Short Intro and About the Job
At Danone, Manufacturing the best products and supplying them to meet demand is a key driver for our plant teams. We are currently looking to hire a Production Manager based in our Jacksonville, Florida manufacturing plant.
This role provides day-to-day operational leadership for assigned manufacturing areas, leads production teams, and partners closely with the Plant Director and plant leadership team to translate site priorities into disciplined frontline execution. The Production Manager is accountable for delivering safe, high-quality, efficient production while building a high-performance culture through Integrated Work Systems (IWS), Daily Direction Setting, leader standard work, and continuous improvement.
The Production Manager leads assigned manufacturing operations with ownership for frontline performance, people leadership, capability building, and continuous improvement. This role converts plant priorities into clear shift and area routines across Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, Mobilization, and Nature (SQCDMN), while reinforcing leader standard work, employee ownership, and a zero-loss mindset. The Production Manager strengthens IWS maturity within assigned areas, improves process reliability, reduces losses, and delivers measurable business impact through strong partnership with Maintenance, Quality, Supply Chain, HR, Finance, and EHS.
In this role, you will be responsible for:
This role delivers results through assigned production teams, standard systems, and operational discipline. Responsibilities are calibrated to Production Manager scope, including execution ownership for assigned lines, shifts, or departments; strong people leadership; active IWS deployment; and measurable contribution to site performance.
Strategic Leadership & Execution
- Translate plant priorities into clear production plans, area KPIs, shift routines, and frontline actions that deliver SQCDMN results within assigned scope.
- Lead with visible, servant-leadership behaviors that build trust, ownership, accountability, and engagement across assigned salaried and hourly teams.
- Partner with the Plant Director, Production Director where applicable, and plant leadership team to optimize capacity, staffing, labor productivity, material flow, and production scheduling for assigned areas.
- Champion a zero-loss, zero-risk culture by identifying chronic losses, removing barriers within scope, and escalating systemic issues with urgency and discipline.
- Strengthen business continuity through cross-training, standard work, staffing readiness, and consistent shift execution in a 24/7 manufacturing environment.
- Model Danone Behaviors and HOPE values by connecting daily production decisions to people, performance, food safety, consumer trust, and One Planet. One Health.
Operational Excellence & Performance Management
- Own SQCDMN performance within assigned areas through daily, weekly, and monthly management routines that convert metrics into action.
- Apply IWS, TPM, Lean, and continuous improvement methods to improve Process Reliability (PR), reduce planned and unplanned downtime, improve yield, and lower conversion cost drivers.
- Lead Daily Direction Setting (DDS), shift handoffs, loss reviews, and escalation processes that enable fast issue resolution and sustained standards.
- Use structured problem solving, PDCA, root cause analysis, standard work, centerlining, and loss elimination tools to address chronic performance issues.
- Build capability in Line Trios, Shift Leads, Supervisors, and Equipment Owners so teams can identify, prioritize, and eliminate losses at the source.
- Monitor and improve throughput, PR/OEE, yield, waste, labor productivity, schedule adherence, equipment uptime, and changeover performance.
- Leverage data, digital tools, and visual management to create real-time performance visibility, improve decision quality, and accelerate corrective action.
People Leadership & Talent Development
- Lead, coach, and develop supervisors, shift leaders, line leaders, and frontline production teams through consistent floor presence, meaningful feedback, and leader standard work.
- Build an inclusive, high-performance culture where employees understand expectations, own their areas, escalate risks, and contribute improvement ideas.
- Manage staffing plans, performance management, training follow-up, skills matrices, and capability building for assigned production teams.
- Develop internal talent pipelines by coaching supervisors, shift leaders, equipment owners, and future frontline operations leaders.
- Promote strong employee relations, engagement, retention, and alignment with Danone Behaviors and HOPE values through transparent communication and consistent accountability.
Safety, Quality & Compliance
- Champion a safety-first culture with zero incidents as a core expectation.
- Ensure compliance with GMP, FDA, AIB, ISO, internal quality systems, food safety requirements, and applicable plant procedures.
- Maintain high standards for product quality, packaging, labeling, traceability, documentation, and audit readiness.
- Partner with Quality, EHS, and plant teams to prevent recurrence of safety, quality, and compliance issues through timely corrective and preventive actions.
Business Impact & CPG Benchmarking
- Deliver measurable business impact within assigned production areas, including improved PR/OEE, reduced waste, lower conversion cost drivers, stronger schedule adherence, and improved labor productivity.
- Apply food and beverage CPG manufacturing best practices such as IWS/TPM/Lean, standard work, visual management, autonomous maintenance partnerships, and capability-based leadership routines.
- Use loss trees, shift performance reviews, budget awareness, and operational data to prioritize the few actions that matter most and convert improvement opportunities into quantified results.
- Escalate cross-functional barriers and partner across functions to protect consumer trust, improve productivity, strengthen supply reliability, and support Danone’s mission and sustainability commitments.
Financial & Resource Management
- Manage assigned production cost drivers, including labor, materials, waste, yield, and controllable overhead.
- Identify and deliver productivity improvements that support site cost, service, quality, and reliability objectives.
