SCOPE

The Operations Manager for the extraction facility is responsible for overseeing the daily Splenda Stevia farm extraction operations inclusive of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Inventory and employee development.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plan, organize, and direct the daily plant operating requirements sufficient to meet and exceed operating metrics as defined for a three-shift operation.
• Initiate plans and processes which minimize manufacturing costs through effective utilization of manpower, equipment, facilities, materials, and capital. Assure attainment of business objectives and production schedules while ensuring product standards meet or exceed customer expectations.
• Manage staff, prepare work schedules, and assign specific duties.
• Encourage use of innovative productivity techniques and focus on fact-based problem solving.
• Establish group and individual accountability throughout assigned departments for problem solving and cost reduction, both on a permanent and ad-hoc basis, depending on need.
• Establish and implement departmental policies, goals, objectives, and procedures, conferring with senior management and staff members as necessary.
• Determine staffing requirements and improve manpower utilization within existing departments and processes.
• Coordinate with other department heads as required.
• Review daily departmental and plant-wide financial performance and other performance data to measure productivity and goal achievement and determine best course of action to countermeasure any variances.
• Assist with the organization’s financial and budgeting activities to fund operations, maximize investments, and increase efficiency.
• Continually improve safety record by addressing both physical safety issues and employee safety attitudes. Maintain and improve housekeeping in all areas.
• All other duties as assigned.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Ability to work in conditions of high humidity and varying temperatures.
• Ability to balance, reach and grasp while climbing on a step stool and/or ladder.
• Ability to crouch, grasps, and lift product above shoulders in order to lift product from the floor properly.
• Ability to be on feet while performing job responsibilities.
• Ability to extended hours, such as daily overtime and an occasional weekend.
• Ability to exert up to 15‐50 pounds occasionally, 20 pounds of force frequently and 10 pounds of force constantly in order to lift and move product.
• Must possess visual acuity to document company records.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Agriculture, Food Science, or a technical field. Chemical Engineering Degree is preferred.
• 5-7 years of increasingly responsible manufacturing experience, at least 5 years which must be within the food industry.
• Demonstrated track record leading the improvement of operations while delivering day to day performance.
• Familiarity with the operations of all plant departments: production, quality, maintenance, materials management, controllership, human resources, etc.
• Participative management style and excellent organizational and communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience building a strong operations team.
• Comfortable working with a highly automated systems. Unitary operations include extraction, micro-filtration, evaporation and evaporation.
• Strong business acumen and working knowledge of process control and improvement tools.
• Comfortable working with multiple systems including ERP (Syspro), Windows suite, etc.