3rd Shift Sanitation Supervisor

Sanitation Supervisor 3rd Shift

At Harvest Food Group (HFG), we exist to make products that make the world a better place. HFG is a private equity backed company headquartered in Naperville, IL, with a production facility located in Chicago, IL, moving to East Chicago, IN 1Q2026.

The Sanitation Supervisor (3rd Shift) provides on-shift leadership and technical oversight for externally contracted sanitation crews to ensure the plant is cleaned, sanitized, and released for production in accordance with company standards, customer requirements, and regulatory expectations (FDA/USDA as applicable, FSMA, SQF/BRCGS). This role owns pre-op readiness, verifies execution of SSOPs, and drives continuous improvement in food safety, quality, and worker safety.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Contractor Oversight
  • Direct nightly activities of the contracted sanitation provider; set priorities, allocate resources, and manage Scope of Work, KPIs, and service-level agreements.
  • Lead start-of-shift huddles; confirm crew roster, training status, and task assignments (CIP/COP/foaming floor drains, equipment tear down/reassembly, tools & utensil control).
  • Audit contractor time, task completion, chemical usage, and equipment care.
• Food Safety & Compliance
  • Ensure strict adherence to SSOPs, Master Sanitation Schedule (MSS), allergen changeover procedures, and documented sanitation verification (ATP, protein swabs, visual).
  • Partner with QA to conduct pre-operational inspections and release lines/rooms; document and escalate non-conformances with effective CAPA.
  • Support the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP): respond to positives and execute hygienic zoning/containment and re-clean/re-swab protocols.
  • Maintain accurate, real-time records: sanitation logs, chemical titration/ppm records, SSOP checklists, pre-op findings, deviations, and corrective actions.
• Safety & Training
  • Enforce OSHA and plant safety rules; ensure proper PPE, LOTO during tear down/cleaning, confined space and working at heights controls, chemical handling per GHS/SDS.
  • Conduct toolbox talks and reinforcement training for contractor leads; verify operator qualifications and annual refreshers.
• Equipment, Chemicals & Facilities
  • Verify correct selection, concentration, and dwell times for detergents, sanitizers, and foamers; monitor inventory and request replenishment.
  • Oversee CIP/COP effectiveness; validate gaskets/scrapers/brushes condition and utensil color-coding.
  • Ensure floors, walls, drains, belts, freezer mixers, conveyors, and hard-to-reach niches are cleaned to standard; coordinate with Maintenance on clean-to-inspect and sanitation preventive maintenance tasks.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Align nightly plan with Production, Maintenance, and QA to hit changeovers, equipment validation and startup targets.
  • Participate in root-cause analyses for micro/pre-op failures, foreign material incidents, and equipment damages; implement sustainable fixes.
• Metrics & Continuous Improvement
  • Own shift KPIs: pre-op pass rate, ATP pass rate, EMP results, rework/re-clean hours, startup delays due to sanitation, chemical cost per hour/line, and contractor audit score.
  • Drive waste reduction (water/chemical), improve line availability, and optimize MSS frequency based on risk.

Requirements

Skills & Qualifications

• 3+ years in food manufacturing sanitation, with 1+ year leading teams or supervising contractors on off-shifts.
• Working knowledge of SSOPs, HACCP/HARPC, FSMA; experience with SQF/BRCGS or similar GFSI scheme.
• Demonstrated proficiency with ATP/protein swab verification, EMP basics, and pre-op inspection standards.
• Competent with LOTO, chemical safety, GHS/SDS, and incident reporting.
• Strong documentation discipline
• Effective communicator and coach; able to set expectations and hold third-party teams accountable on a night shift.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in high-risk RTE, allergen changeovers, or protein/produce/ready-meal environments.
• Familiarity with CIP/COP system parameters, titration/ppm verification methods, and sanitary design principles.
• Bilingual English/Spanish.
• SQF Practitioner or PCQI coursework/exposure (nice-to-have).

Physical Requirements

• Ability to stand/walk for extended periods; bend, climb, and lift up to 50 lbs.
• Work in wet/cold/hot environments with chemicals and pressurized water; wear required PPE.
• Night-shift presence on the floor ~90% of time, including occasional weekends/holidays.