Plant Director - Abilene, KS

At Russell Stover, not only do we love chocolate, but we love our jobs! Every day we go to work exhibiting our values of excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, responsibility, and collaboration. Working at Russell Stover you’ll be part of the leading manufacturer of boxed, seasonal, and sugar‑free chocolates. For over 100 years, Russell Stover Chocolates, Whitman’s, and Pangburn’s have been crafted with the finest ingredients to bring happiness to generations.

Today, we produce over 40 million pounds of chocolate annually through 3 factories (2 in Kansas, 1 in Texas), and our legacy brands can be found in 13 company‑owned stores and over 9,000 wholesale accounts. Join our team and let’s continue making chocolate lovers happy!

As the Plant Director
, you will be the senior onsite leader in our Abilene, KS manufacturing facility. You will be a key member of the company’s operations leadership team & will be accountable for all aspects of plant performance to ensure business, operational, quality, and food safety objectives are achieved. As a dynamic leader, you will prioritize a safe working environment and be an advocate for ensuring talent retention, development, and engagement for approximately 500 employees onsite.

This critical role requires a confident leader with strong technical and communication skills with the ability to build relationships across the organization while balancing priorities in a fast‑paced environment.

Your mission will be to ensure the production and delivery of quality products on time and in the safest, most efficient, and cost‑effective manner. You will be responsible for managing all resources related to operations within the plant to ensure products are manufactured in the quantities required within the designated time frames at the most efficient cost without compromising high standards for safety and quality.

Specific areas of responsibility include:

• Leading and coordinating production operations, employee health and safety, maintenance engineering, quality, and continuous improvement efforts for the plant.
• Managing daily operations within the plant to achieve production and business goals.
• Hiring, training, motivating, and developing staff and create a high‑performing, engaged workforce.
• Ensuring employee safety while improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the plant.
• Partnering with Engineering teams to create and execute capital investments to address cost and capacity needs.
• Partnering with Human Resources to develop programs and tools to drive a high‑performing and engaging culture within the plant.
• Testing and monitoring plant performance through production reports and analysis.
• Championing change to develop a culture of continuous improvement.
• Leading the staff to identify and develop present and future capacities through manpower and machinery to ensure the most cost‑efficient operations.
• Ensuring production is scheduled to meet plans and schedules are executed effectively and on time.
• Establishing and maintaining an organized system, optimize processes and methods to ensure maximum and steady output, increase efficiency, and reduce waste.
• Developing and improving production and sanitation processes to maintain and improve quality standards as well as minimize waste and inefficiencies.
• Understanding the Manufacturing budget and managing expectations.
• Maintaining effective communication of company goals and relevant information to employees.
• Developing and encouraging effective working relationships within the department and with support organizations.
• Ensuring safety programs are followed in place and effectively executed.
• Leading the plant on the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) for FSSC certification
• Adherin…