The Plant Manager is responsible for managing manufacturing operations at the designated site to ensure employee safety, food safety, product quality and achievement of business objectives. This position provides leadership to the facility related to production, maintenance, scheduling, safety, product quality and strategic planning. This role is responsible for meeting goals and driving continuous improvement.

The Plant Manager must demonstrate advanced critical thinking, decision making, time management and problem-solving skills while fostering a culture of empowerment, collaboration, accountability, teamwork and continuous improvement. The Plant Manager is responsible for reviewing and ensuring success of capital investments to include new equipment and facility projects through in-house personnel or external resources.

This position requires intricate knowledge of all applicable products, production processes and manufacturing equipment. The Plant Manager ensures adherence to robust food safety guidelines, standard operating procedures, good manufacturing practices and regulatory compliance. Extensive experience related to food production, exceptional leadership and strong communication skills are essential for success in this role.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Oversee and direct daily production floor operations. Coordinate daily, weekly, monthly activities ensuring interdepartmental collaboration.
• Meet and exceed plant performance expectations in the areas of Cost, Quality, Safety and Service.
• Analyze and improve plant operations and key metrics.
• Champion the overall safety performance of the site by ensuring all safety programs and procedures are followed, including but not limited to, identifying and correcting unsafe conditions, facilitating monthly safety meetings, performing monthly safety inspections, investigating/reporting accidents, proactively driving safety culture, ensuring compliance with all safety regulations and reducing safety incidents.
• Develop and implement strategies to increase productivity and drive continuous improvement.
• Lead problem solving and root cause analysis initiatives throughout the site.
• Promote and enforce quality compliance and culture including policy adherence, HACCP, SQF and GMP's.
• Collaborate with the Quality department to ensure product quality and assist in resolving customer complaints, regulatory audit findings and third-party audit actions.
• Provide leadership, direction and guidance to managers and supervisors throughout the site to further development and succession planning.
• Work with Maintenance and Engineering to prioritize, coordinate and implement capital projects and maintenance activities in collaboration with all affected functions.
• Responsible for achieving site budgets and delivering year-over-year standard cost reductions.
• Ensure inventory accuracy for all items applicable to the site.
• Responsible for managing the site's timely and complete order fulfillment through accurate production schedules, strong schedule attainment and clear and timely communication regarding any potential issues.
• This role is responsible and accountable for all aspects of the site's performance in a 24/7 manufacturing environment.

Qualifications Required:

• A minimum of seven (7) years of experience managing in a manufacturing environment with at least three years in food manufacturing. Note that the most current three years should be in a supervisory or leadership role(s).
• A bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Meat Science, Business Administration or a related field is required.
• Prior experience managing a manufacturing site regulated by the USDA is strongly preferred.
• Strong team player and naturally adept at fostering effective working relationships across a site, various functions and the overall organization.
• Proven ability to handle challenging interactions with others while maintaining a positive and productive work environment.
• Proven ability to proactively navigate potential issues before they occur and demonstrated creativity in finding solutions when problems arise.
• Strong time management, follow-up, communication and organizational skills.
• Strong safety, quality, efficiency and customer focus.
• Strong financial acumen with a solid understanding of plant financials.
• Ability to calmly handle multiple tasks simultaneously and navigate changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to lead and develop others.
• Ability to drive change effectively.
• Ability to work flexible hours including off-shift (2nd shift, Weekend Shift) and weekends in a 24/7 manufacturing environment. Must be able to work outside normal business hours including early mornings, nights and weekends.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite required. Redzone experience preferred.
• ERP and/or Microsoft Great Plains experience preferred.
• Lean Manufacturing, TPM, and/or Six Sigma experience preferred.

Must be able to lift up to 40 pounds in a production, maintenance and warehousing environment