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Danone

Global foods and beverages company

Production Director - Manufacturing Operations

Full-TimeDeadline 9/21/27
CA$128k - CA$180k/yr+ Short-term incentive bonus
Expert
Bachelor's, Master's
Boucherville, QC, Canada
HybridHybrid work environment; the role is based at the Boucherville plant.
Manufacturing & Production Operations

About the job

Requirements
  • A university degree in engineering, manufacturing operations, or a related field is required.
  • Significant operations leadership experience in a manufacturing environment, ideally food manufacturing, including management of managers.
  • Hands-on experience with operational excellence and continuous improvement approaches such as Lean, Total Productive Maintenance, or equivalent, including performance-management routines and autonomous teams.
  • Strong budget-management experience covering labor, fixed costs, and material losses, with comfort analyzing data.
  • Experience with labor relations in a unionized environment.
  • Ability to support a 24/7 environment and manage changing priorities.
  • Fluency in French and English is required.
  • Ability to mobilize teams and support change in a transformation context.
  • Collaborative leadership and a coaching approach.
  • Strong communication and presentation abilities with situational awareness.
  • Results orientation and problem-solving ability.
Responsibilities
  • Lead all manufacturing and packaging operations at the plant.
  • Ensure employee health and safety and deploy the company health and safety policy with the joint committee.
  • Mobilize teams around plant performance priorities, including safety, quality, cost, customer service, employee engagement, and the environment.
  • Lead daily performance-management meetings, arbitrate resource allocation, and present plant condition, results, and priorities to the leadership committee.
  • Close performance gaps through daily, weekly, and monthly follow-up routines across production lines, departments, and the site.
  • Plan resources based on facility capacity and customer needs, and coordinate production-related maintenance and project activities.
  • Anticipate and coordinate personnel-management decisions with Human Resources and the labor-relations committee in accordance with the collective agreement.
  • Define the production-work organization vision and mobilize teams to implement it.
  • Lead deployment of the new production-line organization model, including dedicated line teams, shift team leaders, and increased operator autonomy.
  • Coach department managers in the field and support their development toward more strategic and cross-functional roles.
  • Lead production-team equipment ownership and contribute to the operational-excellence program and company standards.
  • Collaborate with Quality, Maintenance, Industrialization, Engineering, Procurement, and Continuous Improvement on productivity and innovation projects.
  • Pursue quality, cost, and efficiency improvements through structured problem-solving, root-cause analysis, and equipment reliability methods.
  • Participate in the plant budgeting process, monitor the budget, and identify cost-reduction opportunities.
  • Develop team capabilities, autonomy, and succession, and contribute to plant vision and priorities.
  • Oversee production teams operating process and packaging equipment, executing sanitation and cleaning programs, managing residual materials, and supporting innovation and productivity trials.
Desired Qualifications
  • A master's degree is an asset.
  • Experience in the food-manufacturing sector is preferred.

About the company

Danone is a global food and beverage company with three main divisions: Essential Dairy & Plant-Based products, Waters, and Specialized Nutrition. It markets brands like Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Evian, Nutricia, and Volvic across more than 120 countries with over 100,000 employees. Its products aim to support health through everyday nutrition and hydration, including dairy, plant-based options, and infant nutrition. The company pursues social and environmental goals under the One Planet. One Health framework and seeks B Corp certification by 2025, differentiating itself through a mission-driven approach and broad sustainability commitments.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Paris, France

Founded

1919

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • H1 2026 sales rose 3.5% to €13.94 billion; margin reached 13.3%.
  • Danone confirmed 2026 guidance on August 26, 2026, despite inflation and higher capex.
  • September 2026 bond issuance extended maturities, while Volvic investment targets 220 million liters saved.

What critics are saying

  • Paris prosecutors opened five baby-milk investigations on February 13, 2026 after contamination recalls.
  • January 2026 infant-formula recalls triggered complaints across jurisdictions, risking fines and trust collapse.
  • Bridgeton, New Jersey closed in 2026; Danone North America cut 100-plus plant-based jobs.

