Production Manager - North Indian Pickles

Key Responsibilities

A. Production Planning and Execution

• Prepare daily, weekly, and monthly production plans based on sales forecasts and dispatch schedules.
• Manage production of North Indian-style pickles such as mango, lime, chilli, mixed vegetable, and other regional varieties.
• Ensure adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs), approved recipes, and batch manufacturing instructions.
• Monitor production output, batch cycle time, process losses, and production targets.
• Coordinate with the purchase, warehouse, quality assurance, and dispatch departments to ensure uninterrupted production.
• Ensure timely completion of production orders with minimum downtime.

B. Raw Material and Recipe Management

• Monitor the availability and consumption of raw materials, including fruits, vegetables, mustard oil, spices, salt, and other ingredients.
• Ensure proper grading, sorting, washing, cutting, and preparation of raw materials.
• Maintain recipe accuracy, ingredient ratios, spice blends, and traditional North Indian taste profiles.
• Control raw material wastage and ensure optimum utilization of ingredients.
• Coordinate with the quality team for raw material inspection and approval.

C. Fermentation, Pickling and Process Control

• Monitor curing, salting, oil mixing, spice blending, maturation, and other product-specific processing stages.
• Ensure appropriate control of time, temperature, moisture, acidity, salt concentration, and other critical parameters as applicable to each product.
• Maintain batch traceability, process records, and product maturation records.
• Prevent contamination, spoilage, leakage, and variation in taste, texture, colour, and aroma.
• Ensure validated processes and food-safety controls for shelf stability and product consistency.

D. Quality and Food Safety

• Implement and maintain GMP, GHP, HACCP-based controls, and applicable FSSAI requirements.
• Ensure compliance with approved quality specifications and hygiene standards.
• Coordinate with the QA/QC team for in-process inspection, finished-product testing, and batch release.
• Investigate customer complaints, product defects, batch rejections, and process deviations.
• Implement corrective and preventive actions to reduce quality failures and product wastage.
• Ensure proper sanitation, pest-control practices, personal hygiene, and cleaning of equipment and processing areas.

E. Manpower and Team Management

• Allocate manpower according to production plans and line requirements.
• Supervise production supervisors, operators, helpers, and contract labour.
• Monitor attendance, productivity, overtime, and labour utilization.
• Train employees on production methods, hygiene, safety, and equipment handling.
• Maintain discipline and ensure compliance with company policies and safety procedures.

F. Cost Control and Productivity Improvement

• Monitor production cost per kilogram, material yield, labour cost, and packaging cost.
• Reduce wastage of vegetables, spices, oil, and packaging materials.
• Improve productivity through process standardization and continuous improvement.
• Monitor equipment utilization, downtime, and preventive maintenance schedules.
• Identify opportunities to reduce manufacturing costs without compromising quality.
• Prepare daily and monthly production reports for management review.

Educational Qualification

• Bachelor's degree or diploma in Food Technology, Food Processing, Food Science, or a related discipline.

Candidates with relevant food-manufacturing experience and strong production management capabilities may also be considered

Experience Required

• 1017 years of experience in food processing or FMCG manufacturing.
• At least 5 years in a production supervisory or managerial role, preferably in pickles, sauces, chutneys, or other processed foods.
• Experience in North Indian-style pickle manufacturing, recipe standardization, curing, spice blending, oil-based preservation, and shelf-life management is highly desirable.
• Experience handling contract labour, production planning, cost control, and food-safety audits.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Strong knowledge of North Indian pickle manufacturing processes.
• Understanding of food preservation, microbiological risks, and process controls.
• Production planning, manpower management, and execution capabilities.
• Knowledge of GMP, HACCP, FSSAI regulations, and quality management systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Cost optimization and yield improvement.
• Ability to manage multiple batches and product varieties.
• Good coordination with QA, purchase, stores, maintenance, and sales teams.

Computer skills for production reporting, Excel, and ERP/MIS systems