Production Supervisor

Production Supervisor

Department: Production

Reports To: Production Manager

Location: Kenya

Employment Type: Full-Time

Job Purpose

The Production Supervisor will oversee day-to-day production activities to ensure products are manufactured safely, efficiently, and in line with the required quality standards and production plans. The role will supervise production teams, monitor equipment and processes, minimize downtime and wastage, and ensure compliance with company policies, food safety, health and safety, and quality requirements.

Key Responsibilities

1. Production Operations

• • Supervise daily production activities in line with approved production plans and targets.
  • Allocate tasks and manpower across production lines to ensure smooth operations.
  • Monitor production output, efficiency, downtime, and material usage.
  • Ensure production targets are achieved within the required timelines.
  • Identify and address production bottlenecks, delays, and operational issues.
  • Coordinate with Maintenance to ensure timely resolution of equipment breakdowns.

2. Team Supervision

• • Supervise, guide, and motivate production operators and casual staff.
  • Allocate shifts and responsibilities based on production requirements.
  • Monitor attendance, punctuality, discipline, and adherence to work procedures.
  • Train and coach team members on production processes, equipment operation, safety, and quality requirements.

3. Quality & Food Safety

• • Ensure production processes comply with approved quality and food safety standards.
  • Monitor adherence to SOPs, GMP, HACCP, and applicable food safety requirements.
  • Ensure production areas, equipment, and personnel maintain required hygiene standards.
  • Identify and report quality deviations and support corrective actions.
  • Ensure proper handling, storage, and traceability of raw materials and finished products.

4. Health, Safety & Compliance

• • Ensure employees follow all health and safety procedures and use required PPE.
  • Identify and report workplace hazards and unsafe practices.
  • Support investigations of accidents, incidents, and near misses.
  • Ensure production activities comply with company policies, statutory requirements, and relevant standards.

5. Materials & Waste Control

• • Monitor the availability and proper use of raw materials, packaging materials, and other production inputs.
  • Minimize production waste, rework, rejects, and material losses.
  • Ensure accurate recording of material usage and production quantities.
  • Report variances between planned and actual material consumption.

6. Documentation & Reporting

• • Maintain accurate production records, shift reports, downtime records, and quality-related documentation.
  • Prepare daily/shift production reports and highlight key issues to the Production Manager.
  • Track production KPIs and support continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Ensure proper handover of production information between shifts.

7. Continuous Improvement

• • Identify opportunities to improve production efficiency, productivity, quality, and cost management.
  • Support implementation of Lean Manufacturing, 5S, Kaizen, and other continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Participate in root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive action activities.
  • Promote a culture of accountability, teamwork, safety, and continuous improvement within the production team.

Qualifications & Experience

• • Diploma or Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Production/Manufacturing, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
  • 3–5 years of experience in a production/manufacturing environment, preferably in FMCG, food processing, or a similar industry.
  • At least 1–2 years in a supervisory or team-lead role.
  • Good understanding of production processes, machinery, quality control, and workplace safety.
  • Knowledge of GMP, HACCP, food safety, and 5S will be an added advantage.
  • Experience working with production targets, KPIs, shift operations, and production reporting.
  • Good computer skills, particularly MS Excel and production/ERP systems.