Dole Food Company, Inc. Hiring for Banana Ripener at Wilmington, DE Full Time

Monitor the handling and ripening banana processes, conducting quality inspections, reviewing ripening cycles, actual ripening, and post ripening handling, in order to comply with customers’ expectations.

• Conduct daily required quality inspections related to the ripening process, such as assessing ventilation, humidity, temperature, etc., and communicate reports daily, to ensure compliance with customer ripening requirements and expectations.
• Coordinate labor regarding conditioning inbound fruit and loading ripening rooms, according to the established procedures, to maintain an adequate inventory and comply with ripening schedules.
• Perform daily inspections for inbound and outbound fruit to meet customer specifications.
• Coordinate labor for outbound fruit, and ensure that fruit is out turned in a timely manner for order assembly.
• Coordinate with Quality Assurance, Sales, Product Management, and Port Operations to facilitate customers’ requirements and prevent customer quality issues.
• Generate and maintain all Bill of Lading and Invoice documentation related to each customer’s programs.
• Perform daily inventory management and reconcile as needed.
• Communicate with the warehouse regarding delivery and inventory management.
• Maintain a documented sanitation and preventative maintenance program, to ensure ripening rooms are running efficiently and complying with the established quality standards.
• Perform work outside of normal business hours as needed and required; perform other projects as needed and assigned by the Ripening Manager.
• Conduct weekly retail survey calls or visits, and maintain a documented file.
• Occasionally participate in product, packaging, or quality trials at the Port, Warehouse, or Retail level as needed to support Dole’s supply chain and quality initiatives.
• Assist in Quality Assurance at Dole facilities when necessary to support existing QA staff.

Required Skills

• Functional Expertise – has developed skills in a range of processes or procedures to carry out assigned tasks.
• Business Acumen – ability to understand how the assigned duties relate to others in the team and how the team integrates with others, including colleagues and customers.
• Problem Solving – ability to analyze information, recognize and solve typical problems that can occur in own work area with supervisory approval.
• Leadership – has ability to take responsibility and lead in absence of the manager.
• Impact – ability to impact the quality of own work; meeting deadlines and taking action.
• Interpersonal Skills/Influence/Teamwork – ability to use communication skills to exchange information.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs., sometimes overhead.
• Ability to work in cold environments.
• Work safely in a warehouse setting or field location, including working around heavy equipment such as forklifts.
• Noise level of the environment is often loud.
• Exposure to food grade chemicals.
• Occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid locations.
• Ability to work in high places.
• Availability to work weekends and overtime.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to communicate through various formats, including phone and email.
• Availability to travel as needed.
• Ability to understand color progression during ripening process.

Required Experience

• Experience performing in banana ripening and conditioning.
• Experience in container and warehouse operations.
• Experience using Microsoft D365.