Plant Manager

The Sterling Choice; Indiana (PA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The Sterling Choice is helping a growing food manufacturer recruit a Plant Manager who will build a culture of accountability and operational discipline, leading a team to deliver safe, efficient, and customer-focused manufacturing.

You will implement systems and behaviours that stop recurring problems, develop managers and frontline leaders, and embed continuous improvement across the site, collaborating with Production, Maintenance, Quality and Supply Chain.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a plant in food manufacturing.
• Hands-on leadership style with strong floor presence.
• Proven track record of improving culture and developing high-performing teams.
• Experience implementing Lean, TPM or Continuous Improvement programmes.
• Strong operational and commercial awareness.

Responsibilities

• Lead a 24/7 food manufacturing operation.
• Develop managers and frontline leaders.
• Drive a culture of accountability and ownership.
• Embed KPI-driven performance management.
• Champion Continuous Improvement, root cause analysis and problem solving.
• Build strong partnerships across Production, Maintenance, Quality and Supply Chain.
• Improve productivity, reliability and operational performance.

Skills

Plant leadership

Leadership presence

Team development

Continuous Improvement

Root cause analysis

Problem solving

Job description

We're working with a growing food manufacturer looking for a Plant Manager who can build a culture of accountability, improve operational discipline and create an environment where people and performance thrive.

This isn't about firefighting every day. It's about creating the systems, behaviours and leadership that stop the same problems happening twice.

You'll inherit an established operation and lead a team responsible for delivering safe, efficient and customer-focused manufacturing, while embedding continuous improvement across the site.

You'll be responsible for:

• Leading a 24/7 food manufacturing operation
• Developing managers and frontline leaders
• Driving a culture of accountability and ownership
• Embedding KPI-driven performance management
• Championing Continuous Improvement, root cause analysis and problem solving
• Building strong partnerships across Production, Maintenance, Quality and Supply Chain
• Improving productivity, reliability and operational performance

We're looking for someone who has:

• Plant leadership experience within food manufacturing
• A hands-on leadership style with strong floor presence
• A proven track record of improving culture and developing high-performing teams
• Experience implementing Lean, TPM or Continuous Improvement programmes
• Strong operational and commercial awareness
• Experience within contract manufacturing, co-manufacturing or customer-driven food manufacturing environments would be advantageous

If you've built high-performing teams, enjoy improving businesses rather than simply maintaining them, and want the opportunity to leave a lasting impact, we'd love to hear from you.

All applications and enquiries will be handled in the strictest confidence.