Plant Operations Manager

Qualification:

• Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Food Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience) paired with 4 years of progressive manufacturing operations experience.
• Leadership: 2 years of direct supervisory experience leading front-line supervisors or manufacturing production teams.
• Industry Focus: Strong background in continuous processing, food manufacturing, dry ingredient processing, thermal processing, or bulk material handling.
• Continuous Improvement: Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt certification.
• Technical Acumen: Demonstrated success in site reliability, preventive maintenance programs, and managing plant OpEx/CapEx budgets.
• Quality Standards: In-depth knowledge of HACCP, SQF, BRC, or similar food safety quality management frameworks.

We are recruiting a Plant Operations Manager to lead production processes and continuous improvement initiatives for a premier, global food ingredient processing facility.

Serving as the #2 operational leader on site, this role provides strategic oversight for daily processing, continuous manufacturing operations, facility safety, quality compliance, and financial performance. This is an exceptional opportunity for a strong, people-focused manufacturing manager to drive operational reliability, manage capital budgets, and mentor a high-performing production team.

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Leadership: Establish and deploy daily operational priorities for the plant; oversee end-to-end continuous processing, packaging, and facility throughput.
• Safety & Regulatory Compliance: Lead and enforce site standards across Employee Health & Safety (EH&S), Environmental Compliance, Food Safety, and Quality Assurance in alignment with FDA and federal regulations.
• Financial Management: Direct operational expenditure (OpEx) and capital expenditure (CapEx) budgets to achieve productivity targets and financial performance goals.
• Process Optimization: Implement continuous improvement strategies, drive Production Reliability Excellence (PRE), and standardize operating procedures across plant maintenance, quality control, and operator best practices.
• Team Development & Leadership: Direct and mentor shift supervisors and floor leads; drive talent acquisition, performance management, coaching, and accountability across the operational team.