Assistant Manager Production 2nd Shift (Salinas, CA - Work St.)

Assistant Manager Production

PRIMARY PURPOSE:
Under the direction of the Operations Manager, The Assistant Manager provides senior level leadership and oversight for all production activities during night operations. This role ensures safe, efficient, and compliant execution of production plans while maintaining high standards for quality, yield, and service.
In addition to leading production, this position serves as the senior on site manager during night hours, providing cross functional support and decision making authority across Maintenance, Distribution, Facilities, and QA when departmental leaders are not present. The Assistant Manager ensures operational continuity, rapid escalation, and alignment with company objectives across all verticals.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS (other duties may be assigned as needed):

1.    Direct and oversee all night shift production operations to meet daily schedules, quality standards, and yield targets.

2.    Monitor performance metrics (yield, downtime, labor utilization, rework, throughput) and drive continuous improvement.
3.    Supervise, develop, and evaluate night shift supervisors and frontline leaders.

a.    Provide real-time feedback, guidance, and support to strengthen leadership capability and documentation practices.

b.    Foster a positive, inclusive, and accountable culture that supports employee morale and retention.

c.    Support succession planning by developing high potential employees for future leadership roles.

4.    Promote strong operational discipline by ensuring consistent compliance with GMP and food safety requirements, OSHA and workplace safety standards, and all applicable company policies.
5.    Manage execution of critical production processes. Identify and communicate risks related to regulatory compliance, food safety, human safety, and plant operations. Implement improvements within processes. Prioritize solutions that require projects.
6.    Cross Functional Oversight (Senior Manager on Duty):

a)    Serve as the highest ranking manager on site during night operations.

b)    Provide leadership to support Supervisors in Maintenance, Distribution, Facilities, and QA during night shift operations. Provide updates to leaders of those verticals to determine appropriate action.

c)    Coordinate cross department responses to equipment failures, safety incidents, facility issues, or production disruptions.

d)    Authorize corrective actions to protect product integrity, minimize downtime, and maintain service levels.

e)    Document and escalate critical issues to vertical leaders when necessary.

f)    Maintain operational stability during crises or major disruptions, serving as the primary point of contact for vertical leaders and ensuring effective coordination across all functions throughout crisis management.

7.    Ensure seamless communication between night and day operations by documenting and communicating overnight issues, decisions, and follow-up actions.
8.    Execute an engagement plan to ensure an environment where all employees can get their job done as efficiently as possible, and hand raises are allowed. Building a culture where communication and coordination is expected and interactions between employees, at all levels, are respectful.
9.    Connect employee development plans to people loyalty strategies.
10.    Execute an engagement plan to ensure an environment where all employees are looking for improvements in the order filling process focused on their area of responsibility. Build a culture where communication and coordination are encouraged to understand the impact of change across the OFP and the company. Ensure change happens at the correct pace - "execute by process; improve by project".
11.    Execute an engagement plan to ensure an environment & culture focused on building employee skills, capabilities, and experiences. This includes establishing and executing a training program focused on building employees’ skills, capabilities and experiences and technical expertise (industry specific courses, classroom & on the job). 
12.    Coaching and continuous engagement to ensure employees are aware of opportunity and fit.
13.    Reinforce a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement.
14.    Manage communication as required for OFP coordination. Monitor vertical execution to identify risk, major events, and known changes. Follow up on corrective actions and projects for alignment to cost, quality, & service targets.
15.    Assist Operations Managers with developing, writing, reviewing, editing PDT's (process development tool), SOP's, If/Then for Production work activities.
16.    Cost & Resource Management: 

a.    Balance cost, quality, and service in all decision making.

b.    Optimize labor deployment and overtime usage.

c.    Prioritize and allocate resources to maintain production flow to achieve expected service levels and or demand planning SKUs priorities.

d.    Support yield improvement, waste reduction, and productivity initiatives.

17.    Collaborate with QA to address quality deviations, resolve specification discrepancies, and mitigate any food safety concerns.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
This position is responsible for the direct supervision of night shift Production Supervisors. Supervision of indirect reports includes Manufacturing leaders, Packaging Machine Operators, Heavy and General Laborers.
Cross Functional Oversight: Act as a resource to supervisors in Production, Maintenance, Distribution, Facilities, and QA.
what it takes

what it takes

Individuals must possess these knowledge, skills, and abilities or be able to explain and demonstrate that the individual can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
1.    Bachelor's degree in business administration, management, engineering, industrial technology or related field and five years’ experience working in production and manufacturing in produce industry or equivalent mix of college education and work experience.
2.    Five years’ supervisory experience including first level supervisory staff or higher.  Experience managing performance, employee relations matters, morale and team dynamics for optimum performance and effectiveness is required.
3.    Thorough knowledge of quality systems and standards; health and safety standards and compliance; process improvement techniques.
4.    Thorough knowledge of business, finance, and management principles; human resource principles and practices.
5.    Good understanding of manufacturing machinery and tools; knowledge of engineering and technology principles and practices.
6.    Intermediate level Microsoft suite computer skills including word, excel, power point, outlook; experience with Business central is preferred.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:
1.    Literate in English and Spanish; oral and written.
2.    Excellent communication skills; ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization.
3.    Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
4.    Able to write routine reports; correspond with personnel within and across departments via email.
5.    Strong interpersonal, and communication skills, with the ability to clearly provide work direction, communicate with support staff and present recommendations and ideas and to build consensus.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:
1.    Calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.
2.    Apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

LICENSES/CERTIFICATION: 
1.    Valid Driver’s License
2.    First Aid Certificate/CPR Training (Company will Train)

REASONING ABILITY:
1.    Carries out complex operational tasks that require sound judgment, responsible decision making, and the ability to connect day-to-day vertical duties with broader cross functional needs (connecting the dots from vertical to the horizontal in the order fill process.
2.    Effectively deal with ambiguity.
3.    Solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS:
1.    Positive attitude, high integrity, dependable, ability to communicate and interact Continuously and respectfully at all levels of the company, effectively deals with Ambiguity and resolves conflict effectively, perseveres, proactive, uses good judgement, detail oriented, acts in the company’s interest, translate strategy to execution, collaborates & delegates effectively.
2.    Understands and anticipates future impact across the order fill process.
3.    Organization skills and willingness to assume accountability for plant practices required.
4.    Results driven leadership, with the ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced, time-sensitive. environment with shifting priorities and multiple deadlines.
5.    Ability to build, coach and motivate personnel, while holding employees accountable for result.
6.    Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
7.    Advanced mechanical aptitude required. Position requires hands-on capability to operate all machinery and equipment. Training will be provided.
8.    Ability to demonstrate leadership skills such as planning, organizing, staffing, leading, controlling & communicating.
9.    Continuous improvement oriented.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.