Plant Manager

As a leader and innovator in the snack food industry for over 50 years J&J Snack Foods provides branded snack foods to foodservice and retail supermarket outlets across the U.S. Its products include such icons as SUPERPRETZEL ICEE and Dippin Dots along with other key brands like LUIGIS Real Italian Ice The Funnel Cake Factory Funnel Cakes and Hola Churros. J&J also has a strong presence in bakery providing cakes cookies and pies to some of the largest grocery and convenience retailers in industry. Our company continues to deliver record sales led by a talented team and a commitment to Fun Served Here.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Director of Operations the Plant Manager serves as the senior leader responsible for the overall operational performance of a high-volume snack food manufacturing plant. This role oversees all day-to-day plant activities and is accountable for safety quality service cost people and culture. The Plant Manager leads cross-functional teams across production maintenance quality warehouse planning and sanitation to ensure the efficient production of high-quality products in alignment with company standards and financial targets. This position combines strategic leadership with hands-on execution translating company objectives into daily plant operations while driving operational excellence and continuous improvement. The Plant Manager plays a critical role in delivering the production plan enhancing productivity and profitability and fostering a safe engaged and high-performing workforce.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Leads and manages all aspects of plant operations including production maintenance quality warehouse planning and sanitation to ensure the safe efficient and timely manufacturing of high-quality products.

• Establishes and sustains a strong safety culture by promoting a zero-injury mindset; ensure full compliance with all OSHA FDA GMP HACCP and environmental regulations through proactive programs audits and corrective actions.

• Delivers the production plan on time and in full by optimizing operational performance including OEE labor efficiency yield and waste reduction while identifying and eliminating constraints and bottlenecks.

• Partners with Quality to uphold the highest food safety and product standards; ensure adherence to all quality systems maintain audit readiness and lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for quality deviations.

• Builds leads and develops a high-performing team by recruiting training and coaching supervisors and frontline employees; fosters a culture of accountability engagement and continuous improvement while supporting succession planning and positive employee/labor relations.

• Owns and manages the plants financial performance including the operating budget labor and overtime costs waste and conversion costs; monitor expenditures and drive cost-effective operations aligned with business objectives.

• Champions continuous improvement initiatives by implementing Lean manufacturing principles 5S and structured problem-solving methodologies; lead kaizen events and leverage data and KPIs to drive performance and decision-making.

• Ensures equipment reliability and optimal facility performance through strong partnership with maintenance; oversee preventive maintenance programs and manage capital improvement projects to support operational efficiency and long-term growth.

• Collaborates cross-functionally with Planning Procurement Engineering Quality and Distribution to align materials staffing and maintenance plans with production needs including support for new product introductions and process changes.

• Tracks analyzes and reports key performance indicators related to safety quality delivery cost and people; communicate performance and improvement plans effectively to senior leadership.

• Performs other duties and special projects assigned to support plant operations and organizational objectives.

COMPETENCIES:

To perform this job successfully the Plant Manager must be self-motivated detail-oriented and able to solve problems while staying focused on priorities. The following knowledge skills and abilities are required:

• Excellent planning organizational and time-management skills with the ability to balance production and maintenance priorities.

• Proven leadership and team-building abilities including advanced coaching employee development and motivation skills.

• Exceptional interpersonal communication and active listening skills.

• Adaptable and flexible able to navigate change and respond to evolving operational needs.

• Strong analytical decision-making and problem-solving capabilities.

• Collaborative with the ability to lead team-based decision-making processes.

• Highly motivated results-oriented and driven to achieve operational excellence.

• Alignment with and passion for the companys mission vision values and operating principles.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelors degree in Engineering Operations Supply Chain Business Management or a related field; Masters degree preferred. Equivalent experience will also be considered.

• Minimum of 710 years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing preferably in CPG or food production with prior experience leading a plant or large production operation.

• Proven track record in safety management including implementing and enforcing safety systems and ensuring compliance with OSHA and other regulatory standards.

• Extensive experience managing food quality systems and adhering to GMP and other industry requirements.

• Strong operational knowledge of manufacturing processes maintenance and engineering principles with demonstrated practical application.

• Experience managing budgets expenses and cost performance with solid financial and accounting understanding.

• Hands-on experience with continuous improvement methodologies such as Lean 5S Six Sigma (Green or Black Belt preferred) or similar process improvement frameworks.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with enterprise systems such as SAP or JD Edwards is a plus.

Disclaimer:This position description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities duties or responsibilities that are required of the team member. Duties responsibilities and activities may change or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

EEO Statement:J&J Snack Foods an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived Federal State and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of race color age national origin ethnicity alienage religion or creed gender gender identity pregnancy marital status sexual orientation citizenship genetic disposition or characteristics disability or veterans status sex offenses prior record of arrest or conviction genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristic status as a victim or witness of domestic violence sex offenses or stalking and unemployment status.