Plant Manager

Plant Manager

About the Opportunity

We are a growing snack and bakery manufacturer in Central Missouri with real momentum — expanding capacity, investing in our facility, and building a leadership team to match. We're looking for a Plant Manager who has run a high-speed food production environment before and knows what it takes to deliver quality, throughput, and culture at the same time.

This is a hands-on leadership role with full accountability for a facility of 100–300 employees across production, maintenance, quality, and warehousing. If you thrive on the floor as much as in the office, you'll fit right in.

What You'll Own

Operations & Production

• Lead all daily plant operations across mixing, baking, packaging, and shipping to achieve throughput, yield, and on-time delivery targets
• Drive OEE improvements and reduce downtime through proactive planning and a strong maintenance partnership
• Own the production schedule and coordinate with planning, procurement, and sales to meet customer commitments
• Champion continuous improvement — identify inefficiencies, implement solutions, and build a culture where the team is always looking for a better way

People & Culture

• Lead, develop, and retain a team of 100–300 employees including supervisors, leads, and hourly production staff
• Build a culture of accountability, safety, and pride in the product — where people want to show up and do good work
• Partner with HR on recruiting, onboarding, performance management, and employee relations
• Develop your supervisory bench — the best plant managers are always growing the next one

Food Safety & Quality

• Ensure full compliance with SQF, HACCP, GMP, and all applicable food safety programs
• Partner with the Quality team to maintain certifications, lead internal audits, and drive corrective actions
• Hold the standard — food safety is non-negotiable at every level of the operation

Safety

• Own the facility safety program and maintain a zero-incident mindset across all shifts
• Lead incident investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective action follow-through
• Ensure OSHA compliance and foster a culture where employees feel safe raising concerns

Financial & Reporting

• Manage plant P&L including labor, waste, overhead, and conversion costs
• Develop and manage the annual operating budget; identify and deliver cost savings without sacrificing quality or safety
• Report KPIs to senior leadership with transparency and a clear improvement roadmap

What We're Looking For

Required

• 7–10 years of progressive experience in food manufacturing, with at least 3–5 years in a plant or operations manager role
• Experience in a high-speed, automated production environment — snack, bakery, or closely related food categories strongly preferred
• Proven track record managing 100 hourly employees across multiple shifts
• Solid working knowledge of food safety systems: SQF, HACCP, GMP, FDA compliance
• Strong P&L ownership experience — you understand the numbers and know how to move them
• Demonstrated ability to lead through change, drive continuous improvement, and develop people
• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field — or equivalent experience

Preferred

• Experience scaling a facility or managing through a capacity expansion
• Lean / Six Sigma certification or demonstrated CI methodology experience
• Familiarity with ERP/MES systems in a manufacturing environment
• TPM or reliability-centered maintenance exposure

Who You Are

You're not a clipboard manager. You know the floor, you know your people, and you know your numbers. You hold a high standard without making it feel like pressure — because you've built teams that want to hit the goal. You're the kind of leader who walks the line at the start of a shift, knows something is off before it becomes a problem, and still has time to develop the supervisor who's going to run their own plant someday.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience
• Annual performance bonus
• Full benefits package: medical, dental, vision
• 401(k) with company match
• Relocation assistance available for the right candidate