Plant Manager

The Plant Manager is responsible for the overall operational leadership, safety, quality, financial performance, and continuous improvement of one manufacturing facility producing extruded and agglomerated food. Powdered or granular foods. Provides both short-term tactical plans and long term strategic plans to the various business groups represented at this site. This role ensures the facility operates efficiently, safely, and in compliance with applicable regulatory, environmental, and food safety standards, while aligning operations with corporate strategy and growth objectives.

The ideal candidate brings strong experience managing complex, regulated manufacturing environments, leading diverse leadership teams, and driving performance across multiple departments.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Oversee day-to-day operations across multiple business and plants, ensuring consistent performance, operational discipline, and delivery of customer commitments.

Communicate, develop and execute site-level strategies aligned with business goals for production, quality, cost, and service

Provide detailed communication, with strategic and hands-on leadership for multiple departments, ensuring safe, efficient, and compliant operations

Establish standardized operating practices, performance metrics, and governance across the facility

Ensure production plans meet customer demand while optimizing throughput, yield, and asset utilization

Safety, Environmental & Regulatory Compliance

Champion a strong safety culture, ensuring compliance with OSHA, EPA, and chemical process safety (PSM) requirements

Oversee process safety, materials handling, dust control, waste management, and environmental stewardship programs

Lead audits, inspections, and corrective action plans related to safety, quality, and regulatory compliance

Maintain a safe working environment by enforcing safety policies and procedures, conducting regular safety audits, and promoting a culture of safety awareness among employees

Leadership & Talent Development

Directly lead site leadership teams, through daily example

Build strong leadership capability through coaching, performance management, and succession planning

Foster collaboration and alignment across Operations, EHS, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, and HR

Promote a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement

Maintenance, Reliability & Engineering

Oversee asset reliability, preventive and predictive maintenance strategies

Ensure effective management of aging assets, preventive maintenance programs, and spare parts strategies

Partner with Engineering on plant upgrades, expansions, debottlenecking, and automation projects

Continuous Improvement & Change Leadership

Lead Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Operational Excellence initiatives across site

Drive standardization of systems, processes, and reporting

Operational efficiencies to utilize staff in a cost effective way

Lead change management initiatives to support growth and transformation

Ensure learning from gaps quality and customer performance are institutionalized in plant processes and practices.

Financial & Business Performance

Drive productivity improvements and cost reduction initiatives without compromising safety or quality

Support strategic initiatives such as plant expansions, new product introductions, and process optimization