Plant Director
A leading process manufacturing organization is seeking a Plant Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership for a large-scale manufacturing facility. This position is responsible for overall site performance, including safety, environmental compliance, quality, production, maintenance, continuous improvement, employee engagement, and financial results.
The Plant Manager will oversee all aspects of plant operations, ensuring the facility operates safely, efficiently, and profitably while delivering high-quality products and driving a culture of accountability, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
Operations & Production
- Lead all manufacturing operations to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient production.
- Deliver production plans aligned with customer demand and business objectives.
- Partner with maintenance and engineering teams to improve equipment reliability, asset utilization, and overall plant performance.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance productivity, efficiency, and operational effectiveness.
- Ensure compliance with quality systems, food safety requirements, and product specifications.
Safety & Environmental Leadership
- Champion a world-class safety culture focused on zero injuries and continuous improvement.
- Ensure compliance with all applicable safety, environmental, health, and regulatory requirements.
- Oversee environmental performance, permit compliance, and sustainability initiatives.
- Drive proactive risk identification and corrective action programs.
Financial & Business Leadership
- Maintain full accountability for plant financial performance, including operating costs, capital expenditures, productivity, and profitability.
- Develop and manage annual operating plans, forecasts, and site budgets.
- Monitor financial performance and implement actions to address variances and improve results.
- Lead capital investment planning and execution to improve safety, reliability, capacity, and cost competitiveness.
- Drive yield improvement, waste reduction, and loss elimination initiatives.
People & Culture
- Lead, coach, and develop a large plant leadership team and workforce.
- Partner with Human Resources to support talent acquisition, succession planning, employee engagement, and leadership development.
- Foster a culture of accountability, inclusion, collaboration, and continuous learning.
- Lead organizational change initiatives and effectively communicate business priorities across the site.
- Support positive labor relations and workforce management activities in unionized environments when applicable.
Leadership & Continuous Improvement
- Build strong partnerships across operations, maintenance, engineering, supply chain, quality, finance, and commercial teams.
- Utilize data, KPIs, and performance metrics to drive decision-making and operational improvements.
- Champion root cause analysis, problem-solving, and continuous improvement methodologies.
- Serve as the senior site leader, ensuring alignment between plant objectives and broader business goals.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, or a related technical field required.
- 10+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience within a process manufacturing environment.
- Significant experience leading large-scale manufacturing operations with full site responsibility.
- Proven success managing plant financial performance, operating budgets, and capital project investments.
- Strong background in safety, environmental compliance, quality systems, and operational excellence.
- Experience leading within a unionized manufacturing environment preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to lead change, build high-performing teams, and drive culture transformation.
- Strong understanding of production planning, maintenance, reliability, supply chain, engineering, quality, and continuous improvement principles.
- Excellent communication, leadership, decision-making, and stakeholder management skills.
What the Company Offers
- Competitive executive-level compensation and bonus opportunity.
- Comprehensive health, retirement, and wellness benefits.
- Opportunity to lead a large, complex manufacturing operation.
- Significant visibility and influence within the organization.
- A culture focused on safety, operational excellence, employee development, and long-term growth.
- The ability to make a measurable impact on business performance, employee engagement, and operational success.
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