Senior Production Manager

Pedros Chicken; KwaZulu-Natal; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Pedros Chicken in KwaZulu-Natal is seeking a Senior Production Manager to lead poultry and sauce production at our Distribution Centre. You will ensure output, yield targets and product specifications while upholding food safety, hygiene and traceability across all production departments.

You will manage Supervisors and Team Leaders, drive continuous improvement, and maintain accurate daily production reports and stock controls to meet performance expectations.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a Production Management role within a food manufacturing, FMCG or high-volume production environment.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, hygiene, sanitation and quality control.
• Experience managing production output, productivity, yield targets and operational KPIs.
• Strong understanding of stock control, variance management and product traceability.
• Experience managing product specifications, non-conformances and corrective actions.
• Proven experience leading and managing large production teams, including Supervisors and Team Leaders.
• Strong people management skills, including performance management, employee development and disciplinary processes.
• Excellent planning, problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• Strong administrative and reporting skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and demanding production environment.
• A hands-on leadership style with a strong focus on operational excellence, compliance and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Manage and oversee daily poultry and sauce production operations in line with production plans and operational requirements.
• Drive the achievement of production output benchmarks, productivity targets and yield performance.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, hygiene, sanitation, housekeeping and cross-contamination control standards.
• Monitor and maintain product quality and ensure products consistently meet required specifications.
• Manage daily stock counts, stock accuracy, yield tracking and the investigation of production variances.
• Maintain full product traceability from receiving through to finished goods.
• Manage non-conforming products, supplier claims and NCRs, ensuring corrective actions are implemented within required timelines.
• Ensure equipment, knife control, scale calibration and product temperature requirements are effectively managed.
• Review and ensure the accurate completion of daily production reports, checksheets, registers and trackers.
• Lead, manage and develop Supervisors, Team Leaders and production teams.
• Drive employee performance through effective performance management, coaching, training and development.
• Manage employee discipline and address performance or operational non-compliance.
• Ensure appropriate staffing levels and team structures are maintained to support production requirements.
• Drive a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, operational excellence and high performance.

Skills

Production management

Food safety

Hygiene

Quality control

Stock control

Traceability

Leadership

Team management

KPIs

Job description

We are looking for a Senior Production Manager to lead and manage poultry and sauce production operations within our Distribution Centre. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring production output, yield targets, product specifications, food safety, hygiene standards, stock accuracy, traceability and people performance are consistently achieved while driving operational excellence and compliance across all production departments.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage and oversee daily poultry and sauce production operations in line with production plans and operational requirements.
• Drive the achievement of production output benchmarks, productivity targets and yield performance.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, hygiene, sanitation, housekeeping and cross-contamination control standards.
• Monitor and maintain product quality and ensure products consistently meet required specifications.
• Manage daily stock counts, stock accuracy, yield tracking and the investigation of production variances.
• Maintain full product traceability from receiving through to finished goods.
• Manage non-conforming products, supplier claims and NCRs, ensuring corrective actions are implemented within required timelines.
• Ensure equipment, knife control, scale calibration and product temperature requirements are effectively managed.
• Review and ensure the accurate completion of daily production reports, checksheets, registers and trackers.
• Lead, manage and develop Supervisors, Team Leaders and production teams.
• Drive employee performance through effective performance management, coaching, training and development.
• Manage employee discipline and address performance or operational non-compliance.
• Ensure appropriate staffing levels and team structures are maintained to support production requirements.
• Drive a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, operational excellence and high performance.

Requirements:

• Proven experience in a Production Management role within a food manufacturing, FMCG or high-volume production environment.
• Strong knowledge and practical experience in food safety, hygiene, sanitation and quality control.
• Experience managing production output, productivity, yield targets and operational KPIs.
• Strong understanding of stock control, variance management and product traceability.
• Experience managing product specifications, non-conformances and corrective actions.
• Proven experience leading and managing large production teams, including Supervisors and Team Leaders.
• Strong people management skills, including performance management, employee development and disciplinary processes.
• Excellent planning, problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• Strong administrative and reporting skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and demanding production environment.
• A hands-on leadership style with a strong focus on operational excellence, compliance and continuous improvement.