Department Leader - Breeding

POSITION: Department Leader - Breeding

ACCOUNTABILITY: Unit Manager

STATUS: Exempt

POSITION OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Breeding Department Leader is to manage production flow, as well as perform, supervise and train staff in the tasks involved in the breeding process.

 

SCHWARTZ FARMS VALUES:

Humility: We seek to understand in order to better serve, grow and

appreciate others.

• Seek to Understand. We seek out others' perspectives, actively listen, maintain an open mind, and respect different views.
• Embrace personal and professional growth. We acknowledge our limitations, and recognize our talents are gifts which come with the responsibility to develop and share with others.
• Serve Others. We serve with generous confidence. We are committed to bringing out the best in each other and prioritize shared success over individual ambition.
• Demonstrate gratitude. We express appreciation for the contributions and sacrifices of others, past and present.

 

Care: We foster an environment of empathy, support and thoughtful

actions that help others thrive.

• Build relationships. We take time to genuinely learn about the whole person, show empathy, and interact in ways that build long-term trust.
• Model respect. We aspire to be good stewards of the gifts we've been entrusted with: our families, team, animals, environment and communities.
• Communicate thoughtfully. We give and receive respectful, honest feedback to encourage development, knowing that caring for someone means sometimes having hard conversations.

 

Integrity: We strive to do the right thing, for the right reason, aligning

words with actions and building trust.

• Do what is right. We ensure our decisions and actions are morally-sound and reflect our values.
• Be honest. We speak the truth constructively and with compassion.
• Honor commitments. We practice what we preach and do what we say.
• Build trust. We assume good intent in others, acknowledge our mistakes, and are genuine in all our interactions.

 

Discipline: We approach our work with intentionality, consistency and

accountability.

• Demonstrate accountability. We follow through on our commitments.
• Practice self-discipline. We manage our time, energy and priorities with intention, organization, sound information and accountability. We lead with steadiness and objectivity.
• Create alignment. We collaborate intentionally across teams to ensure shared understanding of goals, clarity of purpose, utilization of skillsets and coordination of efforts.
• Serve courageously. We embrace work and conversations that strengthen our character and credibility. We demonstrate grit and resilience in difficult situations.

 

Excellence: We deliver results by relentlessly pursuing the best versions of

ourselves, our work, our teams, our company and our communities.

• Drive performance. We build our legacy on maintaining high standards, continuous improvement, honoring past achievements and embracing new ideas.
• Develop talent. We challenge ourselves and others to develop capabilities, reach full potential and celebrate successes.
• Deliver results. We strive to exceed expectations, demonstrating initiative, creative problem-solving and ownership of outcomes.

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Specifically, the Breeding Department Leader is responsible for the following activities:

Production & Production Scheduling:

• Supervise, train and execute all artificial breeding techniques and timing requirements to meet targets.
• Supervise, train and execute to ensuring compliance with SFI protocol; provide recommendations and feedback to SFI on techniques
• Supervise, train and execute regular heat and pregnancy checks on animals
• Schedule routine and seasonal vaccinations, supervise and train staff to ensure timely completion
• Supervise, train and execute to ensure correct withdrawal timing of all vaccines and treatments
• Perform monthly inventory counts
• Supervise, train and execute general feeding requirement on bred and open animals
• Manage pig flow, in and out of breeding barns; ensure sufficient number of sows bred to maximize throughput to farrowing
• Ensure barn organization, including animal flow throughout the barn, supervise and train staff as required
• Organize flow of open animals back into breeding program or removal thereof
• Supervise, train and execute to ensure the highest standards of the humane treatment of animals
• Ensure and maintain as directed that all SFI bio-security policies and procedures are followed and enforced
• Advocate and engage in SFI's animal welfare policy, including promoting animal well-being, remedying circumstances which impede animal care, and properly reporting instances of mistreatment or abuse
• Be capable of lifting a minimum of 50 lbs with reasonable accommodation

 

Building & Equipment Maintenance:

• Oversee and perform regular maintenance of equipment and structure in breeding barns, delegate and train staff as needed to maintain standards
• Perform regular pit maintenance, including pulling and recharging of pits
• Ensure overall barn cleanliness
• Maintain proper environment, including proper ventilation and air movement in barn
• Ensure the highest level of a safe work environment and safe work practices

 

Labor / Personnel:

• Train, supervise, motivate and lead the appropriate number of employees to achieve production goals and maximize efficiency
• Schedule daily tasks to be performed by supervised employees
• Follow, train and ensure that SFI training programs and procedures are being met and followed

 

Documentation:

• Be responsible for the timely maintenance all sow breeding records, including but not limited to routine maintenance on computer sow records, (i.e. running reports on nonproductive sows and regulating accordingly)
• Be responsible for the timely maintenance of sow removal, transactions and treatment records
• Maintain PQA certification status

 

The preceding statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed.

 

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Additional duties may be assigned as they arise.

 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

 

The preceding qualifications are guidelines. Other combinations of education and experience could provide the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform this job.

 

WORKING CONDITIONS AND ENVIRONMENT

Position may involve non-standard business hours.