Plant Director

Joining King’s Hawaiian makes you part of our `ohana (family). We are a family-owned business for over seventy years, respecting our roots while thinking about our future as we continue to grow and care for our customers and the communities we serve. Our `ohana members build an environment of inclusivity as they freely collaborate, pursue learning through curiosity, and explore innovation as critical thinkers. Beyond that, we are also passionate about supporting the long-term health and well-being of our employees and their families. If you’re excited to rise with our team, come and join our `ohana!

King’s Hawaiian is seeking a Plant Director to play a critical leadership role in the start-up and ongoing operations of our new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Indiana. This is a unique opportunity to join a growing company and lead the launch of a facility designed to support our vision of creating irresistible products while driving operational excellence.

Reporting directly to the VP of Manufacturing, the Plant Director will play a key leadership role in driving the success of King’s Hawaiian strategic plan through operational guidance of our manufacturing strategy to meet customer needs and achieve standards. The Plant Director will oversee and provide leadership for all aspects of King’s Hawaiian Indiana operations, including facility start-up. Through direct management and coordination of assigned staff, the scope of responsibility includes manufacturing productivity & efficiencies, maintenance and technical support, regulatory compliance, food safety, quality, warehousing & distribution, employee relations, and health & safety. This role will be responsible for the overall operational success of our Taylorsville, Indiana Manufacturing facility.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide leadership and direction to plant leaders and team members to achieve performance standards with regards to safety, quality, cost and line efficiency.
• Responsible for building a sustainable and motivated organization with high expectations around process improvement and product quality.
• Manages direct and indirect controllable costs related to manufacturing.
• Manages overall plant profit and loss (P&L) responsibility across plant departments.
• Provide direction and oversight to production, maintenance and technical support activities to reduce down time, maximize production and insure proper care of plant and equipment.
• Leads process and product improvement engineers to deliver continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensures quality control, quality assurance and food safety processes are in place and effectively administrated consistent with Company standards.
• Drive activities and processes to promote safety and the creation of a safety conscious work force.
• Actively participate in business planning process including the development of the facility operational plan, plant financial budgets, and the development of the business long range plan.
• Communicate and collaborate cross-functionally within and outside of Operations to assist the team to solve operational issues.
• Lead enterprise-wide manufacturing initiatives that further the enterprise’s strategic plan.
• Builds people capability through effective employee relations, hiring, training, and communication for both management and front-line hourly personnel.
• Actively participate in and lead parts of the business planning process including the development of the facility operational plan, plant financial budgets, and the development of the business long range plan.
• Foster an environment of continuous improvement that meets or exceeds company expectations
• Ensure operational compliance with all regulatory requirements including FDA, OSHA, etc.
• Effectively model and promote the company values through active and positive leadership to the culture across the facility.
• The responsibilities associated with this job will change from time to time in accordance with the Company’s business needs.  More specifically, the incumbent may be required to perform additional and/or different responsibilities from those set forth above.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS (EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE)

• Bachelor’s degree (preferably in engineering, business, operations management, or similar field) or equivalent experience required
• 8+ years’ experience in manufacturing, preferably food and/or CPG.
• 5-7 years’ of management experience leading cross-functional teams.
• Strong understanding of operations management including modern quality management tools and the ability to drive continuous process improvement through the use of Lean, TPM and Six Sigma tools.
• Must be an effective and creative problem solver, critical thinker and have a strategic thought process.
• Effective communication skills – both written and verbal. Comfortable at all levels of the organization.
• High levels of analytical and financial skills, ability to use data to identify and prioritize improvement opportunities and accurately assess financial impact.
• Strong innovative external focus with proven ability to affect sustainable change.
• Strong influence management and communication skills, ability to gain organizational buy-in.
• Must be effective working in a volatile and complex environment and work with a sense of urgency that drives effective results.
• Ability to develop a deep knowledge of Company’s manufacturing process and products.
• Knowledge and understanding of regulatory requirements including FDA, OSHA, etc.
• Works well in a team environment and ability to lead a team-based approach to decision making.
• Strong proficiency in computer use including Microsoft Suite applications and internal software applications.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (JOB SKILLS, ABILITIES, KNOWLEDGE)

• Working knowledge of SAP S/4HANA
• Proficient knowledge of Continuous Improvements, Total Productive Maintenance, particularly Autonomous Maintenance
• Developing knowledge of SAP Digital Manufacturing Cloud
• Proficient with RedZone Productivity Suite or similar software
• Proficient with Excel and/or Tableau for dashboard building
• Strong verbal and written communication skills – ability to communicate effectively at all levels of an organization

Physical Demands

The employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to climb, balance, taste, or smell. Must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 - 25 pounds, and occasionally more than 50 pounds with assistance from co-workers and/or mechanic devices. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to moving mechanical parts. Occasional exposure to wet and/or humid conditions. The employee will be handling items that may be very hot. The noise level is usually moderate. Must be available to work overtime, nights, weekends, and Holidays.

King's Hawaiian is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for our ohana.