Manufacturing Plant Manager
Rehrig Pacific

Job Info

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Purpose of Role

The Plant Manager•s role is responsible for ensuring a safe and productive working environment for employees while driving efficient and cost-effective operations, supported by input from national teams. This role emphasizes fostering a healthy workplace aligned with principles of psychological safety and human-centered leadership. The Plant Manager is also accountable for developing and executing an annual continuous improvement plan, ensuring sustained operational excellence. The Plant Manager will integrate people-focused strategies to achieve the company•s vision, in collaboration with Human Capital. Additionally, the Plant Manager must stay vigilant to external factors that may impact operational continuity, promptly escalating concerns and collaborating to define actionable solutions.

Areas of Accountabilities

Leading the Plant

• Demonstrate human-centered leadership by fostering trust, empathy, collaboration, and diversity, creating a workplace culture where employees feel valued, empowered, and engaged, while promoting personal and professional growth.
  
• Be an approachable leader who listens actively, ensures transparent communication, and stays close to people to build trust and strengthen team dynamics.
  
• Enhance leadership consistency and effectiveness through training on communication, fairness, and team building, while partnering with Human Capital to implement people-focused strategies and leadership development programs.
  

Ensure a safe and productive working environment

• Collaborate with national and local Safety leaders to design and implement a plant Safety strategy, including monthly inspections and assessing workplace conditions to proactively address potential hazards and achieve zero recordable injuries, ensuring compliance with safety standards and continuously improving safety practices.
  
• Lead by example to foster a culture of accountability and adherence to safety protocols, prioritizing safety alongside production goals and aligning messaging across all teams to create a safety-first mindset.
  
• Implement mandatory safety training for all employees, including tailored sessions to address language barriers and engagement issues, ensuring a comprehensive safety awareness program that supports continuous improvement.
  

Manage Plant Expenses and Drive Cost-Effectiveness

• Develop and manage the annual plant budget, monitoring labor and overhead expenses while driving efficiency improvements and maximizing resource utilization to meet financial targets.
  
• Ensure operational effectiveness by using visual controls, Gemba processes, and A3 problem-solving tools to address performance gaps, implement corrective actions, and promote a culture of accountability and adherence to standards.
  
• Enhance productivity by optimizing cost-effectiveness, hosting skip-level meetings, and identifying opportunities for engineered savings
  

Create and Execute a Continuous Improvement Plan

• Develop and execute a Continuous Improvement (CI) plan that encompasses People, Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost, ensuring alignment with operational goals and operationalizing 5S practices.
  
• Cascade CI objectives and deliverables to the team, ensuring accountability and alignment with organizational goals while balancing throughput, profitability, and capacity to meet budgeted targets
  
• Lead cost reduction activities through the application of continuous improvement tools and data-driven decision-making.
  

Coordinate Daily Plant Operations to Meet Customer Expectations

• Oversee daily operations to ensure customer satisfaction, efficient order fulfillment, and proactive problem-solving, while maintaining cost-effectiveness and operational readiness.
  
• Foster cross-departmental collaboration and value-driven partnerships to meet customer needs, streamline implementation, and support organizational growth, using sales forecasts and historical data to plan resources effectively, ensuring equipment reliability, maximizing production capacity, and providing timely feedback.
  
• Enhance operational efficiency by addressing skill gaps through training and mentorship, improving maintenance processes to reduce downtime, and utilizing technology for proactive maintenance and troubleshooting.
  

Keep aware of external factors

• Monitor external factors that could affect operations or market position, raise concerns quickly, and work with Human Capital and other teams to develop mitigation plans.
  
• Stay informed about industry trends, regulatory changes, and competitive activities to anticipate challenges and identify opportunities for improvement and growth.
  
• Work with the community according to our Core Values and Vision to strengthen our position in the local market and impact positively on the living standard of people in the community.
  

Partner with New Product Development team to support the growth of the organization

• Assist with the implementation phase of new product launches by providing resources within the plant
  
• Provide accurate, timely and relevant feedback to cross-functional departments throughout the process
  

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Bachelor•s Degree; degree in Engineering preferred
  
• Minimum 2 years of operations management and direct people management, 7 years minimum if no degree
  
• Experience and expertise in using and deploying Operations Management Systems (Toyota Production System, Rehrig Management system, or equivalent)
  
• Lean manufacturing understanding and experience of it•s application
  
• Strong organizational, analytical, and communication skills • both verbal and written, are essential
  
• Technical aptitude - Related professional experience in a customer-sensitive production environment, preferably injection molding / plastics
  
• Experience with JDE and Microsoft Power BI would be a plus
  
• Personality to work effectively with people from various disciplines and levels of the organization
  
• Travel could consist of up to 15%
  

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