Sanitation Manager

HIRE STANDARD; Lebanon (Lebanon County); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

HIRE STANDARD seeks a Sanitation Manager to lead internal and outsourced sanitation for two facilities 1.5 miles apart, driving readiness and continuous improvement. You will partner with Operations, Food Safety & Quality, Maintenance, and CI to ensure clean, inspection-ready production lines and compliant sanitation programs.

Responsibilities include directing sanitation activities, audits, and contractor management while ensuring adherence to FDA, FSMA, cGMP, HACCP, and SSOPs, with a focus on

Responsibilities

• Lead sanitation activities across assigned facilities.
• Ensure all production areas are cleaned per schedules.
• Maintain sanitation readiness to support startup.
• Conduct pre-operational inspections to verify sanitation.
• Manage staffing and resource allocation for sanitation.
• Ensure compliance with FDA/FSMA/cGMP/HACCP/SSOPs.
• Oversee audits and corrective actions with third parties.
• Oversee outsourced sanitation providers and set expectations.
• Monitor contractor performance, audits, and costs.
• Promote safety and food safety culture in the sanitation org.
• Assist budgeting, forecasting and capital planning activities.
• Collaborate with Operations, Quality, Maintenance and CI.

Skills

Leadership

Sanitation expertise

Regulatory compliance

Contractor management

Safety management

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Continuous improvement

Audits & inspections

Job description

The Sanitation Manager is responsible for leading the sanitation operations at Facility 1, as well as oversight of a third-party sanitation company at Facility 2 (1.5 miles apart), ensuring each facility consistently meets the highest standards of food safety, sanitation effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and operational readiness.

About the Role

This position provides leadership for both an internal sanitation team and an outsourced sanitation partner while driving accountability, standardization, continuous improvement, and operational discipline. The Sanitation Manager serves as the functional leader for sanitation by partnering closely with Operations, Food Safety & Quality, Maintenance, and Continuous Improvement to ensure every production line is clean, inspection-ready, and prepared for a safe, on-time startup.

Responsibilities

• Sanitation Leadership & Operational Readiness
• Lead and manage sanitation activities across assigned facilities.
• Ensure all production equipment, processing areas, warehouses, and support spaces are cleaned and sanitized in accordance with established sanitation standards and production schedules.
• Maintain ownership of sanitation readiness to support safe and timely production startup.
• Conduct and oversee pre-operational inspections to verify sanitation effectiveness and readiness for production.
• Establish clear sanitation priorities, staffing plans, and resource allocation to meet operational requirements.
• Ensure sanitation activities are completed safely, efficiently, and in accordance with company standards.
• Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance
• Ensure compliance with all applicable food safety, regulatory, and customer requirements, including:
• FDA regulations
• Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
• Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs)
• HACCP Programs
• Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs)
• Customer and third-party audit requirements (BRC)
• Maintain sanitation documentation, records, and verification activities.
• Lead sanitation-related investigations and corrective actions for food safety, environmental monitoring, audit findings, and customer concerns.
• Partner with Food Safety & Quality teams to identify and mitigate sanitation risks
• Contractor Management & Service Provider Oversight
• Serve as the primary company representative for outsourced sanitation providers.
• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability measures for contract sanitation services.
• Monitor contractor performance through audits, inspections, key performance indicators, and service reviews.
• Verify contractor compliance with company food safety, quality, safety, and operational requirements.
• Manage corrective action plans and follow-up activities when performance gaps are identified.
• Review contractor service effectiveness and billing accuracy.
• Develop collaborative relationships that drive continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Recruit, develop, coach, and lead sanitation supervisors, leads, and hourly team members.
• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability for sanitation personnel.
• Conduct performance evaluations, coaching discussions, disciplinary actions, and development planning.
• Develop cross-training plans and succession pipelines to strengthen organizational capability.
• Promote employee engagement, teamwork, recognition, and continuous learning.
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, safety, and food safety throughout the sanitation organization.
• Equipment Protection & Asset Reliability
• Partner with Maintenance to protect and improve manufacturing assets.
• Ensure sanitation methods and procedures support equipment reliability and longevity.
• Investigate sanitation-related equipment damage and implement corrective actions.
• Support equipment design reviews, new equipment installations, and sanitation validation activities.
• Identify opportunities to improve cleanability, accessibility, and overall equipment effectiveness.
• Safety & Risk Management
• Promote a proactive safety culture and ensure compliance with all company safety policies and OSHA requirements.
• Ensure proper Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures are followed during sanitation activities.
• Verify proper chemical handling, storage, labeling, and personal protective equipment (PPE) usage.
• Conduct safety observations, audits, incident investigations, and corrective actions.
• Partner with Safety and Human Resources to reduce workplace injuries and strengthen employee safety engagement.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on sanitation effectiveness, operational efficiency, and cost management.
• Utilize operational data, sanitation performance metrics, audit results, and root cause analysis to drive improvement activities.
• Participate in Kaizen events, problem-solving activities, and cross-functional improvement projects.
• Standardize sanitation procedures, documentation, and best practices.
• Improve sanitation cycle times, startup reliability, environmental performance, and resource utilization.
• Support implementation of visual management, standard work, and 5S principles.
• Manage sanitation labor, contractor expenses, chemicals, supplies, utilities, and operating budgets.
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs while maintaining food safety and sanitation effectiveness.
• Monitor and report sanitation performance metrics and operating costs. (Corrected typo: Removed stray newline after
)
• Participate in annual budgeting, forecasting, and capital planning activities.
• Ensure appropriate inventory levels of sanitation chemicals, supplies, tools, and PPE.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Coordinate sanitation schedules with production requirements, maintenance activities, and shutdown planning.
• Participate in daily management routines, operational reviews, and performance discussions.
• Support customer visits, regulatory inspections, and third-party audits.
• Serve as a key contributor to operational excellence and manufacturing readiness initiatives.