Plant Director

St. Armands Baking Company, owned by Engelman’s Bakery, is seeking a strong operational leader to serve as Plant Director overseeing two bakery operations in the Bradenton, Florida area (~150 total employees).

This role is responsible for elevating operational discipline, strengthening leadership capability, and building scalable systems that support consistent execution in a private label manufacturing environment.

St. Armands has long-standing retail partnerships and a strong reputation for quality and innovation. The growth of our private label business has highlighted the need for tighter process control, stronger accountability systems, and clearer performance standards. This position carries ownership for ensuring those systems are built, reinforced, and sustained.

Reporting to the Vice President of Operations, the Plant Director provides full operational accountability for safety, quality, service, cost, and people development. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring daily floor presence, decisive follow-through, and the ability to build urgency without creating instability.

The ideal candidate brings food manufacturing experience (baking preferred), strong private label or branded retail, and a proven ability to professionalize operations while strengthening culture.

What Success Looks Like in This Role:

• Both bakeries operate safely, efficiently, and in full compliance with food safety and regulatory standards
• A strong culture of ownership, teamwork, and continuous improvement is visible on the floor
• Food safety and quality systems are robust, audit-ready, and consistently executed
• Corrective actions address root cause and eliminate repeat issues
• Service levels for private label customers are consistently met or exceeded
• Operational metrics (safety, quality, labor efficiency, downtime, waste) trend positively and sustainably
• Leadership teams at each site are aligned, developed, and accountable

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide full operational and P&L leadership for two bakery operations in the Bradenton, FL area (~150 total employees).
• Drive a “safety first, safety always” culture by ensuring compliance with OSHA, company policies, and safe work practices.
• Strengthen operational discipline by implementing clear performance standards, structured problem-solving, and consistent follow-up.
• Champion food safety and quality in partnership with FSQA leadership, ensuring compliance with BRCGS, FDA, and customer requirements.
• Lead root cause analysis, corrective action development, and systemic process improvements to prevent recurrence of quality issues.
• Lead and develop site leadership teams, including Production, Maintenance, Quality, Warehouse, and HR partners.
• Increase clarity of expectations and accountability at all levels of the organization.
• Establish and monitor KPIs tied to safety, service, quality, cost, and reliability; implement action plans to address performance gaps.
• Maintain strong daily floor presence, engaging supervisors and frontline employees to reinforce standards and drive execution.
• Drive service excellence in a private label environment where responsiveness and consistency are critical.
• Improve labor efficiency, reduce waste, and strengthen reliability through structured continuous improvement efforts.
• Ensure preventive maintenance systems support equipment reliability and food safety requirements.
• Partner cross-functionally with Supply Chain, Commercial, and Finance teams to align production performance with customer commitments and financial goals.
• Lead capital planning and operational investment decisions that support scalability.
• Serve as a visible champion of Engelman’s core values of Quality, Dependability, and Teamwork.
• Perform other duties as required or assigned within the scope of this role.

KPIs THIS ROLE OWNS (Weekly / Monthly)

• Safety performance indicators (TRIR)
• On-time shipment (OTIF)
• Waste / scrap % and associated cost
• Customer complaints and corrective action closures
• Labor and equipment efficiency metrics

BASIC AND PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS (EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE)

Required

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive leadership experience in food manufacturing operations.
• At least 3 years of plant leadership experience with full operational accountability.
• Demonstrated experience strengthening operational systems and improving execution discipline.
• Strong knowledge of food safety regulations, GMPs, sanitation, and audit readiness.
• Experience operating in a customer-driven manufacturing environment.
• Experience managing operational budgets and driving financial performance.
• Proven experience developing frontline leaders and building accountability systems.
• High School Diploma or GED.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Food Science, Operations Management, Business, or related field; equivalent combinations of education, training, and experience will be considered.
• Experience in baking operations.
• Experience in private label manufacturing environments.
• Experience leading smaller or multi-site operations with lean organizational structures.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (JOB SKILLS, ABILITIES, KNOWLEDGE)

• Ability to raise standards while maintaining team engagement and trust.
• High emotional intelligence paired with strong performance expectations.
• Structured problem-solving and data-driven decision-making capabilities.
• Ability to move with urgency while maintaining operational stability.
• Strong leadership presence with consistent follow-through.
• Clear, confident communicator across all organizational levels.
• Flexibility to adjust schedule as needed to support plant performance.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to climb, balance, taste, or smell. Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 - 25 pounds, and occasionally more than 50 pounds with assistance from co-worker and/or mechanic devices. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. May require use of equipment in machine shop, small portable equipment, and manual tools. Duties may require occasional operation of a motor vehicle or travel to another state on behalf of the company.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

While performing the duties of this job, employee is regularly exposed to moving mechanical parts. Occasional exposure to wet and/or hot, humid conditions. The employee will be handling items that may be very hot. Noise level is usually moderate.