, root cause analysis).
• Partner with plant teams to redesign sanitation processes to reduce downtime and optimize labor and chemical usage.
• Establish SSOPs, Master Sanitation Schedules, and sanitation KPIs; monitor performance.
• Analyze sanitation data to identify risks, gaps, and opportunities across locations.
• Lead and participate in CI events as the sanitation SME.
• Conduct sanitation audits and ensure adherence to USDA, FDA, GFSI, and internal standards.
• Provide actionable recommendations and follow‑up for sustainable corrective actions.
• Support facilities in preparation for USDA inspections and third‑party audits (BRC, SQF).
• Mentor sanitation leadership and manage vendor performance (chemicals, pest control).
• Communicate risks and improvement plans to leadership and stakeholders.

Skills

CI leadership

Sanitation program design

Regulatory compliance

Data analysis

Audit readiness

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Data tracking tools

Job description

Maker’s Pride, LLC in Downers Grove, Illinois, seeks a Senior Manager Sanitation Excellence to lead standardization and continuous improvement across all facilities, elevating sanitation programs to minimize microbiological, chemical, and foreign material risk while boosting efficiency and compliance with USDA, FDA, and customer requirements.

This role provides strategic direction and hands‑on support, partnering with plant leadership and cross‑functional teams to implement sustainable