Plant Manager

Mackinnon Bruce International; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 180,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

A global speciality chemical manufacturer is seeking an experienced Plant Manager to lead and rebuild its Philadelphia manufacturing facility. This is a retained, senior-level search for a proven operational leader ready to drive meaningful cultural and performance transformation at a high-profile site.

As Plant Manager, you'll have full site ownership of safety, EHS, quality, cost, supply chain, capital projects, and people.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership with proven site ownership.
• Experience leading safety, quality, cost, and schedule performance.
• Track record transforming unionized operations and labour relations.
• Background in batch chemical processes and plant turnarounds.

Responsibilities

• Own full site accountability for safety, EHS, quality, and costs.
• Drive capital projects and production planning with supply chain.
• Rebuild and optimize 24/7 operations and throughput.
• Engage union workforce and lead labour relations efforts.
• Develop the leadership team with supervisors and managers.
• Collaborate with peers and senior leaders on strategy and governance.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Safety & EHS

Union engagement

Operational excellence

Turnaround experience

Batch chemical manufacturing

Education

Chemical Engineering degree

Job description

A global speciality chemical manufacturer is seeking an experienced Plant Manager to lead and rebuild its Philadelphia manufacturing facility. This is a retained, senior-level search for a proven operational leader ready to drive meaningful cultural and performance transformation at a high-profile site.

As Plant Manager, you'll have full site ownership of safety, EHS, quality, cost, supply chain, capital projects, and people. You'll lead the rebuild of a batch chemical facility toward 24/7 operations and ambitious throughput targets, while transforming a dependent operator culture into a high-performing, accountable workforce

Key Responsibilities

• Full operational accountability across the facility
• Drive safety, environmental compliance, quality, schedule adherence, and cost performance
• Lead cultural transformation from the shop floor up; high on-site presence required
• Engage and partner with a unionised workforce; navigate HR and labour processes effectively
• Build and develop a leadership team including an Operations Manager and four supervisors
• Execute capital projects and production planning in coordination with supply chain
• Rebuild toward full 24/7 shift operations and incremental throughput growth
• Report across six operational pillars: safety, environment, people, quality, responsiveness, and cost
• Collaborate regularly with peer plant managers and VP-level stakeholderrs

Ideal Candidate Profile

• 15+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience
• 5+ years in a plant or site leadership role with full operational accountability
• Batch chemical manufacturing background strongly preferred; speciality materials, resins, composites, coatings, or polymers considered
• Chemical Engineering degree preferred; other engineering disciplines reviewed case by case
• Proven union engagement experience and demonstrated ability to lead through labour relations challenges
• A genuine change-agent: boots-on-the-ground, charismatic, and capable of building lasting team culture
• Track record of sustained tenure in turnaround or transformation roles
• Lean, Six Sigma, or operational excellence methodology experience
• Comfortable with an urban Philadelphia site environment