Grand River Foods is a leading food solutions company serving customers in the North American grocery and food service industry. As a member of the Sunrise Farm family, we remain as dedicated as ever to both providing a quality work environment for our employees, as well as producing only the highest quality products for our customers. We are known for the great care we take with clients and employees alike.
Position Summary
The Sanitation Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing all sanitation, cleaning, and wastewater treatment operations within the facility to ensure compliance with food safety, quality, regulatory, and customer requirements. Reporting to the Plant Manager, this position provides strategic direction and operational leadership for sanitation programs, sanitation personnel, and third-party sanitation service providers.
The Sanitation Manager is accountable for developing, implementing, and continuously improving sanitation systems, procedures, and performance standards that support operational excellence and protect product integrity. This role partners closely with Production, Maintenance, Quality Assurance, and Health & Safety teams to ensure sanitation activities are executed efficiently, effectively, and in compliance with HACCP, CFIA, customer, and corporate requirements.
Success in this role requires strong leadership, technical expertise, resource management, problem-solving abilities, and a commitment to continuous improvement, employee development, food safety, workplace safety, and operational excellence.
Position Responsibilities
Education and Experience
- Minimum 7-10 years of progressive experience in sanitation, food manufacturing, or operations leadership.
- Minimum 5 years of management experience leading sanitation teams within a food processing environment.
- Experience managing third-party sanitation contractors and service providers.
- Experience leading regulatory, customer, and third-party audits.
- Relevant certifications in HACCP, Food Safety, Sanitation Management, or related fields are considered strong assets.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Advanced knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, food safety systems, sanitation practices, environmental monitoring, and regulatory requirements.
- Strong leadership, coaching, employee development, and team-building skills.
- Proven ability to manage budgets, resources, and departmental performance metrics.
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
- Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Effective verbal and written communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
- Strong conflict resolution and employee relations skills.
- Advanced knowledge of workplace safety requirements, WHMIS, and industrial cleaning chemicals.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office and experience with ERP, maintenance management, or quality management systems.
- Ability to work flexible hours, including weekends and off-shift support, when operationally required.
- Demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement, food safety, quality, compliance, and operational excellence.
#IND-HP
At Sunrise Farms we are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified individuals, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or any other identifying characteristic are encouraged to apply.
Please note that the expected new hire salary range provided is derived from a group of like roles within Sunrise Farms. The final offer amount for this role will be dependent on geographical region, applicable experience, and skillset of the candidate.
