Plant Director

Ceres | Recruitment | Interim | Executive | Food & Agri; Emilia-Romagna; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Our client in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, seeks a Plant Director to own full P&L and lead all site operations with a hands-on shop-floor presence. You will drive performance through structured processes, safety, quality, and continuous improvement, while preparing for site expansion and new product industrialization.

You will manage a team of roughly 250 people, alignment with the General Manager and HQ, and collaborate across functions to optimize planning, manufacturing, maintenance, and logistics

Qualifications

• Masters degree in a technical, industrial, economic or related discipline.
• 10+ years of plant leadership or 7+ years as a production manager in a complex manufacturing environment.
• Food service or product leadership experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of food production processes and food safety standards.
• Experience in international matrix organizations and cross-cultural environments.
• Proficient in ERP systems and Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Lead plant operations and own P&L with annual budgeting and cost control.
• Coordinate Production, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain.
• Coach teams, drive Kaizen/Lean initiatives and improve OEE.
• Collaborate with R&D, Procurement, and HQ on new products and site expansion.
• Oversee CAPEX, industrialization of products, and SAP integration preparation.

Skills

Leadership

ERP systems

Data analysis

Lean Manufacturing

Change management

People management

Education

Masters degree in Engineering/Operations/Industrial

Tools

Excel

ERP systems

Job description

Are you a results-driven operations leader with a roll-up-your-sleeves mentality? Do you thrive on optimizing operations in complex production environments, driving plant performance from the shop floor and coaching teams to peak performance? Looking for an exciting opportunity to run a plant as if it were your own while scaling for steady future-proof growth? Then look no further and join us at this pivotal moment with planned site developments, enhanced production capacity and team growth on the horizon and elevate our operations to world-class manufacturing.

Our client is a successful and fast-growing international food producer, with a clear focus on quality, innovation and sustainability. In light of its ambitious multi-year growth strategy, the company invests continuously in modern production technologies and a fully integrated supply chain to support its expansion. As the business evolves and scales, we are looking for a Plant Director who can bring further structure and professionalization to all operation functions, combining a strategic mindset with a pragmatic approach.

As Plant Director you own full P&L and drive all site operations from the front as a visible, hands-on leader on the shop floor. You lead production by setting clear operational frameworks and promote a culture of "say what you do, do what you say." By designing and streamlining robust processes, you fuel a clear growth path alongside ongoing optimization across planning, manufacturing, quality, maintenance and logistics, actively preparing our infrastructure and workforce for our upcoming site expansion and surging production demands. As an approachable people manager, you stay close to the team to coach, motivate, stand firmly by your decisions and build a collaborative people-first culture rooted in safety, quality, and continuous improvement. Furthermore, you plan and implement new production opportunities while driving change management to achieve the pluriannual development plan.

The Team

as part of the local Leadership Team, you are the go-to person for all Operations and production topics in Italy. You work closely with the General Manager, the local management team, and Management of HQ to ensure organizational alignment between local objectives and the overall Group strategy. You guide a dynamic team of roughly +250 people, while driving organizational excellence, site expansion and ensuring smooth scalable operations across the main Italian production site.

Function

Lead Plant Operations, driving Performance, Growth & Operational Excellence

• Set the strategic direction and lead the plant, translating business objectives into clear, efficient and profitable operating plans enhancing performance, production continuity and contributing to the long-term scalable development of the organization.
• Own the plant’s P&L and financial performance, setting and managing the annual budget, controlling costs, monitoring performance and partnering closely with BU leadership and HQ on financial results and priorities.
• Coordinate end-to-end plant operations, aligning Production, Maintenance, Engineering, Technical Services, Materials, Quality, HSE, Warehousing and Supply Chain to deliver safely, efficiently, cost-effectively and on time meeting sales agreements.
• Lead from the shop floor, maintaining a strong daily presence to coach and develop our growing teams, resolve issues quickly, strengthen accountability and empower people to take ownership and initiative.
• Champion FSQM Systems and HSE, ensuring compliance with IFS, HACCP and QA standards, strengthening audit readiness, driving effective CAPAs and maintaining the highest standards of product integrity and workplace safety.
• Drive operational excellence and continuous improvement, using Kaizen, Lean and data-driven performance management to improve OEE, yield and productivity while reducing waste, downtime, energy consumption and manufacturing costs.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration and innovation, partnering with R&D, Procurement, Supply Chain, customers, suppliers and external stakeholders to support new product and process industrialization, site expansion and ensure seamless execution.
• Build the plant for accelerated future-proof growth, leading industrialization of new products and processes, shaping and executing CAPEX investments, for site expansion, enhanced production capacity, hiring staff while preparing the organization, systems and infrastructure for strategic developments such as the upcoming SAP integration.
• Reports directly to the General Manager in Italy and functional to the VP Operations.

Profile

Driven operations Leader with an international mindset

Job requirements

• Master’s degree in a technical, industrial, economic or related discipline (Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Food Science, Operations Management, …)
• 10+ years of plant leadership or at least 7 years as a production manager in a complex industrial manufacturing environment.
• Food service or product leadership experience preferred.
• Strong understanding of food production processes and food safety standards.
• Experience in in managing complex manufacturing operations in international matrix organizations and in navigating cultural differences.
• Proficient in ERP systems, operational reporting tools and Microsoft Office (Excel).
• Fluent in both Italian and English, written and spoken.

Competences

• True people manager with excellent organizational and planning capabilities.
• Analytical, solution-oriented, and adept at driving change management and conflict resolution.
• Strong listening and communicating skills; persuasive negotiator, capable of influencing effectively at all levels.
• Deep knowledge of advanced machinery, complex production processes, product specifications and maintaining equipment availability at nominal capacity.
• Resilient, pragmatic and comfortable thriving in fast-paced, evolving manufacturing environments.
• Excellent grasp of people and business dynamics, including customer and market demands.
• Cool under pressure and capable of making timely and decisive choices in complex situations with total operational flexibility.

Offer

Excellent career opportunity to join an innovative and international key player. You will be part of a company with a dynamic, entrepreneurial, and informal working environment, collaborating with engaged leadership and talented colleagues. High degree of autonomy with space for initiative, where your input and vision are valued, with a real scope to shape the organization, influence decision-making and leave a visible footprint on the business.

Location

At the Plant in Emilia-Romagna, in the area between Imola, Ravenna and Cesena.