Plant Leader: P&L, Safety, Sourcing & Scheduling

Merchants Metals LLC; Harrison (AR); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Merchants Metals LLC in Harrison, AR is seeking a hands-on Plant Manager to lead all administrative, commercial, financial, and support functions with full P&L accountability. This lean, small facility requires rolling up sleeves on tactical work while guiding a team of functional leaders.

You will partner with the Operations Manager, own scheduling, purchasing, payroll oversight, pricing, and month-end close, and build strong systems to manage multiple priorities without dropping details.

Qualifications

• Proven experience owning a P&L in manufacturing, distribution, or industrial settings.
• Experience with sourcing/purchasing (import and domestic) preferred.
• Strong Excel/spreadsheet data fluency; ERP experience (Infor preferred) is a plus.
• Familiarity with standard costing, month-end close, and environmental compliance is a plus.
• Ability to operate lean and execute tactical work, not only delegate.
• Organized, self-directed work habits with standard work.
• Comfortable in a small-town, relationship-driven culture.
• HR/payroll exposure.
• Prior plant/ops leadership experience preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the facility’s safety program and safety culture in partnership with the Safety Coordinator; ensure compliance and proactively drive safe behaviors, rather than treating safety as a delegated checklist item.
• Own environmental compliance, including air permit reporting, stormwater permit management, and annual Tier II and Form R chemical reporting.
• Directly lead and develop the Operations Manager, Customer Service Manager, Inventory Controller, Buyer, and Safety Coordinator.
• Own hourly and salaried payroll administration, timekeeping issues, and pay-related escalations.
• Handle day-to-day HR matters: hiring for administrative roles, performance management, disciplinary actions, and coordination with corporate HR.
• Personally step in as working backup for the Inventory Controller and Buyer roles when the team is short-staffed.
• Own the full P&L for the facility.
• Set and manage pricing to distribution centers and other trade customers.
• Maintain standard costs as supplier and freight costs change and translate those cost changes into pricing decisions.
• Analyze margin and cost drivers by product and customer and act on the findings.
• Support the sales team with quotes and pricing questions as needed.
• Oversee the Buyer and act as a hands-on backup for import and domestic purchasing.
• Proactively plan material availability, including import container planning, so it aligns with distribution center and trade customer demand.
• Manage steel and raw material sourcing and vendor quotes in partnership with the production team.
• Build supplier relationships and manage sourcing risk, including lead times and import logistics.
• Own facility-wide scheduling, including staffing schedules and shipping schedules, and support production scheduling.
• Build and schedule outbound trucks to meet customer and distribution center delivery needs.
• Manage fleet compliance: registration, insurance, DOT inspections, and driver credentials.
• Personally handle scheduling legwork during periods when administrative staff is stretched thin.
• Own the monthly financial close process: reconcile inventory, order, and cost reports; review P&L variances with corporate finance; oversee physical inventory and cycle count sign-off.
• Lead the annual budget process and manage capital expenditure (CapEx) requests.
• Own bill of materials (BOM) setup and maintenance in partnership with corporate engineering.
• Build and maintain a strong, respectful working relationship with the Operations Manager, who owns all daily production direction, equipment maintenance, and supervisory leadership of production and maintenance staff.
• Support production goals and facility priorities without inserting into daily production or maintenance decisions – that is the Operations Manager’s domain.
• Lead in a way that earns trust.

Skills

P&L ownership

Sourcing & Purchasing

Excel & data fluency

ERP experience (Infor)

Regulatory compliance

Lean operations

HR/payroll exposure

Leadership & collaboration

Small-town culture fit

Tools

Infor ERP

Job description

Merchants Metals LLC in Harrison, AR is seeking a hands-on Plant Manager to lead all administrative, commercial, financial, and support functions with full P&L accountability. This lean, small facility requires rolling up sleeves on tactical work while guiding a team of functional leaders.

You will partner with the Operations Manager, own scheduling, purchasing, payroll oversight, pricing, and month-end close, and build strong systems to manage multiple priorities without dropping details.