Plant / General Manager

Hunter Savage; Cork; On-site; EUR 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Hunter Savage is seeking a Plant / General Manager to take full ownership of a sawmill in Fermoy, Co. Cork. This large, capital-intensive site offers real autonomy and backing as the business invests heavily in its asset base.

You will lead safety, production and commercial performance, develop the production plan with Forestry and Sales, drive Lean and CI, own the budget and KPIs, and mentor a team of supervisors to build bench strength.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a senior Plant, Site or Operations Management role in manufacturing or industrial.
• Large-scale, asset-intensive production experience; timber/sawmilling preferred.
• Strong SHEQ knowledge and a safety-first mindset.
• Commercial sharpness: understanding cost drivers and capital trade-offs.
• Coaching leadership style with multi-disciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the site end to end: safety, production and commercial performance.
• Lead safe, efficient and compliant operations from log intake through production.
• Build the production plan with Forestry and Sales to maximize log value.
• Drive Lean, CI and standardisation with regular reviews.
• Own the site budget and KPIs: output, yield, uptime and costs per m³.
• Shape and deliver capital investment and NPD projects.
• Lead the people agenda, developing supervisors and bench strength.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Lean manufacturing

Safety management

Coaching

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

Plant / General Manager - Sawmill | Fermoy, Co. Cork | Permanent

A leading Irish timber processing business is looking for a Plant / General Manager to take full ownership of its sawmill in Fermoy. It's a large, capital-intensive site in a growing business that's investing heavily in its asset base. You'd get real autonomy and real backing.

Role

• Own the site end to end: safety, production and commercial performance. You'll report to the Head of Operations and work closely with Forestry, Sales and the Group's other sites.
• Lead safe, efficient and compliant operations from log intake through primary and secondary production
• Build the production plan with Forestry and Sales to get the best return from every log
• Drive Lean, CI and standardisation, backed by strong daily, weekly and periodic reviews
• Own the site budget and KPIs: output, yield, uptime and cost per m³
• Shape and deliver capital investment and NPD projects
• Lead the people agenda, developing your supervisors and building bench strength

What we're looking for

• 5+ years in a senior Plant, Site or Operations Management role in manufacturing or industrial
• Large-scale, asset-intensive production experience. Sawmilling or timber is ideal, but anyone from continuous process, food, feed, building materials or packaging will be seriously considered
• Strong SHEQ knowledge and a safety-first mindset
• Commercial sharpness: you understand cost drivers, margin levers and capital trade-offs
• A coaching leadership style with multi-disciplinary teams
• An engineering, operations or manufacturing degree, or equivalent hands-on experience

Package

A competitive senior package, open depending on experience. Permanent and site-based.