Gummi Operations Manager

Albanese Confectionery Group, Inc; Merrillville (IN); On-site; USD 85,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Albanese Confectionery Group, Inc. seeks an experienced Transformation Leader to head the Gummi Operations Department in our Indiana facility. You will guide safety, quality, and productivity while aligning resources with company objectives and Lean practices.

You will build strong cross‑functional relationships, set performance standards, and drive continuous improvement through data‑driven decisions and clear communication with production and support teams.

Qualifications

• Must have strong interpersonal and leadership skills.
• Experience managing salaried and hourly employees in manufacturing.
• Knowledge of ERP systems and Microsoft Office.
• Minimum of 5 years supervisory experience.
• Minimum of 2 years manufacturing experience.
• Great verbal, written, and presentation communication skills.
• Must be able to speak, read and write in English.

Responsibilities

• Hire and maintain a team of leaders around Core Values and company objectives.
• Complete and guide leaders in providing effective performance feedback and evaluations for team members.
• Coach department leaders on effective and consistent team member interactions.
• Ensure team leaders are adhering to company policies and administering practices in a fair and consistent manner.
• Set expectations and communicate performance reviews for department leaders on a regular basis.
• Set performance standards for the department.
• Establish productivity objectives and drive activities to meet those objectives.
• Define, review, and improve department SOP’s and standards.
• Identify and publicize clear expectations for team members.
• Develop, implement, and improve team member training and performance.
• Educate and manage team members to operate within company policies and procedures.
• Coordinate and communicate objectives with production leaders.
• Routinely analyze and communicate performance metrics to operational leaders and executives.
• Ensure the department is resource balanced to be company objectives.
• Enforce operational standards to meet safety, quality, and performance requirements.
• Comply with and enforce all company Quality, HACCP, GMP, Food Defense, and Food Safety standards.
• Manage production operations in accordance with company policies and practices.
• Establish and manage processes that effectively and efficiently use company resources.
• Identify and recommend improvements to department structure and resources.
• Lead investigations of safety, quality, and productivity issues to provide corrective and preventative actions.
• Protect company resources and intellectual property from abuse.
• Define operational schedules and production plans to meet the needs of customer requirements and coordinate with necessary departments.
• Support annual goal development and budget for the department.
• Effectively communicate department performance to management and leadership stakeholders.
• Create and maintain effective communication within the department and between other departments.
• Support equipment, product, and material testing as required.
• Provide execution assistance as needed.
• Other duties as assigned

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Team leadership

People management

Supervisory experience

Manufacturing experience

Problem solving

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience preferred

High School Diploma or equivalent is required

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

UNDERSTANDING

The person in this position understands that safety and quality are first and second priorities of the operation. They work well with people and create an atmosphere of appreciation and learning that helps to motivate the team. This person creates strong relationships with support teams and works with them to troubleshoot and overcome issues in the operation. They are generally calm and work to gather the information available before making important decisions or instructing team members on corrective actions. They are trusted by their team and viewed as a leader who can be openly communicated to for understanding, honest, and forward-looking feedback. They guide their teams using the Core Values of ACG. They require creativity from themselves and their team. They drive a “nothing is impossible” attitude and view issues as direct challenges to better themselves and their team.

Brief Description

UNDERSTANDING

The person in this position understands that safety and quality are first and second priorities of the operation. They work well with people and create an atmosphere of appreciation and learning that helps to motivate the team. This person creates strong relationships with support teams and works with them to troubleshoot and overcome issues in the operation. They are generally calm and work to gather the information available before making important decisions or instructing team members on corrective actions. They are trusted by their team and viewed as a leader who can be openly communicated to for understanding, honest, and forward-looking feedback. They guide their teams using the Core Values of ACG. They require creativity from themselves and their team. They drive a “nothing is impossible” attitude and view issues as direct challenges to better themselves and their team. With a strong understanding of operational goals, this leader reaches into all operational practices to drive out inefficiencies and build consistency in operations. This leader uses corporate goals as a guide to look for improvements throughout operations. They build the strongest relationships with operational and supporting departments by being upfront and collaborative with leaders from other departments. They are clear about operational gaps and help provide guidance and resources to eliminate inefficiencies. This person is a transformation leader. They look at systems and processes as starting points with opportunities to provide additional automation, simplification, and standardization within all systems. They use technology, training, and lean practices as tools to reach efficiency goals. They see data as their primary source of truth and are proactive looking for trends to identify issues. The decisions they make are bound in fact gathered from reliable sources. They understand perfection is impossible, while never faltering from their goal of achieving it. This position is responsible for the Gummi Operations Department including safety, quality, resource management, reporting, and overall performance of the department operation.

CORE VALUES

• Own It
• Hustle and Refuse to Settle
• Love People
• Act for the Greater Good
• Find a way

WORKING RELATIONSHIP

• Reports to the Director of Operations.
• Communicates regularly and has a strong relationship with team members in multiple departments.
• Communicates and meets periodically with other departmental leaders.

Responsibilities

• Hire and maintain a team of leaders around Core Values and company objectives.
• Complete and guide leaders in providing effective performance feedback and evaluations for team members.
• Coach department leaders on effective and consistent team member interactions.
• Ensure team leaders are adhering to company policies and administering practices in a fair and consistent manner.
• Set expectations and communicate performance reviews for department leaders on a regular basis.
• Set performance standards for the department.
• Establish productivity objectives and drive activities to meet those objectives.
• Define, review, and improve department SOP’s and standards.
• Identify and publicize clear expectations for team members.
• Develop, implement, and improve team member training and performance.
• Educate and manage team members to operate within company policies and procedures.
• Coordinate and communicate objectives with production leaders.
• Routinely analyze and communicate performance metrics to operational leaders and executives.
• Ensure the department is resource balanced to be company objectives.
• Enforce operational standards to meet safety, quality, and performance requirements.
• Comply with and enforce all company Quality, HACCP, GMP, Food Defense, and Food Safety standards.
• Manage production operations in accordance with company policies and practices.
• Establish and manage processes that effectively and efficiently use company resources.
• Identify and recommend improvements to department structure and resources.
• Lead investigations of safety, quality, and productivity issues to provide corrective and preventative actions.
• Protect company resources and intellectual property from abuse.
• Define operational schedules and production plans to meet the needs of customer requirements and coordinate with necessary departments.
• Support annual goal development and budget for the department.
• Effectively communicate department performance to management and leadership stakeholders.
• Create and maintain effective communication within the department and between other departments.
• Support equipment, product, and material testing as required.
• Provide execution assistance as needed.
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Must be able to stand for the duration of a 12-hour shift with applicable breaks
• Excellent interpersonal skills – team player
• Hard worker who is a self-starter and proactive
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes and machinery
• Knowledge of ERP systems and Microsoft Office software preferred
• Managing groups of salaried and hourly employees in a manufacturing environment
• Minimum of 5 years of supervisory experience
• Minimum of 2 years of manufacturing experience
• Great verbal, written, and presentation communication skills
• Must be able to speak, read and write in English.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience preferred
• High School Diploma or equivalent is required