Plant Manager
Location: Uxbridge, Ontario
Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent
We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Plant Manager to lead our manufacturing operations, strengthen operational performance and develop a high-performing team.
The successful candidate will be an effective leader with extensive plant management experience in the food or pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, strong operational knowledge and a demonstrated ability to drive accountability, efficiency, safety and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
Plant Operations & Performance
- Oversee daily plant operations, including production, batching, packaging, maintenance, logistics and scheduling.
- Ensure production targets, customer commitments and quality standards are consistently achieved.
- Establish and monitor operational KPIs, including labour efficiency, downtime, production output, waste and equipment utilization.
- Identify opportunities to improve production processes, reduce operating costs and eliminate bottlenecks.
- Ensure effective production planning, resource allocation and coordination between departments.
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen productivity and overall plant performance.
Leadership & Employee Development
- Provide leadership, direction and accountability to plant supervisors and operational employees.
- Establish clear performance expectations and conduct regular performance reviews.
- Develop structured employee training programs and support succession planning.
- Address employee performance, attendance and workplace conduct issues in collaboration with Human Resources.
- Foster a positive, respectful and accountable workplace culture.
- Ensure supervisors consistently enforce company policies, procedures and operational standards.
Health, Safety & Quality
- Promote a strong workplace safety culture and ensure compliance with Ontario occupational health and safety requirements.
- Work collaboratively with the Quality Assurance and Food Safety teams to maintain regulatory compliance and product quality.
- Ensure employees follow established GMP, sanitation, safety and operational procedures.
- Support corrective actions, incident investigations and preventative measures.
- Maintain high standards of plant cleanliness, organization and operational discipline.
Maintenance & Continuous Improvement
- Work closely with maintenance personnel to ensure equipment reliability and minimize downtime.
- Oversee preventative maintenance planning and equipment performance.
- Identify and support capital equipment investments, automation and facility improvements.
- Implement Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Ensure effective utilization of equipment, labour and production resources.
Financial & Operational Management
- Manage plant operating budgets, labour costs and departmental expenditures.
- Monitor manufacturing costs and identify opportunities for cost savings.
- Support capital expenditure planning and operational forecasting.
- Prepare regular operational performance reports for senior management.
- Collaborate with Finance, Human Resources, Quality Assurance, R&D and Sales to support business objectives.
Required Qualifications
- College diploma in Manufacturing, Operations Management, Business Administration, Engineering Technology or a related discipline.
- Minimum 5 years of proven Plant Manager experience in a food or pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
- Minimum 10 years of progressive manufacturing experience.
- Demonstrated experience managing plant supervisors and multidisciplinary manufacturing teams.
- Strong knowledge of manufacturing operations, production planning, equipment maintenance and continuous improvement.
- Working knowledge of GMP, food safety or pharmaceutical quality standards.
- Proven ability to improve plant productivity, operational efficiency and employee performance.
- Strong understanding of Ontario occupational health and safety requirements.
- Experience managing operating budgets, labour costs and capital projects.
- Strong leadership, communication, organizational and problem-solving skills.
- Proficiency with ERP systems and Microsoft Office applications.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with spice, seasoning, ingredient blending, dry food processing or related manufacturing operations.
- Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma training.
- Experience with SAP.
- Experience implementing operational KPIs and performance management systems.
- Experience with manufacturing automation, facility improvements and capital equipment installations.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for a Plant Manager who is actively involved in day-to-day operations, visible on the production floor and capable of building strong relationships with employees at all levels.
The ideal candidate will be a confident decision-maker who follows through on commitments, holds teams accountable, addresses operational challenges proactively and leads by example.
Practical plant management experience, strong leadership and demonstrated operational results are essential.
