Plant Manager

Our client is one of America’s premier agribusiness and food companies, and is a member-owned cooperative with industry-leading operations that span the spectrum from agricultural production to consumer foods. With 2022 annual sales of $19B, the are one of the nation’s largest cooperatives, ranking 232 on the Fortune 500. Building on a legacy of more than 100 years of operation, they today operates some of the most respected brands in agribusiness and food production including Dairy Foods, Animal Nutrition, others. The company does business in all 50 states and more than 60 countries.

To continue to drive excellence at this Tier 1 Kiel, Wisconsin facility, they are looking for a Manufacturing Site Director to lead this team of over 150+ hard working people and state-of-the-art facility.

What you GET to DO with this award winning company:

• This role serves as Plant Manager and provides overall direction for the facility and is accountable for the plant results in all areas of safety, quality, sanitation, cost, customer service, cheesemaking, milk receiving, and people development.
• You will be responsible for driving improved performance in all these areas that meets business targets and supports growth of Dairy Foods division.

What you NEED to SUCCEED in this challenging role:

• 10+ years progressive manufacturing experience with proven leadership qualities and a history of delivering sustainable results · Bachelor's degree in Science/Food Science, Agriculture, Business Administration, Engineering or related education is required.
• Demonstrated success in Continuous Improvement principles LEAN/Six Sigma/TPM
• Demonstrated success in union environments, contract negotiations, and Employee/Labor Relations
• Dairy experience in Milk Receiving and Cheese Make process required, aged cheddar experience is preferred
• Develop and coach teamwork and collaboration within the entire site that improves plant culture and drives business results
• Ability to lead and develop salaried team of technical engineers, dept. managers and supervisors
• Ability to develop strategic plans and implement actions for the site
• Proven track record with Mfg. Transformation/change management that drives costs savings and improves overall plant culture
• Ability to effectively lead the plant staff of managers, supervisors, engineers, cheesemakers, as well as the union hourly team to achieve all plant goals
• Ability to effectively interact with the corporate cross functional team including EHS, Quality, R&D, SO, Finance, sales.
• Work effectively with all functions to ensure plant and business objectives are met.
• Ability to lead and develop the plant staff in a way that motivates and engages team members at all levels in the plant
• Ability to lead the team to innovate, develop, and implement cost savings initiatives that drive improved cost/lb performance year on year
• Possess solid financial background and manufacturing experiences to understand daily, monthly, and annual impacts and drivers of material yield, off grades, reliability, OEE, and labor productivity for plant
• Experience in developing and executing financial and capital budgets
• Create a positive work environment that supports continuous improvement in all areas of the site.
• Direct activities in Employee Relations that drives development and accountability, as well as increases engagement and retention within the team
• Effective leadership and communication within the community, as well as with member relations

What's in it for YOU?

• Excellent Compensation Plan includes base salary (200k - 220k) and Comprehensive Benefits Package
• 30% variable comp bonus plan with triggers for high performance
• Highly Visible Leadership role with advanced growth opportunity
• Work in leading edge, state-of-the-art facility with the best technology available in the world
• Maintain award winning Quality Standards of excellence that you can be proud of