Plant Director - Abilene, KS

Russell Stover Chocolates; Abilene (KS); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Russell Stover Chocolates seeks a Plant Director for our Abilene, KS manufacturing facility. You will lead the operations leadership team, overseeing all plant performance to achieve business, quality, and food safety goals.

You will champion a safe workplace and develop a high-performing, engaged workforce across roughly 500 onsite employees. You will balance priorities in a fast-paced environment, partnering with Engineering and HR to drive capital investments and culture, while ensuring GMP

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial, mechanical, food science, or business administration or related field.
• 10+ years of proven leadership experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with lean tools (5S, TPM, Six Sigma, or similar).
• Experience with SAP in a manufacturing environment.
• Training in engineering standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate production operations across safety, maintenance, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Manage daily plant operations to meet production and business goals.
• Hire, train, motivate, and develop staff to build a high-performing workforce.
• Ensure employee safety while improving plant efficiency and effectiveness.
• Partner with Engineering to execute capital investments for cost and capacity needs.
• Collaborate with Human Resources to drive a high-performing culture within the plant.
• Monitor plant performance through production data and analysis.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement and change.

Skills

Leadership & people mgmt

Continuous improvement

Lean tools

SAP experience

Engineering standards training

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

SAP

Job description

At Russell Stover, not only do we love chocolate, but we love our jobs! Every day we go to work exhibiting our values of excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, responsibility, and collaboration. Working at Russell Stover you’ll be part of the leading manufacturer of boxed, seasonal, and sugar-free chocolates. For over 100 years, Russell Stover Chocolates, Whitman’s, and Pangburn’s have been crafted with the finest ingredients to bring happiness to generations. Today, we produce over 40 million pounds of chocolate annually through 3 factories (2 in Kansas, 1 in Texas), and our legacy brands can be found in 13 company-owned stores and over 9,000 wholesale accounts. Join our team and let’s continue making chocolate lovers happy!

A day in the life…

As the Plant Director, you will be the senior onsite leader in our Abilene, KS manufacturing facility. You will be a key member of the company’s operations leadership team & will be accountable for all aspects of plant performance to ensure business, operational, quality, and food safety objectives are achieved. As a dynamic leader, you will prioritize a safe working environment and be an advocate for ensuring talent retention, development, and engagement for approximately 500 employees onsite.

This critical role requires a confident leader with strong technical and communication skills with the ability to build relationships across the organization while balancing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

What You Will Be Doing…

• Leading and coordinating production operations, employee health and safety, maintenance engineering, quality, and continuous improvement efforts for the plant.
• Managing daily operations within the plant to achieve production and business goals.
• Hiring, training, motivating, and developing staff and create a high-performing, engaged workforce.
• Ensuring employee safety while improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the plant.
• Partnering with Engineering teams to create and execute capital investments to address cost and capacity needs.
• Partnering with Human Resources to develop programs and tools to drive a high-performing and engaging culture within the plant.
• Testing and monitoring plant performance through production reports and analysis.
• Championing change to develop a culture of continuous improvement.
• Leading the staff to identify and develop present and future capacities through manpower and machinery to ensure the most cost-efficient operations.
• Ensuring production is scheduled to meet plans and schedules are executed effectively and on time.
• Establishing and maintaining an organized system, optimize processes and methods to ensure maximum and steady output, increase efficiency, and reduce waste.
• Developing and improving production and sanitation processes to maintain and improve quality standards as well as minimize waste and inefficiencies.
• Understanding the Manufacturing budget and managing expectations.
• Maintaining effective communication of company goals and relevant information to employees.
• Developing and encouraging effective working relationships within the department and with support organizations.
• Ensuring safety programs are followed in place and effectively executed.
• Leading the plant on the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) for FSSC certification
• Adhering to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) guidelines to ensure product quality and uphold food safety standards.
• Identifying and addressing potential food safety hazards, process deviations, or non-conformities, while maintaining proactive communication with supervisors.
• Documenting food safety and quality procedures, maintaining detailed records of monitoring, verification, and corrective actions, following training.

This job posting is not all inclusive and other duties may be assigned.

Do you have what it takes?

(Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial, mechanical, food science, or business administration or related field.
• Minimum 10+ years of proven experience in a leadership role within a manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience in continuous improvement using lean tools (5S, TPM, Six Sigma, or similar).
• Experience with SAP in a manufacturing environment.
• Training in engineering standards.

Do you stand above the rest?

(Preferred Qualifications)

• Advanced Degree.
• Experience in a process-oriented, food manufacturing environment.
• Training in engineering standards such as “Lean” sanitation, food safety, and regulations.

Experience the Excitement at Russell Stover Plants!

• Safety First: Your well-being is our top priority, and we’ve got you covered with protective gear. On day one, you’ll dive into Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) training, and we’ll keep you on your toes with daily safety tips to ensure you’re always in the know!
• Surroundings: Get ready to work alongside cutting-edge equipment like automated packing machines, forklifts, electric pallet jacks, and those irresistible chocolate candy banks/steels – it’s a dynamic environment where every day brings something new!
• Active & Engaging Work: Whether you’re on your feet for extended periods, moving around, climbing ladders, or lifting up to 50 lbs, there’s never a dull moment. This is a place where you’ll stay on the move!
• Comfortable Climate: In most roles, you will be comfortable year-round with our climate-controlled environment.
• Appealing Smells: The air is filled with sweet aromas of chocolate, and by the time your shift ends, you might just leave smelling like chocolate!
• Dress to Impress (Food Safety Style): A simple yet important dress code ensures safety and hygiene, following Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to keep everything running smoothly.
• Allergens: You will be exposed to a variety of ingredients that may be considered food allergens like nuts, milk, and more.

At Russell Stover Chocolates, we don’t just accept difference — we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, and our community. Russell Stover Chocolates is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace.

We provide equal employment opportunities to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition, genetic information, military service, veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by law.

Employment by Russell Stover Chocolates is contingent upon I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, passing the urinalysis drug screen, education verification, and satisfactory reference and background checks.