Production and Technology Development Manager (PTD)

At Arla we believe in the power of natural healthy dairy as an important part of everyday life. To help you feel strong and good about what you eat, glass by glass and spoonful by spoonful. With the Arla brand we promise natural, healthy, sustainable food made with the purest milk. Arla is a farmer owned company which means that Arla belongs to the farmers, and it is our mission to ensure our farmers get a good and fair price for their milk. Arla brands are enjoyed in more than 100 countries all over the world with well-known brands like Tre Stelle Feta Cheese or Castello Havarti®, Arla is part of many breakfast, lunch and dinner tables.

Would you thrive working on continuous improvement within a Company that has high ambitions for growth? Arla Foods Inc. (Canada), a value market within Arla Foods, currently has a position available for a Production and Technology Development Manager (PTD) Manager. Operating as a full-service business model with national offices across Canada, Arla Foods Inc. produces and sells its own domestic production as well as imported Arla and speciality cheeses. As the PTD Manager, you will be stationed full-time (40 hours per week) on a permanent basis at our third-party production partner – Amalgamated Dairies Limited (ADL), located at 79 Water Street, Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada, C1N 1A5.

About the role

Reporting to the Site Director, you will play a key role and act as the operational link between Arla Foods Inc. and Amalgamated Dairies Limited (ADL) to ensure current business is maintained and continues to develop, while ensuring communication between both parties on current activities and reacting to new opportunities and challenges within the industry. Your role will also control activities regarding Arla Foods Inc. products produced at ADL, ensuring compliance with the Production Agreement and continuous improvements in all aspects of the value chain and in achieving objectives and the Business Strategy. You will also be responsible to:

• Analyze and report on yield and component usage to ensure that targets are met; Identify negative trends & conduct a full analysis through liaison with Plant Personnel and Arla/ADL Management, to determine corrective actions and follow up to ensure corrective actions are executed to resolve issues.
• Reject, in alignment with ADL Quality Management and with approval of the Dairy Site Director, release of products if considered outside agreed specification for compositional or organoleptic parameters, or if there is a food safety issue.
• Participate in effective execution of crisis management in relation to quality issues run by either Arla or ADL.
• Maintain up to date documents of recipes and ingredients and contribute to the updating of working instructions/specifications in relation to Arla products and processes.
• Provide cost, capacity and operational input to investment plans and proposals using resources of Arla Foods, ADL and outside suppliers.
• Review and provide updated detailed Product Cost Calculations covering raw materials, production, packaging, labor and (freight) for Arla cheese products.
• Assist Marketing, NPD and Sales in developing and ensure market readiness of new products/packaging.
• Project Manager for cost saving activities sponsored by the Dairy Site Director, which directly influence Arla Foods products and participate in cost saving activities indirectly influencing Arla Foods products.
• Support all Arla Foods and ADL continuous improvement activities and promote engagement from key stakeholders for both parties.
• Submit an operational report to ADL (CEO) and Arla (Dairy Site Director) at agreed upon intervals.
• Respect and conform to protocols and procedures at ADL.
• Responsible for setting and managing the financial forecast and reporting on relevant deviations.
• Participate in the development of the Dairy Operations Business plan.
• Demonstrate an outside-in mindset, ensuring the customer (internal and external) remains prominent in the execution of departmental activities, with the goal of achieving positive customer experience management within Arla.
• Responsible to engage in Arla and ADL Health and Safety programs, by identifying and reporting any potential hazards, near misses and incidents observed, as well as supporting any corrective actions or investigations related to any hazards, near misses or incidents.

This role will appeal to a candidate who enjoys working with a high degree of independence. Working within an expanding subsidiary, you will have an opportunity to influence organic growth and foster new and current relationships for Arla Canada. You should anticipate some travel activity to our headquarters in Toronto, the USA, and the Global HQ in Denmark.

Dairy Technologist with leadership skills and 5 years’ experience

Your background includes completion of a post-secondary education program in Dairy technology or equivalent supplemented with a minimum of 5 years’ experience* within the cheese production process and quality assurance area, as well as experience in capital project planning and execution.

• Including experience in Food or Dairy product manufacturing, or Experience in Food; Chemical; Beverage Food; processing industry; Cheese makers; Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). Project Management Experience, Leadership, team management experience;

You have acquired strong leadership skills enabling you to set direction, motivate and be decisive. While not employed by ADL, you are expected to integrate yourself into the daily operational activities using your technical and interpersonal skills to the fullest to build trust and execute goals on behalf of all parties.

You work with a high level of integrity, an open mind and flexibility towards working in a dynamic environment. Moreover, you possess a cooperative spirit, an ability to work cross functionally throughout the organization, and are persistent to drive the agenda towards the best possible results within the timeline, creating urgency to resolve concerns. You also have outstanding communication skills in the working language, English.

Overall, we are looking for a profile with strong business acumen and proven technical, quality control, leadership and diplomacy skills, preferably from a cheese production plant.

Your technical skills also include Word processing software; Spreadsheet; MS Windows; Internet; Database software; Project management; software; Electronic mail; Fast-paced environment; Attention to detail. You’re also proficient at working with tight deadlines, Willing to travel (including cross-border, and overnight); you are a Team player with Excellent oral and written communication. You also have strong judgement, reliability and organizational skills.

What do we offer?

At Arla, we strive to unlock the highest potential in each other while working together to create the future of dairy. We push each other to keep our cooperative at the forefront of the dairy industry, so we can create Good Growth and bring health and inspiration to the world, naturally.

In pursuing this exciting opportunity, the selected individual will be awarded with a competitive compensation package including:

• Annual Base Salary ($90-127K CAD)
• Discretionary Annual Bonus (based on the achievement of individual performance and company objectives)
• Medical Benefits, Dental Benefits, Group Insurance Benefits, Life Insurance Benefits, Pension, Plan Benefits, Vision Care Benefits, including Other Benefits