GENERAL DESCRIPTION / PRIMARY PURPOSE:
Manage all aspects of Cooling Operations for all West Coast vegetable locations, including 3rd party and seasonal operations in Marina, Salinas, Oxnard, Huron, and Yuma.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS/DUTIES OF THE POSITION:
• Primary ownership for development and execution of Cooling annual operating and capex budgets.
• Develop annual 3 yr capacity plans to assure cooling operation capabilities align with business needs.
• Provide overall strategic direction to total cooling organization. Develop and lead Senior cooler management team.
• Coordinate with Agriculture, Logistics, Fresh Pack and VA Sales departments to properly plan product handling requirements to meet business needs. Align Cooler schedules and personnel as necessary.
• Lead transition of cooler operations and supply chain activities between harvesting/cooling regions
• Design and implement process improvements to improve service, quality and safety while reducing costs. Maximize use of internal assets.
• Implement and communicate all productivity metrics including, , cut-to-cool & cool-to-store times, bin flushing and sealing, inventory rotation, aging & shrink, fill rates, cases picked/shipped per manhour, and order turn time.
• Oversee all aspects of vacuum tube, forced air and hydro cooling and nitrogen flushing, and icing
• Responsible for 3rd party cooling cost and performance
• Meet safety requirements; manage incidents/accidents to budgeted performance goals set annually
• Meet food safety requirements and manage 3rd party audits
• Meet regulatory requirements and manage regulatory audits
• Manage customer required audits and inspections
• Act as liaison with other company departments to facilitate special needs of both internal and external Customers.
• Analyze customer orders, requirements, and patterns to minimize truck-waiting times and out of stocks by managing foreseeable problems on orders before trucks arrive.
• Ensure all Managers and Supervisors follow company and governmental policies and procedures as set up by Human Resources and Labor Relations/Safety
• Follow all food safety requirements and GMP’s as applicable for this position.
• Other duties as assigned