Manager, Human Resources

Your Opportunity as the Human Resources Manager

Join the leadership team at our Columbus, Georgia Hostess bakery, where we proudly produce iconic snacks including Mini Cupcakes, Ding Dongs® and Zingers®. As the senior Human Resources leader for the site, you will serve as a strategic advisor to plant leadership, driving workforce and labor strategies that enable business growth, operational excellence, and a highly engaged workforce. This is a highly visible leadership role with the opportunity to shape the employee experience and influence the future of the organization.

This role offers the opportunity to influence the people strategy for a bakery producing some of Hostess' most iconic products, while serving as a key voice in shaping the site's culture, workforce capability, and long-term success. You will lead labor relations strategy, strengthen union-management partnerships, guide workforce planning, and leadership development initiatives, and help create a culture built on trust, accountability, and performance.

Serving as the primary bridge between employees, union leadership, and business leaders, you will play a critical role in fostering collaborative labor-management relationships that support both employee and business success.

Success in this role will be measured not only through effective contract administration, but through your ability to improve employee engagement, strengthen workforce stability, develop leadership capability, reduce workplace conflict, enhance organizational effectiveness, and create an environment where employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute to the site's success.

Location:

Columbus, GA

Work Arrangements: 100% Onsite

Willingness to work extended hours and flow to the work as needed.

• Serve as the strategic Human Resources business partner to the Plant Manager and leadership team, aligning people strategies with operational and business objectives.
• Lead all site Human Resources activities including employee relations, labor relations, talent acquisition, talent management, organizational development, and performance management.
• Serve as the primary site leader responsible for developing and maintaining constructive labor-management partnerships that support workforce engagement, operational excellence, and plant performance.
• Develop and execute labor relations strategies that strengthen union-management collaboration, support business objectives, and create positive employee experiences.
• Lead regular labor-management discussions focused on communication, workforce challenges, employee concerns, and continuous improvement opportunities.
• Serve as the site's chief advisor on labor relations matters, including collective bargaining agreement administration, contract interpretation, grievance management, investigations, arbitration preparation, and labor risk mitigation.
• Partner closely with union leadership to proactively identify and resolve workplace concerns before they escalates, fostering trust, workforce stability, and organizational effectiveness.
• Champion initiatives that improve labor-management communication, strengthen employee engagement, and reinforce a culture of respect, accountability, and collaboration.
• Support labor negotiations preparation activities and help develop long-term labor relations strategies that position the site for sustained success.
• Lead workforce planning initiatives to ensure the site has the talent, leadership capability, and organizational structure needed to achieve current and future business goals.
• Provide oversight for hourly hiring, bid administration, and headcount management, ensuring consistent processes, staffing accuracy, and workforce alignment across the operation.
• Develop and execute talent strategies focused on attraction, retention, succession planning, leadership development, and critical role readiness.
• Lead site leadership development initiatives, including frontline supervisor onboarding, leadership training programs, coaching frameworks, mentoring programs, and development planning processes.
• Facilitate talent reviews and succession planning discussions with site leadership to identify high-potential employees and prepare future leaders for advancement opportunities.
• Partner with leaders to create individual development plans that strengthen leadership capability, technical expertise, and employee growth across the organization.
• Coach leaders on employee engagement, performance management, conflict…