Jobs Locations: Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick

Continuous Improvement Supervisor

January 7th, 2026 |

Description

Department: Operations

Location: Connors Bros., Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada

Reports To: Plant Manager

Employment Status: Full-Time, Salaried

POSITION SUMMARY

The Continuous Improvement (CI) Supervisor is responsible for leading and executing continuous improvement initiatives across the Connors Bros. sardine manufacturing facility in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick. This role focuses on driving measurable improvements in efficiency, cost, and throughput through hands-on, plant-floor execution of improvement projects.

The CI Supervisor partners closely with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Sanitation, Engineering, and Supply Chain teams to identify opportunities, implement sustainable solutions, and support capital improvement initiatives, including select Capital Expenditure Requests (CERs). All activities must align with CFIA requirements, food safety programs, and the collective bargaining agreement.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Continuous Improvement & Project Leadership

· Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on line efficiency, labour optimization, waste reduction, yield improvement, and downtime reduction.

· Develop and manage project charters, timelines, KPIs, and sustainability plans.

· Facilitate kaizen events, Gemba walks, and structured problem-solving sessions.

· Track, document, and report performance improvements and cost savings.

Capital Projects & CER Support

· Support development and execution of Capital Expenditure Requests (CERs) tied to process improvement, equipment upgrades, and operational efficiency.

· Assist with ROI analysis, justification, and post-implementation validation.

· Partner with Engineering and Maintenance during equipment installations, modifications, and start-ups.

· Support commissioning and stabilization of new equipment or processes.

Operations & Manufacturing Support

· Work directly with production supervisors, leads, and hourly employees to identify improvement opportunities.

· Observe and analyze end-to-end production processes, including cooking, packing, sealing, labeling, casing, and sanitation.

· Support development, documentation, and sustainment of standard work.

· Assist with line balancing, staffing models, and workflow improvements.

Data, Metrics & Performance Tracking

· Analyze production, downtime, labour, scrap, and yield data.

· Support OEE tracking and improvement initiatives.

· Develop visual management tools and dashboards to support daily performance reviews.

· Use data-driven insights to prioritize and evaluate improvement initiatives.

Quality, Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance

· Ensure all improvement activities comply with CFIA regulations, HACCP, GMPs, and Connors Bros. quality standards.

· Partner with Quality and Sanitation to reduce defects, holds, rework, and food safety risks.

· Support container integrity, sanitation effectiveness, and process control improvements.

Training, Change Management & Engagement

· Train supervisors, leads, and frontline employees on CI tools, standard work, and problem-solving techniques.

· Support change management by reinforcing new processes and behaviours on the plant floor.

· Promote a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and employee engagement.

· Encourage employee-driven improvement ideas.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

· Collaborate with Maintenance on reliability and preventive maintenance improvements.

· Partner with Engineering on layout changes, equipment upgrades, and capital projects.

· Work within the collective agreement and collaborate appropriately with union leadership to support improvement initiatives.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

· Post-secondary education in Engineering, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Business, or related field, or equivalent manufacturing experience.

· 3–5 years of experience in manufacturing, operations, or continuous improvement.

· Experience in food manufacturing; seafood processing strongly preferred.

· Working knowledge of Lean tools (Standard Work, Root Cause Analysis).

· Strong project management and organizational skills.

· Experience working in a unionized manufacturing environment.

· Comfortable working hands-on in a production environment.

Preferred

· Lean Six Sigma Yellow or Green Belt certification.

· Experience with OEE, labour efficiency, and downtime analysis.

· Experience supporting capital projects and CER development.

· Familiarity with CFIA audits and food safety programs.

KEY COMPETENCIES

· Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

· Excellent communication and facilitation abilities

· Results-driven and data-oriented

· Ability to influence without direct authority

· Hands-on, practical improvement mindset

WORKING CONDITIONS

· Manufacturing environment with exposure to noise, wet conditions, temperature variation, and seafood processing operations.

· Significant time spent on the plant floor.

· Flexible schedule required to support production and improvement initiatives.

SUCCESS MEASURES

· Measurable improvements in efficiency, yield, and labour productivity

· Reduction in downtime, scrap, and rework

· Successful delivery of CI and CER-related projects with documented ROI

· Sustained adoption of standard work and visual management

· Increased employee engagement in continuous improvement initiatives

Plant Manager

December 19th, 2025 |

Reports to: General Manager

Location: Blacks Harbour, NB, Canada **Onsite**

About the Role

The Plant Manager, Blacks Harbour is a driven, results-oriented operations leader responsible for overseeing all aspects of canned sardine production in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment. This role ensures production is delivered on schedule, at the lowest possible cost, and at the highest quality standards through strong strategic and tactical leadership of all plant departments. The Plant Manager has a proven track record of leading, motivating, and engaging teams while adapting to change and driving continuous improvement.

