Sanitation Lead

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

 

Sanitation Lead is responsible for driving the implementation and continuous improvement of sanitation, hygiene, and hygienic design practices at the manufacturing site. This role partners closely with cross-functional teams (operations, engineering, maintenance especially) and the Regional Sanitation Team to ensure compliance with Kerry’s Global Sanitation Standards, while fostering a “Stay Safe, Stay Clean.” In addition, upon establishing sustained high sanitation performance, the role leads CIP optimization to contribute to Kerry’s and our customers’ sustainability objectives.

The position requires strong cross-functional leadership, influence, and the ability to lead people and processes toward a high-performing sanitation program.

 

Work Location : Murarrie - Brisbane 

 

Reporting to : FSQ Manager 

 

Key responsibilities

 

Leadership & Stakeholder Collaboration

 

• Lead the site sanitation and hygiene agenda by championing Kerry’s Global Sanitation Standards and ensuring alignment with regional and customer expectations.
• Build strong partnership with production, engineering, quality, EHS, supply chain, and other cross-functional teams to integrate robust sanitation practices into daily operations.
• Act as the site’s subject matter expert (SME) in sanitation, providing direction, coaching, and technical oversight to sanitation operators, contractors, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Lead continuous improvement and best practices initiative within the site sanitation program.

 

Standards Deployment & Lead Program Governance Ownership

 

• Ensure the Kerry Sanitation Standards are deployed and executed by operations and engineering by working collaboratively with the Regional Sanitation Head and Team, oversee development, implementation, and maintenance of sanitation policies, ensuring alignment with food safety, quality, and HSE requirements.
• Assess and monitor site compliance with Kerry’s corporate sanitation, food safety, and HSE standards; drive corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to closure.
• Develop and maintain the Master Sanitation Schedule (MSS) for the facility; track execution (ie lead the governance of the sanitation program) and collaborate with cross functional team production accordance to Kerry standards requirement.

 

Procedure Development & Lead Validation

 

• Develop, review, and validate Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs) for all process lines and sanitation-related activities. Ensure standardization to best practice with other APMEA sites.
• Lead the cleaning validations for Clean-in-Place (CIP), Assisted Cleaning Systems (ACS), Clean-Out-of-Place (COP).
• Be the ‘owner’ of the product category standard SAP data, cleaning matrix and  scheduling order for the site. Review these data regularly for existing products and NPIs to ensure they are up to date. Verify adherence to using these data in the right processes (eg NPI) and all production is planed via SAP (planned and unplanned requests).
• Ensure documentation supports all time audit-readiness.

 

Lead Sanitation Training & Capability Building

 

• Provide coaching, guidance, and continuous capability-building to ensure site sanitation staff and cross functional teams achieve proficiency and sustain high performance.
• Facilitate continuous learning culture related to hygiene, sanitation, and food safety.

 

Risk Assessments & Change Management

 

• Conduct facility sanitation assessments to identify risks, prioritize gaps using risk-based methodologies, and support development of corrective action plans.
• Ensure preventive controls are robust, documented, and verified regularly.

 

KPI Monitoring & Reporting

 

• Ensure that sanitation performance indicators (KPIs) are tracked, analyzed, and reported by operations and drive actions to achieve sanitation and food safety targets.
• Share site sanitation KPI report with Regional Sanitation Head.
• Ensure that sanitation performance, risks, and improvement opportunities are clearly communicated to site leadership and shared with regional sanitation head.

Qualifications and skills

 

 

• Minimum of 5 years of Sanitation & Food Safety experience in an Operations Quality role
• Desired Education: A Qualified Degree in Food Science/Food Technology/Food Engineering/Microbiology or related disciplines
• Strong understanding of food safety principles, hygienic design, GMP, HACCP, and risk-based sanitation management.
• Knowledge of microbiology, allergen controls, and sanitation chemistry (detergents, disinfectants, CIP parameters).
• Familiarity with pest management principles and facility proofing.
• Ability to interpret standards, regulatory requirements, and corporate hygiene policies.
• Experience with sanitation monitoring tools (ATP devices, micro swabs, validation tools).

 

Leadership & Behavioral Competencies

 

• Demonstrated ability to lead without authority, influence cross-functional teams, and drive change.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills—able to train, coach, and mentor staff at all levels.
• Analytical thinker with strong problem-solving and decision-making capability.
• High attention to detail and commitment to food safety and operational discipline.
• Strong sense of ownership, accountability, and ability to work under pressure during audits or sanitation deviations.
• Continuous improvement mindset with experience in RCA, CAPA, or Lean methodologies (advantage).