- Optimize resource allocation across labor, materials, and equipment within assigned production areas.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner closely with Supply Chain and Planning, Maintenance and Engineering, Quality and Food Safety, HR, Finance, and Environmental Health and Safety.
- Align assigned production priorities with customer demand, supply plans, labor availability, and site performance goals.
- Support site-wide initiatives and transformation efforts by ensuring strong execution, adoption, and sustainment within assigned areas.
Systems, Standards & Governance
- Ensure adherence to plant operating standards, SOPs, governance routines, and audit-ready documentation within assigned production areas.
- Lead and sustain IWS routines within assigned scope, including Leadership Foundation, Daily Direction Setting, Driving Operational Excellence, Autonomous Maintenance, Planned Maintenance partnerships, Focused Improvement, Education and Training, EHS, Quality, and Supply Network collaboration.
- Standardize Daily Management Systems across assigned shifts, lines, or departments to improve consistency, escalation, and performance ownership.
- Support capability tracking, health checks, and maturity progression to ensure IWS routines are embedded and delivering results in assigned areas.
- Use data-driven decision making and digital tools to simplify work, improve visibility, and strengthen execution discipline.
Additional Responsibilities
- All other duties as assigned
Physical Demands
- This role requires the ability to perform essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation.
- Requires the ability to perform essential physical job functions, including frequent standing, walking, bending, and manual dexterity; reaching with hands and arms; and occasionally climbing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and crawling. Must be able to lift 10–25 lbs and over 25 lbs with assistance occasionally. Requires adequate sensory abilities, including talking, hearing, and tasting/smelling, to support safe and effective job performance.
- Work is performed in a moderate-noise manufacturing environment, often on concrete surfaces for extended periods
- Requires strong communication, adaptability, and the ability to interpret instructions, analyze information, and develop actionable plans
- Ability to effectively manage stress and maintain performance in a fast-paced, high-demand manufacturing environment
Work Environment
- Work is performed in a manufacturing environment with exposure to moderate noise and temperature variations.
- Involves working flexible schedules, including nights, weekends, holidays, and extended shifts with the expectation that longer hours may be required based on operational needs in a 24/7 manufacturing environment
Engagement in our Integrated Work Systems
The Production Manager is expected to actively lead and sustain Integrated Work Systems (IWS) or equivalent continuous improvement systems within assigned production areas. This includes disciplined execution of Daily Direction Setting, Run-to-Target, loss elimination, Autonomous and Planned Maintenance partnerships, Focused Improvement, Education and Training, Quality, EHS, and Supply Network collaboration. The role builds capability and ownership so teams can identify losses, solve problems at the right level, sustain standards, and deliver continuous improvement across Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, Mobilization, and Nature.
Compensation and Benefits:
Danone USA additionally offers a performance-based bonus and has a strong benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Drug Coverage, 401k Plan, Wellness Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Flexible Time Off, and Paid Parental Bonding Leave, among other benefit plan options.
About You
The ideal candidate brings the education, experience, and leadership capabilities required to deliver strong operational performance, build team capability, and sustain IWS routines in a high-volume manufacturing environment.
Education & Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Plant Operations, or related field, required.
- 8+ years of progressive manufacturing or operations leadership experience, required
- Prior multi-site experience and/or prior experience as a Cell/Area manager or Business Unit Leader, preferred. Experience leading supervisors, shift leaders, or frontline teams in a high-volume food, beverage, or process manufacturing environment preferred
- Demonstrated experience managing assigned lines, shifts, departments, or production areas with measurable safety, quality, service, cost, and people results
- Working knowledge of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), IWS, or Operational Excellence systems required; demonstrated deployment experience preferred
- Lean Six Sigma experience is highly desired.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- Strong frontline leadership, coaching, and team development capabilities
- Solid business acumen with the ability to connect production decisions to cost, service, quality, labor, and waste outcomes
- Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, manage change, and sustain standards across shifts or production areas
- Strong problem-solving and analytical capability using operational data, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement tools
- Knowledge of manufacturing systems, processing, packaging, sanitation, and food safety requirements
- Strong communication, escalation, and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, 24/7 manufacturing environment with competing priorities
- High level of accountability, resilience, adaptability, and ownership for results within assigned scope
About Us, We offer and What's next
Danone USA is an industry-leading food & beverage company, with a mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible. Founded in the Bronx in 1942 as Dannon Milk Products, Danone USA now employs 5,000 people across more than 10 U.S. manufacturing facilities.
When you join Danone USA, you’ll help make products for well-known brands including Activia®, DanActive®, Danimals®, Dannon®, evian®, Follow Your Heart®, Happy Family® Organics, International Delight®, Light + Fit®, Nutricia ®, Oikos®, Silk®, So Delicious® Dairy Free, STōK® Cold Brew Coffee ®, Too Good & Co™, and YoCrunch®.
You’ll be part of one of the largest Certified B Corps™ in the world, working to make sure our company creates real value for people and the planet.
Danone USA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. It is our policy to give equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to legally protected characteristics, or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state/provincial and/or local law. For our EEO policy statement and your EEO rights under law click here.#LI-NORAM & Applicant Privacy Policy