What makes Danone unique

  • Danone owns health-led brands across dairy, waters, infant nutrition, and complete meals.
  • Danone completed Huel on September 4, 2026, adding direct-to-consumer functional nutrition capability.
  • Danone's enterprise mission and B Corp ambition differentiate it in sustainability-focused hiring.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Wellness Program
  • Life Insurance
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • Parental Leave
  • Paid Vacation
  • Flexible Work Hours
  • Remote Work Options
  • Hybrid Work Options
  • Family Planning Benefits

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

12%

2 year growth

12%
Yahoo Finance
Sep 30th, 2026
Danone invests $56M in Volvic bottling plant to boost sustainability by 2030

Danone is investing over €50 million in its Volvic bottling facility in France through 2030 to improve environmental performance. The programme focuses on ecological preservation, operational modernisation, and regional engagement. A primary upgrade includes deploying water reuse technology at the Chancet facility. The installation will make it the first French natural mineral water plant to repurpose treated wastewater for industrial operations, conserving 220 million litres of water annually. The investment also funds a more efficient bottling line, decarbonisation measures, and workforce upskilling. Beginning in 2027, Danone will host a water conference at the site with academic, institutional, and industrial partners. In 2025, Danone's Waters division posted revenue of €4.85 billion, down 2.6% on a reported basis but up 1.9% like-for-like.

StockTitan
Sep 21st, 2026
Danone raises $1.7B through triple-tranche bond offering to extend debt maturity

Danone has issued a triple-tranche bond totaling €1.5 billion to support liquidity management and extend its debt maturity profile. The offering comprises three €500 million tranches: 18-month notes with a floating coupon of 3-month Euribor +0.30%, 5-year notes with a 4.0910% fixed coupon, and 9-year notes with a 4.4180% fixed coupon. Settlement is expected on 28 September 2026, with listing on Euronext Paris. The company said the bond issue was widely subscribed by a diversified investor base. Danone is rated BBB+ with stable outlook by Standard & Poor's and Baa1 with stable outlook by Moody's. The food and beverage company generated €27.3 billion in sales in 2025.

La Nación
Aug 28th, 2026
Arcor and Danone inject $30M into Mastellone to pay down bank debt

Arcor and Danone have injected $30 million into Mastellone Hermanos to cancel bank debt, less than a month after taking joint control of the Argentine dairy company. The funds come from La Serenísima Unida, the vehicle both groups created to consolidate the business, and will be applied as an irrevocable contribution towards future share subscription. The capital injection arrives at a critical time for Mastellone. In the first half of the year, La Serenísima reported losses of 4.79 billion pesos, compared to 1.16 billion pesos in the same period the previous year. The company also showed financial debts of around 259.19 billion pesos. The new joint venture combines Mastellone's milk, cheese, and butter operations with Danone Argentina's yoghurt and dessert business, aiming to achieve greater scale and efficiency in a challenging market environment.

Yahoo Finance
Jul 29th, 2026
Danone delivers $15.7B H1 sales with +3.5% growth, confirms 2026 guidance

Danone reported Q2 2026 sales up 4.2% on a like-for-like basis, with volume/mix increasing 1.9% and price rising 2.3%. The EMEA region grew 3.6%, Americas 4.3%, and APAC 5.2%, driven by competitive performance in China's infant milk formula and strong aqua waters results. For the first half of 2026, sales reached €13.94 billion, up 3.5% like-for-like. Recurring operating margin improved 12 basis points to 13.3%, supported by productivity gains despite inflation. Recurring earnings per share rose 0.9% to €1.92, whilst free cash flow totalled €0.9 billion. The company confirmed its 2026 guidance, expecting like-for-like sales growth between 3% and 5%, with recurring operating income growing faster than sales. Danone recently signed agreements to acquire Huel and Made Group in APAC.

GlobeNewswire
Jun 22nd, 2026
Danone to acquire MADE Group, expanding its presence in the fast-growing healthy nutrition space in Asia Pacific

Press release – Paris, June 22, 2026, 6:00 AM CEST Danone to acquire MADE Group, expanding its presence in the fast-growing healthy nutrition space in...