Relocation Assistance is provided to the qualified candidate!
Summary:
Our award-winning client is seeking a Plant Manager to join their team. The ideal candidate will develop and execute both short-term operational plans and long-term strategies aligned with corporate objectives and customer requirements.
The ideal candidate will have strong experience leading complex, regulated food manufacturing operations, managing cross-functional leadership teams, improving operational performance, and developing a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Responsibilities:
Plant Operations & Strategy:
Lead day-to-day operations across the facility, ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable production.
Develop and execute site strategies focused on production, quality, cost, service, and business growth.
Provide hands-on leadership and clear communication across multiple departments.
Establish standardized operating procedures, performance metrics, and management systems.
Ensure production plans meet customer demand while optimizing throughput, yield, productivity, and asset utilization.
Maintain strong operational discipline and ensure customer commitments are consistently met.
Safety, Environmental & Regulatory Compliance:
Champion a strong safety culture and ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, PSM, food safety, and environmental requirements.
Oversee process safety, material handling, dust control, waste management, and environmental programs.
Lead safety, quality, and regulatory audits, inspections, investigations, and corrective actions.
Maintain a safe workplace by enforcing policies, conducting regular safety reviews, and promoting employee safety awareness.
Ensure compliance with applicable food manufacturing and regulatory standards.
Leadership & Talent Development
Lead and develop site leadership teams through strong communication, coaching, and accountability.
Build leadership capabilities through performance management, mentoring, and succession planning.
Foster effective collaboration across Operations, EHS, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, and HR.
Develop a culture focused on employee engagement, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
Maintenance, Reliability & Engineering:
Oversee plant reliability, preventive maintenance, and predictive maintenance programs.
Develop strategies for managing aging equipment, spare parts, and critical assets.
Partner with Engineering on capital improvements, plant expansions, automation, debottlenecking, and process optimization projects.
Improve equipment reliability, uptime, and overall asset performance.
Continuous Improvement & Change Management:
Lead Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Operational Excellence initiatives.
Identify opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency, quality, and workforce utilization.
Standardize processes, systems, reporting, and operating practices across the facility.
Lead change-management initiatives supporting business growth and operational transformation.
Ensure lessons learned from quality issues, performance gaps, and customer feedback are incorporated into plant processes.
Financial & Business Performance:
Drive productivity, cost reduction, and operational efficiency initiatives while maintaining safety and quality standards.
Manage plant resources and operating costs to achieve financial objectives.
Support strategic initiatives including plant expansions, new product introductions, capacity improvements, and process optimization.
Monitor key operational and financial metrics and take corrective action when performance targets are not achieved.
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Food Science, Manufacturing, or a related field.
6–12+ years of progressive manufacturing or processing leadership experience, preferably within food manufacturing.
Experience managing operations in a regulated food manufacturing environment with a strong focus on safety and compliance.
Demonstrated success leading multiple complex manufacturing functions or departments.
Experience with asset-intensive manufacturing operations, reliability programs, and maintenance strategies.
Experience coordinating production with R&D, engineering, or new product development activities.
Knowledge & Skills:
Strong knowledge of employee safety, food safety, quality systems, regulatory compliance, and manufacturing processes.
Understanding of powdered, granular, extruded, agglomerated, or similar food-processing operations is highly desirable.
Strong financial and operational acumen, including budgeting, cost control, productivity, and performance management.
Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Operational Excellence, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Strong understanding of equipment reliability, preventive/predictive maintenance, and asset management.
Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving, and change-management skills.
Ability to lead cross-functional teams and effectively balance safety, quality, service, cost, and production objectives.