Dessert Holdings · 12 hours ago
Production Manager, Days
Le Center, MN
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
5+ years expDessert Holdings is a collection of premium dessert companies and brands, and they are seeking a Production Manager. The Production Manager will oversee daily production operations in a food manufacturing facility, ensuring quality and safety standards are met while driving operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives.
Food and BeverageFood ProcessingManufacturingRetail
Responsibilities
Champion and model Plant Workplace Safety, Food Safety, Food Defense, and GMP initiatives, serving as a visible leader to ensure compliance across all shifts
Lead efforts to achieve a zero-injury workplace, ensuring safe working conditions and full adherence to state and federal environmental, health, and safety regulations
Support and lead food safety and quality audits (e.g., GFSI/FSSC or equivalent), including execution of corrective actions
Maintain the integrity and sustained certification of Food Safety and Quality systems; proactively report and address any potential food safety or quality issues to prevent occurrences
Direct daily production operations to consistently meet or exceed targets for safety, quality, service, cost, and productivity
Develop, implement, and manage production procedures to ensure all plant goals are achieved
Establish and sustain standard work and operating discipline across all shifts
Track, analyze, and improve key performance indicators (KPIs); identify variances from standards/plans and implement corrective actions
Maintain accurate records for all production phases, including quality, formulation, auditing, order completion, and scheduling (e.g., holiday production)
Drive continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies (e.g., RCA, PDCA, A3, 5 Whys), delivering measurable results in waste reduction, downtime, labor costs, and process variability
Develop, coach, mentor, and hold accountable production supervisors, leads, and team members
Supervise and train manufacturing leaders on personnel and labor issues; conduct performance appraisals and recommend developmental needs and ongoing training
Foster a culture of mutual respect, teamwork, and professionalism, actively supporting the company's values and culture
Partner closely with Planning, Maintenance, and Food Safety/Quality (FSQ) teams to improve throughput, equipment reliability, and schedule attainment
Own labor performance for direct and temporary staff, ensuring productivity and budget targets are met
Achieve budgetary goals for capital investments, productivity, downtime, and waste
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, or related field preferred. A combination of education, training and experience that results in demonstrated competency to perform the work may be substituted
5-7 years of hands-on management experience and direct manufacturing experience with a consumer goods company preferred
Familiarity with the operations of all plant departments: production, quality, maintenance, materials management, and food safety
Demonstrated track record of leading the improvement of operations while delivering day to day performance (e.g., productivity gains, waste reduction, labor efficiency, downtime reduction) to improve system reliability
Strong working knowledge of food safety systems, GMPs, and regulatory requirements (OSHA, FDA, FSMA)
Experience leading frontline teams through change and process improvement
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
Proficiency with MS Office, ERP systems and production performance metrics
Knowledge of business, finance, and management principles
Knowledge of performance evaluation and budgeting concepts
Flexibility to support multiple shifts as required
Preferred
Bi-lingual-Spanish
Company
Dessert Holdings
Dessert is manufacturer of high-quality frozen desserts for retail and foodservice customer.
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
unknown2021-04-26Acquired
Leadership Team
Paul Lapadat
Chief Executive Officer
Recent News
2025-12-04
FoodProcessing.com
2025-07-15
Company data provided by crunchbase