Plant Manager

In 1889, the Clover Leaf brand was first introduced to Canadians when the company began operating the first commercial salmon cannery on the Fraser River near Vancouver, British Columbia.

Over the last 135 years, Clover Leaf has grown to offer a variety of seafood products, including canned tuna, salmon, sardines, oysters, mussels, clams, and shrimp. Clover Leaf is consistently voted by Canadians as the #1 most trusted brand for canned seafood. Today, canned seafood is bought by 70% of Canadians. Clover Leaf is the #1 brand in the category, with over 40% share of the market and 90% brand awareness. Clover Leaf Seafoods offers seafood under the Clover Leaf and Brunswick brands. Brunswick is the #1 brand of canned sardines in Canada. Our International division, Bumble Bee Seafoods International, exports to over 40 countries around the world, and Brunswick is the #1 brand of Sardines in the Caribbean region.

Connors Bros. is part of the Clover Leaf Seafoods company, Clover Leaf Seafoods, along with our U.S. affiliate, Bumble Bee Foods, forming one of North America’s largest branded seafood companies. In 2020, Clover Leaf Seafoods, along with Bumble Bee Foods, was acquired by our long-time partner, FCF Company Ltd. FCF is a privately held company and one of the world’s largest marine trading companies, with 50 years of experience in the supply of tuna and other seafood. With FCF as a strong strategic owner, Clover Leaf Seafoods is well-positioned for future growth.

Our Beliefs: Delicious, protein-rich, versatile, convenient, and affordable. We believe seafood is one of the greatest foods on the planet.

Our Purpose: Feeding people’s lives through the power of the ocean.

Our How: Trusted brands offering seafood products that are delicious, nutritious, and accessible.

As a company of seafood lovers, we have made it our mission to discover new, innovative, and more sustainable ways to source foods from the ocean for our family of brands and help others discover seafood goodness. We offer the largest range of certified sustainable seafood in the canned seafood category.

Our sardine canning plant in Blacks Harbour is the largest vertically integrated herring cannery in North America and is on the beautiful Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. The plant has been producing herring for over 130 years, and the town is rich in company history. Our 300-plus employees are dedicated, loyal employees with long tenure and a passion for excellence.

Plant Manager, Blacks Harbour

We are seeking a driven and ambitious Plant Manager to join our team. The successful candidate will be a results-oriented, self-motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced, demanding Food Industry environment and can develop positive working relationships, an ability to adapt to frequent change, a passion and a proven track record in continuous improvement and leadership. This position reports to the Sr. Director of Operations.

Role Summary:

The Connors Bros. Plant Manager is an experienced operations leader who oversees all areas of canned sardine production and ensures products are on schedule, at the lowest costs, and of the highest quality. This position generates significant impact through the strategic and tactical direction of all departments that support plant production. They are a leader and have a proven record of leading people in a manufacturing environment. They have a history of motivating, engaging, and focusing teams in the right direction, driving overall performance standards and a continuous improvement environment.

To succeed in this role, one must:

Exhibit strong leadership and management skills to engage strong commitment and foster a people-first environment.

Be a natural motivational leader and team builder with advanced interpersonal, conflict management and negotiation skills.

Inspire trust and confidence with high integrity and personal standards.

Be flexible and able to adapt and drive a continuously improving business environment.

Have a high drive for operational efficiency and productivity focus.

Be a purposeful, self-starter who is always looking for opportunities for improvement, and can lead in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.

What you will do here:

Assure a safe workplace for all employees and contractors. Maintain safe working conditions and practices to comply with all government regulations while resulting in world-class metrics such as TIR & LTIR. Set the tone at the top concerning safety training, incident investigations, inspections, audits, and safety committee meetings.

Lead and mentor the management team for top performance.

Conduct and evaluate reviews of operating results, actual vs. planned metrics, and progress on personal goals. Establish priorities and procedures as needed to achieve desired results.

Develop capital budgets and strategic plans (annual & long-term) for the cannery. Identify asset reconfiguration needs and execute plans to ensure consistent, reliable plant performance.

Evaluate technologies to improve quality, consistency, and food safety.

Ensure operational readiness of equipment by ensuring proper maintenance and evaluating new equipment and techniques.

Actively manage the facility and ensure adherence to and compliance with all applicable rules and regulations.

Ensure the Company’s key goals and objectives related to safety, food quality and compliance, cost savings, margin improvement, working capital and growth are achieved.

Direct staff members in the development of budgets, business objectives and goals

Manage financial controls and operational KPIs so operations continually ‘meet or beat’ financial performance commitments while not sacrificing quality attributes.

Strive for world-class manufacturing and utilize ‘best practices’ in each function.

Exhibit a “Passion for Excellence” through engagement with all levels of management, team members, and customers.

Demonstrate senior leadership skills that encourage collaboration among all levels of management and team members.

Maintain a High-Performance environment where employees feel engaged, motivated, challenged, and rewarded for contributing to achieving superior results.

Hire, coach, and evaluate staff while modelling the Company’s culture and values.

Create a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement through LEAN principles, implementation of work standards, and development of feedback mechanisms.

Champion an assertive Cost Improvement Program that delivers annual commitments

Participate as a member of the New Product Development team to facilitate new products and set quality standards.

What you bring to the team:

Bachelor’s degree in business, Engineering, or Science.

10+ years of Relevant Management experience is an asset.

5+ years’ experience in a significant leadership role in a plant is required.

Demonstrated ability to lead complex performance improvement initiatives.

Experience with Lean and Six Sigma Initiatives is preferred.

Ability to Train, Teach, Motivate and Develop Others.

Working knowledge of implementing High-Performance Work Systems.

Automation and/or process improvement champion a plus.

Strategy development is a critical responsibility for this role.

Demonstrated experience with capital projects.

Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Experience working with manufacturing-based technology, processes, and principles.

Why work for Clover Leaf Seafoods?

We are a medium-sized company with a collaborative and inclusive culture.

We work efficiently as a team and provide an environment where you can make an impact on the business.

As part of our “focus forward” value to build the future for our company, we are committed to continuously evolving and learning together as a team.

We are proudly a “people-focused” company, knowing that the best and only true way to achieve our company mission is through our people.

What we offer:

Engaging and agile workplace culture, collaborative and inclusive teams,

Investing in our people through numerous learning and development programs, such as GROW.

A variety of wellness benefits, employer-paid health and dental premiums, Employee Assistance Program, access to virtual health care, and more.

Commitment to resource sustainability.

Tuition reimbursement opportunities.

Recognition and rewards through our programs.

Company-matched pension plan.

When you join Connors Bros., a division of Clover Leaf Seafoods Corp. in Blacks Harbour, you become an integral part of a tight-knit team in a quaint coastal community. You’ll be encouraged, empowered and challenged to be your best self through ongoing professional development in an inclusive environment.

Clover Leaf Seafood fosters diversity, inclusion and belonging within and across our organization. We welcome all to apply, including women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. Interested applicants can apply directly.

Clover Leaf Seafood is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know, and we will work with you to meet your needs.