Plant/Manufacturing Director

Job Summary

Maker’s Pride is seeking a proven, enterprise-minded Plant Director to lead our largest manufacturing facility in McComb, Ohio, a site of more than 1,600 Team Members that is critical to the success of our business. The Plant Director holds full accountability for the safety, quality, service, cost, and people performance of a large-scale co-manufacturing operation, and serves as the senior leader on site and the face of the plant to customers, Team Members, and the community. 

This role requires a seasoned operations executive who has led large, complex plants of 1,000+ Team Members, can build and develop a strong leadership bench, and can balance day-to-day execution with long-term strategy. The Plant Director partners closely with senior leadership and corporate functions to deliver the plant’s operating plan, drive operational excellence, and position McComb for sustained growth. 

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Leadership: Lead all plant operations, including production, packaging, maintenance, engineering, quality, warehouse, and supply chain, to consistently deliver safety, quality, service, and cost targets across multiple shifts and lines.
• P&L and Financial Accountability: Own the plant’s operating plan, budget, and financial performance, including labor, overtime, yield, waste, and capital spend. Identify and execute cost-reduction and margin-improvement opportunities.
• Strategic Planning: Develop and execute a multi-year plant strategy aligned to enterprise goals, covering capacity, capital investment, automation, new business onboarding, and talent.
• Production Planning and Capacity: Partner with Supply Chain, Planning, and Customer teams to build production schedules and resource plans that optimize throughput, labor utilization, and on-time, in-full performance.
• Quality and Food Safety: Ensure strict adherence to quality, food safety, and regulatory requirements (e.g., FDA, GMP, HACCP, and customer and third-party audit standards). Drive corrective and preventive actions and maintain audit readiness at all times.
• Safety Culture: Champion a zero-harm culture. Enforce safety policies, lead regular audits and incident reviews, and hold the leadership team accountable for proactive hazard prevention and compliance.
• Workforce Strategy and Labor Relations: Partner with HR to attract, retain, and engage a large and diverse workforce. Drive staffing stability, reduce turnover, manage overtime effectively, and foster positive Team Member and labor relations, including compliance with applicable employment and labor laws and agreements.
• Customer and Partner Relationships: Serve as the senior site representative with co-manufacturing customers, hosting visits and audits, resolving escalations, and building long-term trust. Collaborate with suppliers to ensure timely delivery of materials and finished goods.
• Continuous Improvement: Lead a data-driven operational excellence program using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies to eliminate waste, improve OEE and yield, and standardize best practices across shifts.
• Capital and Asset Management: Oversee capital planning, project execution, and asset reliability to ensure equipment, infrastructure, and facilities support safe, efficient, and scalable operations.
• Reporting and Executive Communication: Provide regular, transparent reporting on safety, quality, production, financial, and workforce KPIs to senior leadership, with clear analysis, risks, and recommendations.
• Community and Site Presence: Represent Maker’s Pride in the McComb community and maintain a visible, accessible leadership presence on the plant floor across all shifts.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Leadership of a Large Organization: Provide direct leadership to the plant leadership team and overall leadership of 1,600+ Team Members, including managers, supervisors, technicians, and support staff.
• Talent Development: Build a strong leadership bench through coaching, performance management, succession planning, and development of high-potential leaders.
• Culture and Accountability: Foster a culture of safety, quality, teamwork, accountability, respect, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related field required; Master’s degree or MBA preferred.
• Experience: 15+ years of progressive manufacturing operations experience, including 7+ years in a senior plant leadership role (Plant Manager, Plant Director, or equivalent).
• Scale: Demonstrated success leading large, complex, multi-shift plants of 1,000+ Team Members, with full P&L accountability.
• Industry: Experience in co-manufacturing, food, beverage, or other high-volume, regulated manufacturing environments strongly preferred.
• Operational Excellence: Track record of delivering measurable improvements in safety, quality, productivity, and cost. Lean, Six Sigma, or similar certification desirable.
• Workforce Leadership: Proven ability to lead, motivate, and develop a large, diverse workforce, including strong experience with staffing, retention, and employee and labor relations. Experience in a unionized environment is a plus.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, food safety and quality standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Technology: Proficiency in ERP systems and Microsoft Office Suite; experience with manufacturing software (e.g., SAP, Oracle) is a plus.
• Leadership Skills: Strategic thinker with excellent executive presence, communication, and decision-making skills; able to influence at all levels of the organization and with customers.
• Analytical Skills: Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with a focus on data-driven decision-making.

The information provided in this document provides an overview of the most common duties, qualifications, and demands of the position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of the role, and the duties, qualifications, and demands of the position are subject to change without notice. The expectations provided here may also be modified if an employee with a disability could effectively meet the expectations for the role with reasonable accommodation.

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