Plant Manager, Associate

Overview

This position provides the leadership to the FDL East facility activities in processing, packaging, sanitation and warehouse. This position contributes to capital project initiatives which will position the organization to meet the business and customer demands and ensure the company leadership in the specialty cheese business. The position is integrated with other department leaders to deliver finished good production in quantity, time quality and cost within a safe and positive environment. This individual plays a key role continuous improvement bringing cost saving initiatives and in new product development from development phase to product launch. This position also has P&L accountability for the plant, so strong financial management skills are needed.

This position reports to the Plant Manager. 

Essential Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Establish financial and operational objectives and define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for assigned areas of responsibility
• Monitor KPIs daily, weekly, and monthly; identify variances to targets and proactively implement corrective action plans in collaboration with the Plant Manager
• Ensure the plant operates efficiently and effectively while meeting safety and quality standards
• Foster and lead a strong continuous improvement culture, promoting CI tools, problem‑solving methods, and systematic performance improvements
• Identify, develop, and implement cost‑reduction opportunities and operational efficiencies.
• Coordinate plant scheduling with the Supply Chain team to maximize order fill rates and minimize raw material, finished goods, and 3D inventory levels
• Ensure adherence to all company policies, procedures, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), and regulatory requirements
• Coordinate with cross‑functional teams to implement and maintain safety, food safety, quality, and environmental initiatives
• Provide leadership, direction, and support managers and supervisors to ensure efficient workflow and smooth shift‑to‑shift transitions
• Support staffing activities, including scheduling, hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, performance feedback, development, and corrective action
• Promote positive employee relations through effective communication, consistent policy interpretation, and professional interpersonal skills
• Conduct routine meetings with teams and supervisors, including participation in continuous improvement reviews
• Maintain accurate employee documentation, performance records, and conduct annual performance reviews
• Partner with the Plant Manager on organizational planning aligned on training, development, and succession planning
• Coordinate with the Engineering Manager on the planning and execution of capital projects
• Develop and propose capital expenditure (CapEx) projects as part of the annual budget process and support project evaluation and implementation
• Support creation and maintenance of Bill of Material (BOM) requirements as needed
• Ensure successful industrialization and startup of new products in collaboration with Technical and R&D teams
• Utilize available resources to improve processes, reduce cost, enhance quality, and simplify work
• Maintain accurate production, quality, shift, and equipment records
• Other duties as assigned. 

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent related experience;
• Ten or more years of manufacturing experience;
• Experience in a metrics-driven environment;
• Experience in Lean manufacturing, Continuous Improvement Tools, CI implementation;
• Proficiency with software applications including: Outlook, SAP, Labware and Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

  
  

Preferred Education and Experience

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills (in English/bilingual);
• Ten or more years of management/supervisory experience;
• Knowledge of USDA, 3rd party and customer audits, SOP's, HACCP, FDA, OSHA, EPA and GMPs;
• Enthusiastic team leader with outstanding motivational skills, with ability to delegate and monitor Performance;
• Excellent organizational skills with a high degree of initiative and flexibility;
• Proven ability to define performance measures and KPI’s related to the business and hold associates accountable for the same;
• Strong proficiency with software applications including: Outlook, SAP, Lotus Notes, Labware and Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint;
• Ability to learn and manage quickly changing deadlines and conflicting priorities;
• Ability to handle high volume workload in an open environment with changing priorities and frequent interruptions.

Travel

This position requires up to 10% travel. Frequently travel is outside the local area and overnight.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position assists the Plant Manager with managing all employees of the department and is responsible for the performance management and hiring of the employees within that department.

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the employee works in an office environment as well as on the plant floor. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and use fingers to type. This position is very active and requires standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, crouching, crawling and climbing all day. The employee must occasionally lift or move items over 50 pounds. 

Food Safety and Product Quality

This position is responsible for supporting the food safety management system and for communicating food safety issues to the Quality Department. 

Affirmative Action Plan/Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Savencia Cheese USA provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law. Further, the company takes affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment without regard to any of these characteristics. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.