Plant Manager - Wilmington, NC

Who We Are

Fed Up Foods, one of the nation's early producers of kombucha through the Buchi brand, and one of the largest functional beverage manufacturers in America, offers a diverse portfolio of organic private label functional beverages for top global retailers

The Plant Manager is responsible for the results and oversight of all manufacturing operations and personnel. This process-focused leader drives results via collective accountability by establishing and refining a meaningful operations system with clarity, consistency, and connectivity. The Plant Manager is accountable for delivering against KPIs and production goals while fostering a welcoming culture that prioritizes safety, people, quality, and compliance through responsibility, respect, and relentless improvement.

The Plant Manager is directly responsible for leading and developing the functions of site packaging, brewing, coffee processing, and maintenance, while collaborating with the Food Quality and Safety, Finance, and HR teams and various individuals from other Fed Up Foods' facilities to attain production and company-wide goals.

The ideal candidate is an engaging, results-driven leader with a growth-minded attitude, tenacity, and a commitment to agility with high standards of quality and integrity.

• Develop and communicate a clear vision that inspires and drives achievement of production targets, operational KPIs, and company-wide goals
• Model and promote a leadership style that brings the best out of others to deliver team results
  • Establish and maintain clear performance expectations; provide direction, development, evaluation, and coaching to direct reports and their teams
  • Facilitate regular 1:1s and standard work cadence that enables agile execution and continuous feedback loops with collective accountability
  • Ensure managers actively build talent plans and work structures which enable team members to self-direct their work while building career paths
  • Partner with managers and HR in recruitment and hiring
  • Champion an environment that promotes life-long learning; ensure new staff are trained; drive forward continued learning opportunities
  • Engage plant's workforce in alignment with Fed Up Foods Values
• Develop growth strategies and drive improvements through continuous improvement, Lean Six Sigma (LSS), and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) initiatives
• Take ownership of financial, operating, and capital budgets, delivering year-over-year savings through cost‑saving initiatives
• Oversee all plant production activities
  • Proactively identify and address safety risks; foster a culture where every employee feels responsible for a safe work environment
  • Create schedules in accordance with sales forecasts and demands
  • Facilitate production planning in collaboration with relevant managers to ensure timely fulfillment of orders with focus on quality and efficiency
  • Develop and ensure implementation of all standard operating procedures (SOPs)
  • Support development/oversee facility equipment maintenance program
• Promote alignment between operational objectives and food safety and quality assurance through effective communication and partnership with Sr Manager of Food and Quality Assurance
• Ensure site compliance with EHS policies, SQF, GMP, HACCP, Organic Certification, OSHA practices, and all federal, state, and local laws and company policies
• Participate in mock recalls and regular audits (GMP, FDA, CCOF, SQF)
• Develop strong relationships with external parties (government agencies, vendors, insurances, contractors, sales representatives)
• Collaborate to drive efficiencies across the broader supply chain
• Support and enforce productions practices that advance Fed Up Foods' environmental and sustainability goals

• Follow GMP policy when in the production facility and encourage your team to do the same.
• Understand our SQF policies relating to pest control, visitors, allergen management, and cleaning and sanitation.
• Demonstrate awareness of Management's Commitment to SQF and work towards Food Safety and Quality and help the company meet this commitment.
• If there is a problem that involves food quality…