Plant Manager

Ferretti Search; Fort Mill (SC); On-site; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Ferretti Search is partnering with an established manufacturing organization to identify an experienced Plant Manager to lead operations across two production facilities totaling approximately 250 employees.

This role will oversee production, safety, quality, shipping, maintenance, and purchasing with about 7–8 direct reports, manage plant budgets and roughly $5M in annual spend, and report to the Director of Operations.

Qualifications

• 8+ years manufacturing experience.
• Proven experience leading plant-level operations.
• Strong background in safety, quality, production, and people leadership.
• Experience managing plant budgets and operational performance.
• Knowledge of HACCP, GMP, lean manufacturing, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and develop sizable manufacturing teams.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, and change management skills.
• Bachelor's degree preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations across two production facilities.
• Oversee production, safety, quality, shipping, maintenance, and purchasing.
• Lead and develop approximately 7-8 direct reports, including Plant Supervisors.
• Build a strong safety culture and drive initiatives toward zero recordable incidents.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, quality, and regulatory standards.
• Manage plant budgets, expenses, labor, productivity, and resource utilization.
• Monitor KPIs and implement corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Utilize lean manufacturing principles to improve efficiency and reduce waste.
• Ensure reliable production and product supply to customers.
• Partner with supply chain, logistics, and other functional teams.
• Develop plant leadership and foster a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement.

Skills

Plant management

People leadership

Operations budgeting

Lean manufacturing

Safety leadership

Continuous improvement

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Schedule: Full-Time | 100% On-Site | Primarily First Shift

Compensation: $150,000-$170,000 + Bonus

About the Opportunity

Ferretti Search is partnering with an established manufacturing organization to identify an experienced Plant Manager to lead operations across two production facilities totaling approximately 250 employees.

This leader will oversee production, safety, quality, shipping, maintenance, and purchasing, with approximately 7-8 direct reports. The Plant Manager will also have responsibility for plant budgeting and approximately $5M in annual operating spend.

The ideal candidate is a proven manufacturing leader who has successfully managed plant operations and knows how to motivate teams, develop leaders, improve safety, and drive operational performance.

Why This Opportunity Stands Out

• Leadership responsibility for approximately 250 employees across two facilities
• Broad ownership of plant operations and approximately $5M in annual spend
• High-visibility role reporting to the Director of Operations
• Opportunity to directly impact safety, quality, productivity, cost, and culture
• $150K-$170K base + 15% bonus

Key Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations across two production facilities
• Oversee production, safety, quality, shipping, maintenance, and purchasing
• Lead and develop approximately 7-8 direct reports, including Plant Supervisors
• Build a strong safety culture and drive initiatives toward zero recordable incidents
• Ensure compliance with food safety, quality, and regulatory standards
• Manage plant budgets, expenses, labor, productivity, and resource utilization
• Monitor KPIs and implement corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives
• Utilize lean manufacturing principles to improve efficiency and reduce waste
• Ensure reliable production and product supply to customers
• Partner with supply chain, logistics, and other functional teams
• Develop plant leadership and foster a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement

Qualifications

• 8+ years manufacturing experience
• Proven experience successfully leading plant-level operations
• Strong background in safety, quality, production, and people leadership
• Experience managing plant budgets and operational performance
• Knowledge of HACCP, GMP, lean manufacturing, and continuous improvement
• Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and develop sizable manufacturing teams
• Strong communication, problem-solving, and change management skills
• Bachelor's degree preferred but not required

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a manufacturing leader who has already successfully led a plant operation. This is not intended to be someone's first Plant Manager opportunity.

They will bring a hands-on leadership style, strong safety mindset, financial and operational discipline, and the ability to motivate teams while driving improvements in safety, quality, productivity, cost, and employee engagement.

Schedule

This is a 100% on-site position supporting two production shifts (approximately 6:00 AM-2:00 PM and 3:00 PM-11:00 PM). The Plant Manager will primarily work first shift while providing additional coverage as operational needs require.