Asst. Production Manager at Duapa Agri

Role Purpose
The Assistant Production Manager is to support the Production Manager in running the Company's food production operations under its FMCG brand, Akoma Foods, safely, efficiently, on schedule, and to the required quality standard at a controlled cost, with hands-on leadership of processing and packaging across the brand's current and future product lines.
The role provides hands-on supervision to the production team. This is to ensure that critical process steps are never left without a competent, accountable person on the floor and that every production order is fully reconciled and recorded without compromising production or food safety.
The Assistant Production Manager will be responsible for coordinating production manpower, materials, equipment, and processes; monitoring production performance; ensuring compliance with approved SOPs, GMP, HACCP, and workplace safety requirements; and identifying opportunities to improve productivity, reduce waste, and minimize downtime.

Key Responsibilities

1.    Production Planning & Execution

·       Convert production orders and customer demand into daily/weekly production schedules.

·       Ensure materials, packaging, manpower, equipment, and power are available before production.

·       Supervise production teams, allocate staff, monitor output, and adjust schedules when problems arise.

·       Support new products, trial batches, and new SKU introductions.

·       Coordinate with Production, Sales, Inventory, Procurement, QA, Maintenance, and Distribution.

2.    Quality & Food Safety

·       Ensure production follows approved SOPs, recipes, HACCP requirements, and process parameters.

·       Monitor critical controls such as temperature, time, moisture, sealing, and foreign-material prevention.

·       Prevent allergen and cross-contamination through proper cleaning, segregation, and line clearance.

·       Ensure correct labelling, batch coding, dates, and traceability.

·       Immediately isolate questionable products and involve QA.

·       Support investigations, corrective actions, hygiene, GMP, and sanitation requirements.

3.    Materials, Yield & ERP

·       Check that materials issued match production orders.

·       Reconcile materials against finished products, returns, losses, and waste.

·       Record material usage, production output, losses, and order status in the ERP within 24 hours.

·       Identify material shortages early to prevent production stoppages.

4.    People Supervision & Training

·       Supervise production and packaging staff, including attendance, conduct, and performance.

·       Ensure critical workstations have at least two trained operators.

·       Train staff on SOPs, equipment, hygiene, food safety, allergens, and safety

·       Provide performance feedback and escalate disciplinary matters when necessary.

5.    Equipment, Maintenance & Safety

·       Conduct equipment checks before production and stop unsafe or faulty equipment.

·       Record breakdowns and downtime and coordinate repairs.

·       Protect work-in-progress during power interruptions.

·       Enforce PPE, safe machine operation, housekeeping, and accident/near-miss reporting.

6.    Reporting, Deputizing & Continuous Improvement

·       Submit daily production reports covering output, yield, losses, downtime, manpower, and deviations.

·       Prepare data for monthly production reports.

·       Act as Production Manager when required.

·       Identify improvements that reduce waste, rework, downtime, and changeover time, and measure their results.

Required Qualifications & Experience

Education

·       HND or Bachelor's degree in Food Science/Technology, Food Processing Engineering, Post-Harvest Technology, Chemical/Agricultural Engineering, or a related field.

·       Training/certification in HACCP, GMP, Food Safety Level 2, Lean Manufacturing, ISO 22000/FSSC 22000 is an advantage.

Experience

·       At least 3 years' relevant experience in food manufacturing, agro-processing, FMCG, or similar production environments.

·       1-2 years' supervisory/team-lead experience.

·       Good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and production record-keeping.

Key Competencies

·       Production scheduling and process control.

·       HACCP, GMP, food safety, and allergen management.

·       Batch traceability, labelling, material reconciliation, and yield analysis.

·       Basic equipment troubleshooting and workplace safety.

·       Strong leadership, problem-solving, decision-making, planning, communication, and time management.

·       Ability to remain calm and make sound decisions during breakdowns, power outages, and production pressure.

·       High attention to detail, accountability, and integrity.

Working Conditions

·       Mainly production-floor based, often in warm conditions and around processing equipment.

·       Requires standing for long periods.

·       May require early starts, extended hours, or weekend work depending on production needs.

·       Must maintain a valid food-handler medical certificate and follow hygiene and PPE requirements.