The Plant Director has overall accountability for designated manufacturing plant(s) that are complex with multiple product lines and multiple departments. The position delivers on the annual operating plan(s), including safety, operating costs, quality, customer order fill, environmental requirements, capital projects and organizational development to help ensure the plant business objectives are met. The incumbent has ownership of short to mid-term (1-3 years) of strategy execution and operational direction.

The attributes we are looking for:

• Manage the overall operation of the plant(s) to ensure that goals & KPI’s included in the operating plan are met, including health and safety, production, material and inventory planning, standard costs, productivity, quality, continuous improvement, sanitation, customer and consumer satisfaction, and capital/technology improvements. This is done through regular measuring and monitoring of performance reports. Due to the complexity of the plant(s), decisions have a serious impact on the overall success or failure on all of operations.
• Provide leadership to improve health and safety performance by being a role model in safety and demonstrating due diligence through applying the corporate health & safety program elements. These focus on incident prevention through hazard identification, implementing necessary controls, training, education, and audits. Where necessary, take corrective action to address unsafe situations and employee behaviours, uphold the cardinal and other safety rules and procedures, and communicate with appropriate resources to address any hazardous conditions or unsafe employee conduct.
• Provide leadership to plant management staff by hiring, reviewing performance and providing feedback, determining training and development needs, and providing coaching and work direction. Support managers and teams in attainment of objectives contained in the operating plan. Promote and enhance a positive team environment, including efforts to establish and maintain high levels of employee involvement and communication. Develop a succession plan with HR for the facility and update regularly
• Develop, implement and measure innovative programs for raw material loss reductions, cost, quality and customer service improvement. Develop, manage and measure capital projects to ensure success in delivering expectations within budget and timelines.
• Identify and champion the execution of operational strategic projects/opportunities. Actively participate with Technical Services and Engineering to develop and implement Strategic Manufacturing plan.
• Promote excellence in all manufacturing practices, including those required to support optimal quality, yield and cost containment, with minimal rework or downgrades.
• Support the development, implementation and continuation of all product development initiatives and quality assurance programs, including PQMS, HACCP and associated GMP’s Review monthly reports and ensure effective remedial plans are implemented to address issues.
• Coordinate with other functions (e.g. Supply Chain, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Finance) to maximize overall effectiveness and efficiency on multifunctional initiatives.
• Provide detailed review of weekly scorecard & monthly performance reports and variance explanations.
• Manage the plant(s) operating budget by determining and preparing annual budget, obtaining approval, reviewing monthly spending variances, and taking appropriate action when necessary.

What you will bring:

• University degree in Engineering, Dairy Science, or Food Science
• Five (5) to ten (10) years’ experience in a dairy or food processing or manufacturing environment including: cost management, production planning, inventory control, quality; and continuous improvement at site leader level, and leading and developing staff in unionized environment
• Experience in developing, reporting and analyzing financial measurement of plant performance
• Significant experience in technical and economic evaluations of processes, products and production systems
• Experience in advanced dairy/food processing technologies