PLANT MANAGER

IN DEMAND Recruitment & Consulting Inc. is currently assisting our client in their search for an experienced PLANT MANAGER to lead operations at one of their U.S. manufacturing facilities in New Ulm, MN.

Employment: Full-Time | Permanent

Our client is a well-established manufacturing organization with a significant U.S. footprint and 17 manufacturing facilities across the country
. This is an excellent opportunity for an accomplished Plant Manager who enjoys leading people, improving operations, and building a strong culture around safety, quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Reporting into senior manufacturing leadership, the Plant Manager will have overall responsibility for daily plant operations, ensuring the facility safely, reliably, and efficiently meets customer demand.

This individual will lead a diverse plant team while balancing safety, food safety, quality, production, cost, capacity, people development, and customer commitments.

As Plant Manager, you will provide overall leadership for the facility and drive operational performance across the organization.

You will:

• Lead and continuously improve the site’s safety and food safety culture
  , ensuring high performance standards and regulatory compliance.
• Establish and strengthen a procedures-based operating culture, ensuring corrective and preventive action plans are implemented and sustained.
• Maintain production performance while adhering to strict safety, food safety, GMP, and quality standards
  .
• Build, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing leadership and plant team with a strong customer-focused mindset.
• Lead change-management, communication, and training initiatives to create an agile and engaged workforce.
• Identify and develop key talent to support succession planning and organizational development.
• Own the plant capacity plan and continually adjust operating plans based on Demand Planning and the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process.
• Ensure adherence to production schedules and deliver against customer and commercial commitments.
• Align plant goals and priorities with broader manufacturing, business, and corporate objectives.
• Develop and maintain KPIs and performance scorecards
  , identifying performance gaps and ensuring effective improvement plans are implemented.
• Lead formal and informal employee performance evaluations and support the continued development of plant leadership.
• Foster a positive, accountable workplace where success is recognized and company policies and expectations are clearly communicated.
• Develop and manage the facility’s annual operating and capital implementation plans
  .
• Lead sustainability initiatives, including waste reduction and value-enhancement opportunities.
• Partner effectively with regional and corporate resources as well as approved external expertise to introduce best practices and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Balance operating costs, resources, workforce, and equipment requirements while ensuring customer demand is met safely and reliably.

We are looking for an experienced manufacturing leader who combines strong operational discipline with the ability to develop people and drive sustainable change.

The successful candidate will bring:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Engineering, Chemistry, Food Manufacturing, Microbiology/Food Science, Manufacturing, or a closely related technical discipline
  .
• 8+ years of progressive Production/Plant Management leadership experience
  , preferably within a fast-paced manufacturing or processing environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing a complex, regulated manufacturing environment
  .
• Strong knowledge of production operations, logistics, scheduling, and GMP systems
  .
• Demonstrat…