The standard hours for this position are Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, and may vary as the Plant Manager supports 1st shift (Monday - Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm), 2nd shift (Monday - Friday 3:15pm - 11:30pm) and 3rd shift (Sunday - Thursday 11:15pm - 7:15am).
This role is 100% on site at our Headquarters location: 946 Quality Drive, Lancaster, SC 29720.
Position Summary
The Plant Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, and strategic direction of a nutraceutical manufacturing facility. This role is accountable for achieving world-class performance in Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and People Development while ensuring compliance with all GMP, regulatory, environmental, and company standards.
The Plant Manager leads plant operations through a matrix organization and collaborates closely with functional leaders in Maintenance, Manufacturing Engineering, Packaging Engineering, Quality, Human Resources, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), and Supply Chain to achieve business objectives and drive sustainable operational excellence.
The successful candidate must possess proven experience implementing Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence methodologies, with demonstrated success transforming manufacturing operations to significantly improve safety performance, process and product quality, operational reliability, labor productivity, equipment effectiveness, and cost competitiveness.
This position serves as the senior operational leader for the facility and is responsible for developing and executing short- and long-term site strategies that support business growth, capacity expansion, new product introductions, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Business Performance
• Develop and execute the manufacturing site's strategic plan aligned with corporate objectives.
• Establish annual operating plans, productivity targets, and performance improvement initiatives.
• Drive achievement of key business metrics related to Safety, Quality, Service, Cost, and Employee Engagement.
• Lead site readiness for growth initiatives, capacity expansion projects, new product commercialization, and technology implementation.
• Foster a culture of accountability, operational discipline, continuous improvement, and employee development.
• Partner with senior leadership to support long-term business growth and operational capabilities.
Operational Excellence & Lean Transformation
• Champion Lean Manufacturing principles across all plant operations.
• Lead transformation efforts utilizing Lean, Six Sigma, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Daily Management Systems, Visual Factory, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, Standard Work, A3 Problem Solving, Root Cause Analysis, and 5S methodologies.
• Drive elimination of waste, inefficiencies, downtime, rework, deviations, scrap, changeover losses, and other Hidden Factory activities.
• Establish a culture of continuous improvement through employee engagement and problem-solving at all levels.
• Lead plant-wide Operational Excellence initiatives designed to improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), labor productivity, throughput, and asset utilization.
• Ensure sustainable implementation of continuous improvement systems and performance management processes.
Manufacturing Leadership
• Direct overall manufacturing operations to ensure safe, compliant, and efficient production.
• Ensure production schedules are executed to meet customer demand, process and product quality standards, inventory objectives, and service levels.
• Drive improvements in manufacturing performance through process optimization and operational discipline.
• Establish performance metrics and accountability systems that support continuous improvement.
• Conduct regular Gemba walks and operational reviews to drive employee engagement and operational execution.
• Ensure adherence to Safety Compliance Standards, Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), SOPs, quality standards, and regulatory requirements.
Matrix Leadership of Functional Support Organizations
The Plant Manager provides operational leadership and strategic direction while partnering with functional leaders responsible for:
Maintenance
• Improve asset reliability and equipment uptime.
• Implement reliability-centered maintenance strategies.
• Lead preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Reduce downtime and maintenance-related losses.
Manufacturing Engineering
• Drive process optimization and capacity improvements.
• Support automation and productivity initiatives.
• Evaluate and implement manufacturing technologies that improve safety, efficiency and quality.
Packaging Engineering
• Improve packaging lines performance and changeover effectiveness.
• Support packaging innovation and material optimization initiatives.
• Drive cost reduction and productivity improvements.
Quality
• Foster a culture of quality ownership throughout the organization.
• Ensure compliance with FDA, GMP, customer, and internal quality requirements.
• Reduce product loss, deviations, customer complaints, and non-conformances through proactive quality systems.
Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)
• Promote a zero-incident safety culture.
• Ensure compliance with all environmental, health, and safety regulations.
• Lead behavior-based safety and risk reduction initiatives.
Supply Chain
• Collaborate to optimize inventory levels, production planning, and customer service performance.
• Support Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) initiatives.
• Improve material flow and supply chain responsiveness.
Financial Management
• Develop and manage annual operating budgets.
• Drive continuous reduction in manufacturing costs through productivity improvements and waste elimination.
• Improve labor efficiency, material yield, equipment utilization, and cost of goods sold (COGS).
• Identify and execute cost savings opportunities while maintaining safety, quality, and service standards.
• Support capital investment planning and return-on-investment analysis.
People Leadership & Organizational Development
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing manufacturing organization.
• Build organizational capability through talent development, succession planning, and employee engagement.
• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability.
• Foster a culture that encourages innovation, teamwork, ownership, and continuous learning.
• Mentor leaders throughout the organization and develop future operational leaders.
• Promote strong employee relations and positive workplace culture.
Safety, Quality & Compliance
• Ensure full compliance with FDA regulations, cGMP requirements, OSHA standards, and company policies.
• Lead site initiatives that continuously improve safety performance and quality outcomes.
• Actively participate in regulatory inspections, customer audits, and internal audits.
• Ensure corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) are implemented effectively and sustainably.
• Drive continuous improvements in audit readiness and regulatory compliance.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The Plant Manager is accountable for achieving targets in the following areas:
Safety
• Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR)
• Near Miss Reporting
• Corrective Action Closure
• Safety Observation Participation
Quality
• Right First Time (RFT)
• Deviations
• Customer Complaints
• CAPA Effectiveness
• Audit Findings
Delivery
• On-Time-In-Full (OTIF)
• Schedule Adherence
• Manufacturing Throughput
• Customer Service Levels
Cost
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
• Labor Productivity
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• Material Yield
• Waste Reduction
People
• Employee Engagement
• Turnover
• Training Compliance
• Leadership Development
• Succession Readiness
Success Profile
The ideal candidate is a transformational manufacturing leader who has successfully led Lean Operational Excellence initiatives, built high-performing teams, improved safety and quality performance, and delivered measurable increases in productivity and profitability within a regulated manufacturing environment while practicing company leadership module and company published core values. This individual is equally comfortable on the production floor during Gemba walks and in executive leadership discussions focused on strategy, growth, and business performance.
Requirements
Minimum Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
• Minimum of 5 years in a Plant Manager, Operations Manager, Site Leader, or equivalent senior leadership role.
• Experience within nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, food manufacturing, consumer health products, medical devices, or other FDA-regulated industries.
• Demonstrated success leading Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence transformations.
• Proven track record improving safety, quality, productivity, and cost performance.
• Strong understanding of cGMP regulations and regulated manufacturing environments.
• Experience leading matrix organizations and cross-functional teams.
• Advanced knowledge of manufacturing KPIs, OEE, TPM, Lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving, and change management capabilities.
Preferred Qualifications
• Master's Degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration (MBA), or related field.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent certification.
• APICS CPIM or CSCP certification.
• Experience supporting large-scale manufacturing expansions, automation projects, and operational transformations.
• Experience leading multi-line or multi-building manufacturing operations within a high-growth organization.
