Senior Food Manufacturing Operations Lead

通用磨坊股份有限公司; Joplin (MO); On-site; USD 95,000 - 143,000; Full time

Job summary

General Mills in Joplin, MO is seeking an Operations Manager to lead production at the Pet Treating facility. You will manage three supervisors, drive safety, quality, and cost performance, and partner with Maintenance, Quality, and Finance to achieve plan.

The role blends people leadership, lean manufacturing, and continuous improvement, with a focus on delivering high-quality products on time and within budget, while building frontline capability and sustaining a strong safety culture.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Associate degree in business/admin or related field preferred.
• 5+ years of progressive manufacturing experience, food industry preferred.
• 1+ year experience managing salaried employees.
• Experience leading production/operations with safety, quality, service, productivity and cost accountability.
• lean/Kaizen experience and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work in hot, cold or wet conditions and lift up to 50 pounds.
• Strong leadership, communication and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily production through three supervisor direct reports and their hourly teams.
• Set priorities, coach leaders, document performance, and hold employees accountable.
• Build team capability through onboarding, training, corrective actions, and development.
• Plan production to meet volume, efficiency, service, safety, quality, and cost objectives.
• Review KPIs; identify trends and drive focused improvement plans.
• Lead lean initiatives (Kaizen, SMED, standard work, visual management).
• Maintain autonomous maintenance routines and coordinate with Maintenance on issues.
• Use Redzone to identify losses, track actions and improve performance.
• Partner with Engineering on productivity opportunities and capacity constraints.
• Conduct capacity analysis and guide production planning and improvements.
• Review BOMs and coordinate with Finance on new product trials.
• Analyze yield, waste, labor, downtime and costs; implement improvement plans.
• Own operating expenses and support annual budgeting; work with Accounting.
• Collaborate with Quality on food safety, regulatory compliance (FDA, FSIS, SQF, USDA, GMP).
• Foster safety, food-safety and quality culture; train and update procedures.
• Prepare operational reports and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Cross-train for manufacturing continuity and QA responsibilities when needed.
• Complete other assigned projects and responsibilities.

Skills

People leadership

Operational excellence

Lean manufacturing

Data analysis

Communication

Safety compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in business administration or related

Tools

Redzone system

Job description

General Mills in Joplin, MO is seeking an Operations Manager to lead production at the Pet Treating facility. You will manage three supervisors, drive safety, quality, and cost performance, and partner with Maintenance, Quality, and Finance to achieve plan.

The role blends people leadership, lean manufacturing, and continuous improvement, with a focus on delivering high-quality products on time and within budget, while building frontline capability and sustaining a strong safety culture.