Director of Plant Operations

Director of Plant Operations at Wildflower Recruitment Consulting Director of Plant Operations at Wildflower Recruitment Consulting in Daly City, California Posted in 5 days ago.

Type:

full-time

Job Description:

Provides strategic and hands-on leadership for (3) regional manufacturing facilities, overseeing all aspects of Production, Packaging, and Maintenance operations. This role ensures the consistent delivery of high-quality products to selling divisions, while driving operational excellence and developing a culture of ownership, accountability and empowerment and collaborating with cross-functional stakeholders.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Multi-Plant Operational Leadership Lead, direct, and coordinate day-to-day production and packaging operations across both regional manufacturing sites. Ensure output meets quality standards, production plans, and cost targets. Team Development and Performance Management Develop leadership talent, enables and fosters a culture of ownership, accountability. Responsible for on sight succession planning. Manage site leadership teams; establish and develop goals, KPIs, and performance metrics to drive Safety, Quality, Service and Cost. Change Leadership and Culture Development Lead cultural transformation by promoting a high-performance, inclusive environment. Embed change management best practices to ensure sustainable adoption of improvements and organizational alignment. Continuous Improvement Champion and deploy TPM, Lean, and Six Sigma methodologies to reduce waste, increase OEE, and drive operational efficiency. Responsible to deliver strategic CI plans and results for sites. Partner with SME and Plant Manager of San Francisco to standardize CI approach across manufacturing sites. Compliance Leadership Ensure strict adherence to workplace safety, food safety (HACCP, GMP, SQF), and environmental regulations. Collaborate with SME to implement and monitor the workplace safety and food safety programs. Ensure plant operations are compliant with applicable collective bargaining agreements. Production Planning and Materials Coordination In partnership with Planning, ensure alignment of production schedules with inventory goals, raw material availability, and customer demand. Collaborate with Logistics on efficient material flow and finished goods distribution. Cross-Functional Collaboration Serve as primary operational interface for cross-functional partners in Safety, Quality, Supply Chain, Human Resources, Engineering, Finance, R D and Marketing. Support new product introductions, seasonal launches, and product transitions through effective change management and cross-departmental coordination. Capital Projects and Engineering Coordination Collaborate with facility infrastructure team. Partner with Engineering on equipment and utilities upgrades, installations, and commissioning to meet capacity and innovation needs. Labor Relations Represent sites in union discussions and negotiations in collaboration with Human Resources. Other Responsibilities Manage special projects and strategic initiatives as assigned by senior leadership. Contribute to enterprise-level strategy and operations benchmarking with other locations.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience:

Minimum 10 years in progressive leadership roles within food manufacturing; multi-plant leadership experience preferred.

Continuous Improvement Expertise:

Deep working knowledge of TPM, Lean Manufacturing, and Six Sigma practices with a track record of measurable success.

Change Management:

Demonstrated success managing organizational and operational change, technology adoption, and cultural transformation.

Leadership & Communication:

Excellent management and leadership skills; capable of motivating plant employees from all departments at all levels and with diverse cultural backgrounds

Education:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Food Science, Operations Management, or a related field required