Plant Manager

Avient Corporation; Avon Lake (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Avient Corporation seeks a Plant Manager to oversee all aspects of a manufacturing plant in Ohio, including safety, production, quality, engineering, and maintenance. The role emphasizes building a high-performing team, fostering continuous improvement, and delivering results aligned with corporate goals.

The ideal candidate will bring hands-on leadership, strong Lean/Six Sigma background, and experience guiding cross-functional operations across shifts while maintaining regulatory compliance

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or business required; master's degree in operations management, engineering, or related field preferred.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in a manufacturing facility.
• 5+ years of manufacturing leadership experience managing 25+ employees in a multi-shift operation with budgetary responsibility.
• Formal Lean and Six Sigma training, with demonstrated successful implementation in a manufacturing environment, preferred.
• OSHA certification or training preferred.
• Proven leadership skills and ability to establish a strong operational culture and drive change.

Responsibilities

• Ensure the plant operates in accordance with all safety, health, and environmental regulations and requirements.
• Build a collaborative culture that encourages trust, early escalation of concerns, teamwork, open communication, timely decision-making, and individual accountability.
• Create an environment that recognizes employee involvement, innovative thinking, customer focus, and continuous improvement.
• Lead plant sustainability efforts in support of Avient's 2030 goals to reduce landfill waste and energy consumption.
• Ensure plant objectives and production schedules are achieved while maintaining product standards that exceed customer expectations.
• Maintain standards for product quality, equipment reliability, and production performance; use cost-effective technology to maximize production.
• Drive lean initiatives and serve as the primary advocate for a continuous improvement culture.
• Develop a plant operating plan aligned with and supportive of the annual business plan.
• Develop and manage a capital plan that supports business strategy and improves plant operations.
• Ensure achievement of the annual operating budget and other key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Manage salaried staff, providing direction and guidance to achieve plant objectives and targets.
• Coach, mentor, and train plant employees; establish career development goals and supporting plans; ensure performance reviews are completed in accordance with Avient requirements and timelines.
• Implement organizational and operational changes as necessary.
• Represent Avient in the external community, including local civic groups, regulatory agency coordination, and emergency response services.
• Maintain compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and company policies.
• Provide leadership and visibility across a multi-shift operation, including a flexible schedule as needed
• Perform other duties as assigned

Skills

Leadership

People management

Strategic planning

Lean Six Sigma

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or business

Master's degree in operations management or related field (preferred)

Job description

The Plant Manager is responsible for all aspects of operations at the assigned manufacturing plant, including safety, production, quality, engineering, maintenance, warehousing, and people. This position plans, directs, and coordinates work activities and resources to optimize manufacturing performance and achieve plant, business, and company objectives. The ideal candidate takes a hands-on approach to plant management, implements best practices, builds and develops a high-performing team, and fosters continuous improvement in safety, service, quality, cost, and people.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Responsibilities

• Ensure the plant operates in accordance with all safety, health, and environmental regulations and requirements. Provide direction and resources to achieve safety and environmental performance goals and sustain a proactive, prevention-focused safety culture.
• Build a collaborative culture that encourages trust, early escalation of concerns, teamwork, open communication, timely decision-making, and individual accountability.
• Create an environment that recognizes employee involvement, innovative thinking, customer focus, and continuous improvement.
• Lead plant sustainability efforts in support of Avient's 2030 goals to reduce landfill waste and energy consumption.
• Ensure plant objectives and production schedules are achieved while maintaining product standards that exceed customer expectations.
• Maintain standards for product quality, equipment reliability, and production performance; use cost-effective technology to maximize production.
• Drive lean initiatives and serve as the primary advocate for a continuous improvement culture.
• Develop a plant operating plan aligned with and supportive of the annual business plan.
• Develop and manage a capital plan that supports business strategy and improves plant operations.
• Ensure achievement of the annual operating budget and other key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Manage salaried staff, providing direction and guidance to achieve plant objectives and targets.
• Coach, mentor, and train plant employees; establish career development goals and supporting plans; ensure performance reviews are completed in accordance with Avient requirements and timelines.
• Implement organizational and operational changes as necessary.
• Represent Avient in the external community, including local civic groups, regulatory agency coordination, and emergency response services.
• Maintain compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and company policies.
• Provide leadership and visibility across a multi-shift operation, including a flexible schedule as needed
• Perform other duties as assigned

Scope

Manufacturing Plant.

Other

Typically reports to Manufacturing Director or equivalent.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, or a related technical discipline required; master's degree in operations management, engineering, or a related field preferred.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in a manufacturing facility.
• 5+ years of manufacturing leadership experience managing 25+ employees in a multi-shift operation with budgetary responsibility.
• Formal Lean and Six Sigma training, with demonstrated successful implementation in a manufacturing environment, preferred.
• OSHA certification or training preferred.
• Proven leadership skills and ability to establish a strong operational culture and drive change.
• Energetic, hands-on people leader who leads by example, builds high-performing teams, promotes urgency, and reinforces individual accountability.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate others, develop employees, and encourage talent.
• Thorough knowledge of manufacturing operations; extrusion and/or molding experience strongly preferred.
• Ability to balance collaboration with decisive action and make timely decisions amid ambiguity or uncertainty.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills and ability to work effectively with employees at all organizational levels, customers, and suppliers.
• Knowledge of current safety, health, and environmental regulations and standards.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule to maintain visibility and leadership across multiple shifts.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to stand, use hands to finger, handle or feel, and reach with hands and arms; frequently required to walk; and occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, talk, or hear. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 55 pounds. Specific vision abilities may include close vision, color vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. The employee may occasionally be exposed to moving mechanical parts, toxic or caustic chemicals, fumes, or airborne particles. Noise levels range from normal office noise to loud manufacturing enviro

Our purpose at Avient Corporation is to be an innovator of materials solutions that help our customers succeed, while enabling a sustainable world.

Innovation goes far beyond materials science; it's powered by the passion, creativity, and diverse expertise of 9,000 professionals worldwide. Whether you're a finance wizard, a tech enthusiast, an operational powerhouse, an HR changemaker, or a trailblazer in materials development, you'll find your place at Avient.

Join our global team and help shape the future with sustainable solutions that transform possibilities into realities. Your unique perspective could be the key to our next breakthrough!

We believe that all of our global employees are leaders and that the six most important behaviors for driving our strategy and culture are the same no matter if an employee is a leader of self, a leader of others, or a leader of the business.

By playing to win, acting customer centric, driving innovation and profitable growth, collaborating seamlessly across Avient, and motivating and inspiring and developing others and yourself you will accelerate your ability to achieve Avient's strategic goals, to meet our customer needs, and to accomplish your career goals.

At Avient, we believe a wide variety of thoughts, ideas and backgrounds gives us the creativity to be successful in a rapidly changing world. In support of this, we stress equality of opportunity for all qualified individuals in accordance with applicable laws. Decisions on hiring, promotion, development, compensation or advancement are based solely on a person's qualifications, abilities, experience and performance.

Avient is an equal opportunity employer. We maintain a policy of non-discrimination in providing equal employment to all qualified employees and candidates regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, color, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, protected veteran's status, or other legally protected classification in accordance with applicable federal, state and local law. If you need an accommodation because of a disability to complete an online application, please contact the Avient HR Team by emailing, [e-mail].