What you will do here:

Assure a safe workplace for all employees and contractors. Maintain safe working conditions and practices to comply with all government regulations while resulting in world-class metrics such as TIR & LTIR. Set the tone at the top concerning safety training, incident investigations, inspections, audits, and safety committee meetings.
Lead and mentor the management team for top performance.
Conduct and evaluate reviews of operating results, actual vs. planned metrics, and progress on personal goals. Establish priorities and procedures as needed to achieve desired results.
Develop capital budgets and strategic plans (annual & long-term) for the cannery. Identify asset reconfiguration needs and execute plans to ensure consistent, reliable plant performance.
Evaluate technologies to improve quality, consistency, and food safety.
Ensure operational readiness of equipment by ensuring proper maintenance and evaluating new equipment and techniques.
Actively manage the facility and ensure adherence to and compliance with all applicable rules and regulations.
Ensure the Company’s key goals and objectives related to safety, food quality and compliance, cost savings, margin improvement, working capital and growth are achieved.
Direct staff members in the development of budgets, business objectives and goals
Manage financial controls and operational KPIs so operations continually ‘meet or beat’ financial performance commitments while not sacrificing quality attributes.
Strive for world-class manufacturing and utilize ‘best practices’ in each function.
Exhibit a “Passion for Excellence” through engagement with all levels of management, team members, and customers.
Demonstrate senior leadership skills that encourage collaboration among all levels of management and team members.
Maintain a High-Performance environment where employees feel engaged, motivated, challenged, and rewarded for contributing to achieving superior results.
Hire, coach, and evaluate staff while modelling the Company’s culture and values.
Create a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement through LEAN principles, implementation of work standards, and development of feedback mechanisms.
Champion an assertive Cost Improvement Program that delivers annual commitments
Participate as a member of the New Product Development team to facilitate new products and set quality standards.

What you bring to the team:

Bachelor’s degree in business, Engineering, or Science.
10+ years of Relevant Management experience is an asset.
5+ years’ experience in a significant leadership role in a plant is required.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex performance improvement initiatives.
Experience with Lean and Six Sigma Initiatives is preferred.
Ability to Train, Teach, Motivate and Develop Others.
Working knowledge of implementing High-Performance Work Systems.
Automation and/or process improvement champion a plus.
Strategy development is a critical responsibility for this role.
Demonstrated experience with capital projects.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Experience working with manufacturing-based technology, processes, and principles

Connors Bros. fosters diversity, inclusion and belonging within and across our organization. We welcome all to apply, including women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. Interested applicants can apply directly.

Connors Bros. is an accessible employer. If you require accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Quality Assurance Manager

December 19th, 2025 |

Reports to: Plant Manager

Location: Blacks Harbour, NB, Canada **Onsite**

About the Role

We are currently seeking a highly motivated, well-organized leader, to carry out the technical instruction and record management responsibilities associated with the Company’s Quality Assurance program in accordance with the organization’s policies and the applicable legislation.

The Quality Assurance Manager will be responsible but not limited to, ensuring that all products manufactured by the organization meet our customer specifications, are legislatively compliant and achieve superior quality and reliability levels. This individual will plan, organize, direct and control the activities required to meet all food safety requirements, while monitoring and advising on the performance of the quality management system.

What You’ll Do Here:

Actively participate in the development of site Quality procedures and leads efforts toward their effective implementation.
Ensures that all Plant Quality personnel are adequately trained to perform their responsibilities and coordinates and supervises their daily activities. Assists in providing Quality training for plant employees.
Ensures that all site level product safety & quality procedures and programs are being implemented in an acceptable manner.
Ensures the timely review of production records leading to the disposition of all associated product. Communicates disposition and ensures that any product holds are implemented quickly and brought to resolution in compliance with both internal and external requirements.
Assists in the development and leads the implementation of In-Process Quality Control systems and measures, communicating outcomes and issues to corporate Quality and site-level management and supervision in a timely manner. Identifies and implements corrective and preventive actions, as required and appropriate.
Leads the internal self-assessment/self-audit programs and procedures, reporting results and ensuring follow up action is planned in a timely manner.
Participates in all Quality external audits and ensures that we are compliant and all corrective actions are implemented.

What You Bring to the Team:

A bachelor’s degree in food safety, microbiology and/or quality assurance programs.
A minimum of 10+ years’ experience in Quality Assurance, food safety compliance with extensive knowledge in provincial and national regulations.
A minimum of 6 years in a canned seafood manufacturing environment is preferred.
Strong understanding of Sanitation, HACCP and GMP’s.
Strong leadership skills.
Experience in laboratory detection and identification of microorganisms.
Experience in writing HACCP plans, the development and implementation of quality control procedures and safe food practices.
Design, script, introduce and train employees and others on proper process procedures pertaining to GMP.
Experience working with computerized inventory control systems, with exceptional skills in time management, organization and documentation.

The tasks involved in this job require a variety of physical activities, such as walking and standing for periods of time within a production environment.

Thank you to all applicants for expressing interest in employment opportunities with Connors Bros. Please note that only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicants may undergo a background check and must meet the security criteria specified for the position.