Production Coordinator in Hammond, Louisiana at Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.

Department: Plant

Reports To: Plant Manager

Location: Hammond, LA

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, STD, Thrift, Life Insurance

Shift (if applicable): 8 to 10-hour shifts, 5 days a week, night shift working overtime, weekends, and holidays may be required.

Position Overview

The Production Coordinator supports and coordinates daily production activities to ensure products are manufactured safely, efficiently, and on schedule. This role oversees shift operations, including staffing, training, scheduling, inventory, and workflow coordination while ensuring production quality and productivity goals are met. The Production Coordinator enforces Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), company policies, quality standards, OSHA regulations, and EPA guidelines, and is responsible for proper start-up, shutdown, sanitation, and overall operational compliance during their shift.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate, monitor, and adjust daily production schedules to meet customer requirements, production targets, and company objectives.
• Communicate production priorities, schedule changes, and operational updates to supervisors, production leads, and team members.
• Provide leadership and direction for daily production operations, ensuring productivity, efficiency, and adherence to established workflows.
• Plan, assign, and oversee production work schedules and staffing requirements to meet operational demands.
• Maintain accurate production records, reports, inventory usage data, and operational documentation.
• Supervise raw material inventory levels and daily usage to ensure adequate supply and minimize waste.
• Collaborate with production, quality, warehouse, cooler, and distribution teams to ensure efficient product flow and operational effectiveness.
• Partner with the Quality Manager to ensure compliance with product quality standards, processing procedures, packaging requirements, handling practices, and storage controls.
• Monitor product quality and shelf-life conditions, coordinating with the Cooler Manager to address and communicate any quality concerns.
• Assist in resolving production delays, equipment malfunctions, material shortages, and other operational issues to minimize downtime.
• Ensure proper equipment start-up, shutdown, cleaning, sanitation, and maintenance procedures are performed according to company standards.
• Enforce compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), quality standards, company policies, and OSHA regulations.
• Promote workplace safety by enforcing procedures that minimize product loss, accidents, downtime, and regulatory non-compliance.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives by evaluating operational processes, production costs, quality performance, and recommending process enhancements.
• Coordinate internal and external resources as needed to meet production and operational requirements.
• Train, coach, and develop production employees to enhance performance, safety awareness, and operational effectiveness.
• Assist in managing employee relations matters, including attendance, performance management, corrective action, and disciplinary processes.
• Maintain a safe, clean, organized, and audit-ready work environment.
• Represent operations on company committees, including Safety, Operations, Quality, and other cross-functional teams.
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED
• Minimum 2-3 years of manufacturing, production, or operations experience.
• Previous experience in dairy plant
• Previous experience in a perishable good industry
• Knowledge of GMPs, SOPs, quality standards, and OSHA regulations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Some College coursework or Associate’s Degree in Dairy Science, Food Science, or related field
• Previous leadership, coordinating, or supervisory experience.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Must be able to maintain a high level of productivity while observing all safety rules and operations protocols.
• Monitors production activities to eliminate downtime, delays and ensure adherence to production goals based on scheduling.
• Ability to work without direct supervision.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent leadership, interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Basic computer skills with Microsoft Office, especially Word and Excel.

Required Soft Skills:

• Ability to act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• Coachable and willing to learn.
• Ability to quickly learn the organization’s systems.
• Ability to plan and execute operational activities.

Competency

• Analytical skills for data interpretation.
• Strategic thinking to develop training plans and reports.
• Strong communication skills for collaborating with various locations and personnel.

Working Conditions

• Will be required to sit and stand for long periods of time.
• Will be required to lift and move large amounts of paperwork (boxes of files).
• Will be required to stoop, bend, and reach above the head and below the knees to file and retrieve data.
• Must have the ability to travel for multiple days. Travel is estimated at less than 5%.
• May require overtime hours.

About Prairie Farms – “Farmer Owned. Locally Produced. Since 1938.”

We are a farmer-owned cooperative. This means we are owned and operated by over 800+ farm families who are critical members of society. They have selflessly taken on the tremendous task of producing nutritious, high-quality milk for a growing population, which requires being on the job 24/7, 365 days a year.

We have represented American agriculture since our founding in 1938. Many of our dairy farms are operated by several generations of family members with roots dating back to the 1800s. On average, each farm milks around 120 cows and everyone pitches in to keep them happy and healthy - which means around-the-clock care!

Our Mission:

• To produce dairy products of the highest quality
• To conduct our business with professional integrity
• To exceed expectations of our customers and consumers
• To support our communities in a positive, sustainable manner
• To deliver exceptional patronage to our network of farm families
• To simply “do right” for our farm families, employees, and communities

EEO Statement

Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.