Aloha,
The Hawai'i Ulu Cooperative is Hiring a Production Manager!
Location: Kailua Kona, Hawaiʻi Island
About the position: The Honalo Production Manager is responsible for overseeing agricultural processing at the Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-op’s headquarter facility, the Honalo Marshaling Yard, in Kailua Kona, Hawaii Island. The ideal candidate is a seasoned leader in food manufacturing environments, with prior experience with food safety, personnel management, and production. Key responsibilities include implementing the Co-op’s Food Safety Plan in accordance with State and Federal regulations, including the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), overseeing and directing agricultural processing employees, training staff on food safety protocols and standard operating procedures, and ensuring that production quality, safety, and efficiency is maintained with excellence. Additional responsibilities include scheduling staff for production shifts, maintaining production supply materials and raw crop inventories, and collaborating with the sales and operations teams to manage and strategize around finished good inventory levels. The ideal candidate is highly organized and detail oriented, enjoys hands-on as well as computer work, excels at record-keeping, is a diplomatic team leader, follows company policies and procedures, and strives to continuously make improvements to production methods, food safety, equipment solutions, and working conditions. This position is expected to interact positively and constructively with all co-op employees, members, customers and the community.
Reports to: Operations Director
About the Organization: Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-op (HUC) is a farmer-owned business working to revitalize ‘ulu (breadfruit) as a viable crop and dietary staple by empowering farmers as changemakers in Hawaiʻi’s food system. Formed in 2016 with nine small, diversified growers on Hawaiʻi Island, we have grown to nearly 200 member-farms on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, and Oʻahu, and Kauaʻi. By working together, HUC farmers can offer consistent, high-quality ‘ulu products that are delicious, versatile, local, healthy, accessible, and sustainable. We’re committed to the revival of ʻulu to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s food security and to the value of mālama ʻāina – care or protection of the earth – by using environmentally responsible production methods. Our vision is a thriving cooperative that sustains and uplifts producers, consumers, and society as a whole.
Essential Functions:
-Ensure production quality, efficiency, standardization and compliance with food safety regulations.
1.Work daily in the production kitchen.
2.Develop a daily production plan. Run morning meetings to set up for the day.
3.Manage agricultural processing performance measures, including visual controls, and provide regular progress reports to HUC CEO and Operations Director, as needed.
4.Implement food safety plan and procedures, and perform any necessary corrective actions. Coordinate food safety plan updates with Compliance and QA Specialist, as needed.
5.Balance quality, productivity, cost, safety and morale to achieve positive results. Work to continuously improve in all areas.
6.Perform accident investigations, as needed.
7.Maintain comprehensive processing records for food safety verification and cost of production analysis, and enter records into the computer system.
8.Provide weekly production report, including capacity and efficiency targets vs performance.
-Train, supervise and direct production supervisors and agricultural processors.
1.Provide food safety training to new hires.
2.Ensure effective employee relations. Provide employee coaching and development. Resolve employee issues through problem resolution.
3.Establish weekly production staff schedules and maintain communication with personnel. Ensure shifts are adequately staffed and troubleshoot staffing or scheduling issues with Operations Director.
4.Provide consistency and leadership through a seasonal production planning cycle.
5.Provide training on co-op food safety and operating procedures to partner intake and processing sites, as needed.
-Manage production inventory and improve inventory management methods.
1.Work with Inventory & Fulfillment Lead to manage production department inventory levels and reorder as needed; this includes supply materials as well as raw crops, particularly co-crops.
2.Recommend improved inventory management methods, as needed.
3.Work with Operations Director to ensure finished product inventory is counted, organized, and up to date.
4.Complete inventory adjustments with prior approval from Operations Director on a weekly basis.
-Work effectively with management and staff through clear and timely communication.
1.Attend sales and operations team meetings weekly or on an as-needed basis to help efficiently plan production schedules to meet upcoming order fulfillment needs.
2.Contribute insight from the production perspective to team discussions in order to ensure production constraints, challenges, opportunities, and ideas are adequately incorporated into decision-making.
3.Be available and responsive via in-person meetings, phone and email correspondence regularly throughout the work week; this will help ensure adaptive strategies to unforeseen challenges can be implemented swiftly.
Competencies:
1.Understanding of basic food safety regulations.
2.Organization and detail orientation.
3.Leadership.
4.Ability to foresee and prevent potential hazards.
5.Performance and time management.
6.Problem solving/analysis.
7.Results driven.
8.Communication proficiency, including in both orally and in writing through text, email and other online methods.
9.Time management.
10.Technical capacity.
11.Learning orientation.
-Supervisory Responsibility
This position oversees processing employees and is responsible for the performance, management and training of employees within the production department.
-Work Environment
While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be exposed to hot or cold temperatures, and be asked to manage inventory in a walk-in freezer.
-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.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk and use hands to handle, carry, peel, cut and package. The employee is occasionally required to sit or crouch. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
-Position Type/Expected Hours of Work
Work demands of this position are full-time and year-round. The co-op’s main crop – ʻulu – is seasonal, and work demands of this position may vary somewhat throughout the year, with longer hours required during peak production months (typically October-November).
-Travel
This position is based at the Honalo Marshaling Yard facility in Kailua Kona, Hawaiʻi Island, and may occasionally be asked to visit the co-op’s secondary facility in Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island or partner processing facilities on neighbor islands – to help ensure successful implementation of food safety and production standards across locations. All off island work trips will be covered by the co-op and on-island travel in a personal vehicle will be compensated at the current GSA mileage reimbursement rate, in addition to paid travel time.
-Required Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree.
Food safety certification such as Process Control Qualified Individual (PCQI) or similar.
3-5 years of experience in a food manufacturing environment.
-Preferred Education and Experience
Previous production supervisor experience.
Previous quality management and/or inventory management experience.
Additional Eligibility Qualifications
None required for this position.
-Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
-Compensation & Benefits
Salary is competitive for production managers within the Hawaiʻi agriculture sector based on skills, qualifications, and experience, with a starting salary range between $60,320 and $81,120 per year. Benefits include medical, dental and vision, as well as 20% off all co-op products. In addition, through HUC’s partnership with ProService, employees qualify for additional perks including access to great offers from local businesses such as discounted movie tickets or health and fitness deals; a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) that allows for the use of pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible out-of-pocket expenses and lower IRS reported income, which saves you money; and voluntary insurance options that are portable and can be taken with you should your employment status change.
Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-op strives to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture focused on continuous learning and welcomes individuals with work and lived experiences that align with and complement the organization’s mission and vision. The co-op does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, size, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law and is an employment-at-will company. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.