Plant Manager

Indianaagconnection; Indianapolis, Northern (IN, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Indianaagconnection is seeking a Plant Operations Leader to direct daily plant activities, ensuring safety, efficiency, and quality across processing departments. You will drive improvements, coordinate with supervisors and planners, and manage resources to meet customer demands.

The role requires leadership experience in food processing, HACCP/GFSI knowledge, and strong communication skills, with bilingual Spanish-English preferred.

Qualifications

• Minimum of an Associate’s degree and 5 years in a supervisory/management role.
• Experience in processing/packaging of food products.
• Knowledge of HACCP, GMP and food safety processes.
• Proficiency with MS Office, especially Excel; good communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, direct and run day-to-day plant operations to exceed expectations.
• Increase production and assets capacity while controlling costs and maintaining quality and safety.
• Ensure production output, yields, product quality and team safety; oversee equipment uptime.
• Allocate resources, coordinate with Supervisors and Production Planner to meet orders.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts and mentor Processing Supervisors and staff.

Skills

HACCP knowledge

GFSI knowledge

GMP knowledge

Excel proficiency

Strong communication

Bilingual (Spanish-English)

Education

Associate’s degree or technical training

Job description

General Responsibilities/Job Summary

This position directs and coordinates activities of the plant processing departments. These areas need to operate in a safe, proactive and when necessary, in a reactive manner regarding the safe and efficient operations of the Plant.

Essential Functions/Duties

1. Plan, organize, direct and run optimum day-to-day operations to exceed internal and customers’ expectations.
2. Increase production, assets capacity and flexibility while minimizing unnecessary costs and maintaining current quality and safety standards.
3. Be responsible for production output, yields, product quality and supporting team member safety and food safety.
4. Allocate resources effectively and fully utilize assets to produce optimal results.
5. Implement strategies in alignment with strategic initiatives and provide a clear sense of direction and focus.
6. Monitor operations and trigger corrective actions.
7. Collect and analyze data to find areas of waste or overtime and identify continuous improvement opportunities.
8. Work with Production Supervisors and maintenance personnel to ensure equipment is operating safely and efficiently, to prevent any unnecessary down-time due to mechanical failure.
9. Plan and coordinate with Production Planner to fill orders and production priorities as appropriate.
10. Maintain knowledge of new equipment/machinery available in the market and make recommendations which will improve process efficiency and cost effectiveness.
11. Assist in coordinating quality, safety, manufacturing, maintenance and distribution activities to meet and exceed the expectations of both internal and external customers as necessary.
12. Provide leadership and mentoring to all Processing Supervisors and Team Members to resolve challenges and cultivate trusting relationships with all departments.
13. Conduct meetings with Processing staff to ensure all operational issues are being appropriately communicated and addressed.
14. Work with Production Supervisors, Maintenance, Safety and FSQA Managers to ensure compliance and enforcement with regulatory inspections and requirements including, but not limited to USDA, OSHA, SQF, SOPs, SSOPs and other third-person audits.
15. Work closely with the Production and Quality Group to monitor quality policies and procedures to assure conformance to all product quality specifications and where necessary take immediate corrective action to ensure quality conformance.
16. Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Education/Training:

Minimum of an Associate’s degree from a two-year college / technical school and/or a minimum of 5 years of experience in a supervisory or management role combined with relevant work experience.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Working knowledge of HACCP and GFSI (SQF or BRC) expectations
• Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and food processing equipment
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Bilingual (Spanish-English) strongly preferred but not mandatory
• Strong team building, decision making, planning, people management and executing skills
• Understanding of process and flow of work
• Strong ability to identify opportunities for continuous improvement
• Adequate knowledge of business and management principles (budgeting, strategic planning, resource allocation and human resources)
• Be knowledgeable of safety, quality, productivity, demand creation, inventory and stewardship processes
• Ability to create accountability and to lead by example

Experience:

• 5-7 years experience in processing/packaging of food products.
• with proven leadership skills.

Physical and Mental Job Requirements

• Ability to stand for long periods of time and walk throughout the plant
• Visual acuity required for working with various machines and equipment
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.

Working Conditions

Plant environment including potentially high levels of noise, slippery floors and temperature extremes.