Operations Manager - Live Haul

Sunrise Farms is a group of companies with primary focus in the poultry industry.

From our hatcheries to our “ready to eat” state of the art cooking facilities we service customers in the retail, food service and industrial sectors. We are proud of our support of the Canadian farm as well as our investment in the latest equipment and technologies at our facilities across Canada. Our test kitchens have the most current cooking equipment replicating that used in commercial establishments, to facilitate precision testing. This way you know the product you receive will perform to your expectations. We are proud of our long-standing partnerships with family-owned Canadian chicken farmers to produce high quality products.

Role:

The Live Haul Operations Manager is responsible for the efficient and effective daily and long-term catching, loading and transporting operations for Sunrise Alberta; directing or working with all personnel, equipment operators, vendors, and producers. The primary responsibility is to ensure the timely and safe arrival of poultry to the Lethbridge and Taber processing plants. This position operates in a fast-paced environment, with potential for rapid changes based on climate, equipment availability, staffing levels, farm challenges, etc. Proactive planning and actions are important to maintain costs and ensure all regulatory, humane handling, safety considerations and performance measurements are met or exceeded.

Responsibilities:

Manage all catching/loading operations personnel through planning, scheduling and support

Create and communicate weekly catching schedules for required parties.

Ensure humane handling of poultry to meet all industry, customer and regulatory requirements.

Control/reduce or eliminate all costs pertaining to labor, equipment, mortality, breakdowns, etc.

Maintain excellent producer relations

Hires, trains, encourages and disciplines all Alberta catching operations personnel

Follows all safety, transportation, humane handling, industry, govt. policies and protocols

Organizes multiple daily, weekly and monthly projects and activities

Assigns catching and daily work schedules to live operations personnel

Deals with vendors/personnel to proactively maintain and repair all live operations equipment

Ensures safety and training for catching personnel

Analyzes catch and haul records to ensure proper controls are being utilized

Investigates and reports all significant safety, humane handling, employment violations

Maintains proper human resource/payroll records

Conducts positive communication with farm growers on all issues

Maintain communication with sub-contractors, oversee and direct sub-contractors’ staff

Responsibilities assigned by Director Live Operations

Participate in the Sunrise Farms Animal Care Committee – ensuring completion of provincial requirements

Work with Fleet/Safety Manager(s) to resolve issues and ensure effective operations.

Performance Measurements:

All scheduled farm start times met for catchers and loaders

Ensure catching and loading trailers; at one hour per load or less (when trucks are on time)

Organize sufficient catching personnel to meet performance measurements for each farm

No damage to barns, equipment and farm property

Zero tolerance for inhumane handling of birds – pinched wings, necks, heads in mods, inappropriate handling of birds by catchers, etc.

All farm personnel trained and signed off for safety, catching and humane handling

No complaints from producers regarding Sunrise operations on farm property

Effective and timely communication with all personnel to complete daily tasks and planning

Daily reporting of any/all issues pertaining to Director Live Operations

Weekly catching/crewing schedules completed and delivered one week in advance.

Timely completion of all producer/barn credits.

Meet all Humane audits by organizing and maintaining all required forms & documents.

Requirements:

Five years progressive management experience

Knowledge of working with poultry/live animals

Strong leadership, ability to lead people and get results

Proven communication skills

Good problem-solving skills

Safety track record

Class 3 or willingness to obtain Class 3 license required.

Be available for off-hour scheduling and emergency issues: usually Sunday – Thursday.

Must be prepared to travel to farms as required throughout Alberta

First aid/safety and all required animal/humane handling/transportation courses

Performs other related duties as required.

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At Sunrise Farms we are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified individuals, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or any other identifying characteristic are encouraged to apply.

Please note that the expected new hire salary range provided is derived from a group of like roles within Sunrise Farms. The final offer amount for this role will be dependent on geographical region, applicable experience, and skillset of the candidate.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.