Location: Taloja, India
Job Title
Sanitarian - Taloja
Segment / Business Unit
Mars Snacking
Country / Site
Taloja
Job Function
Supply
Expected Job Level
T1
Manager’s Name & Position
Value Stream Manager - Taloja
Job Purpose/Overview
The Sanitarian safeguards food safety and product quality at our Taloja cereal manufacturing site by leading robust sanitation, hygiene, pest management and environmental monitoring programs. The role partners across the plant to strengthen compliance, prevent risk and continuously improve sanitation performance in line with GMP, HACCP, FSSC 22000/ISO 22000, regulatory and Mars Snacking standards.
Key Responsibilities
Sanitation Program Leadership
- Lead and continuously improve sanitation programs across production, processing, storage, packaging and plant infrastructure areas.
- Own the Master Sanitation Schedule, ensuring daily, weekly and monthly activities are completed, verified and followed through with clear corrective actions.
- Plan plant thermal fogging and raw-material fumigation effectiveness checks, and ensure actions are completed to the required standard.
- Conduct daily GEMBA walks and regular program-effectiveness checks, using observations and data to strengthen standards and operational discipline.
Food Safety, Monitoring and Compliance
- Plan and execute the environmental monitoring program, including cross-functional alignment, sampling, trend review and closure of non-compliances.
- Lead planned verification and validation activities, including annual pathogen verification, allergen validation and APC validation for production lines.
- Ensure compliance with GMP, HACCP, FSMA, FSSC 22000, ISO 22000, regulatory requirements and Mars Snacking food safety standards.
- Plan and coordinate water, steam and compressed-air testing with laboratories, ensuring samples are collected and analysed within agreed timelines.
- Maintain accurate sanitation records, cleaning schedules, verification evidence and regulatory documentation, ensuring audit readiness at all times.
Pest, Supplier and External Partner Management
- Coordinate the plant pest management program with external service providers, monitor trends and thresholds, and drive timely action on internal or external sightings.
- Partner with suppliers and vendors to strengthen hygiene and infestation controls, including site visits, performance reviews and timely portal updates.
- Play an active role in internal, external, customer and regulatory audits and assessments, including the annual Regional/Internal Sanitation Gap Assessment.
Risk Management and Continuous Improvement
- Investigate sanitation-related non-conformances and customer complaints, complete robust root-cause analysis, and implement effective CAPA.
- Partner with cross-functional teams on Management of Change, food safety risk assessments, hygienic design reviews and cleaning standards for new or existing equipment.
- Compile and communicate weekly and monthly sanitation, raw and packaging material, quality and food safety KPIs, translating insights into practical improvement plans.
- Champion continuous improvement initiatives that enhance food safety, sanitation effectiveness and operational efficiency.
Capability, Collaboration and Resource Management
- Build sanitation capability across the site by training associates on SSOPs, personal and plant hygiene, allergen control, environmental monitoring and the Master Sanitation Program.
- Manage the plant Quality and Food Safety budget and maintain appropriate inventories of swabs, equipment and housekeeping chemicals.
- Contribute to regional and global sanitation Communities of Expertise and support other plant CoE priorities as allocated.
Context and Scope
This is a hands-on, site-based role that combines technical sanitation expertise with strong cross-functional influence. The role works closely with the Plant Management Team, Quality & Food Safety, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, laboratories, suppliers, service partners and site associates to translate standards into consistent day-to-day execution.
Success requires visible leadership on the shop floor, disciplined follow-through, confident challenge when standards are at risk, and the ability to turn audit, monitoring and performance data into sustainable improvements.
Job Specifications /Qualifications
Education & Professional Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Food Technology, Microbiology, Food Science, Dairy Technology or a related discipline.
- 7-12 years of experience in sanitation or food safety within a food manufacturing environment.
- Working knowledge of cereal processing operations and food safety management systems is preferred.
Knowledge / Experience
- Strong knowledge of GMP, HACCP, FSSC 22000/ISO 22000, sanitation verification and validation, environmental monitoring, allergen control and pest management.
- Practical understanding of cleaning chemicals, CIP/COP systems, SSOP development and hygienic equipment design.
- Demonstrated ability to investigate non-conformances, lead root-cause analysis and CAPA, and interpret sanitation and microbiological data.
- Experience coordinating audits, laboratories, suppliers and external service providers in a complex manufacturing environment.
- Strong planning, stakeholder management, communication and training skills, with confidence influencing cross-functional teams.
- Comfort working in a plant environment and spending significant time on the shop floor, including routine GEMBA walks and sanitation-effectiveness checks.
Job data: Headcount Labs (headcountlabs.com), ODbL 1.0. The job description belongs to the employer. Location data © OpenStreetMap contributors and Overture Maps.
