Plant Manager

With the ambition to double its size over the next four years, our client is currently looking to expand its production and engineering function to achieve this challenging objective.

The Position:

An international food ingredient and flavouring manufacturing group, our client has been established for over thirty years and today employs more than 800 people across 7 countries worldwide.

Reporting to the Head of Industrial, the appointed Plant Manager will be responsible for the entire industrial process, producing with the best quality at the lowest costs, and complying with all standards and procedures. This will involve:

• Continuously improving human safety, food safety, product quality, cost reduction, efficiency, and profitability.
• Managing the production budget and defining action plans in case of important deviations.
• Planning and coordinating production, logistics and maintenance departments to deliver product on quantity, on quality, on time. 
• Coordinating the quality control department to ensure that controls are aligned with the production plan and customer needs.
• Ensuring that the plant has the required resources (trained HR and equipment) to set up production plans/execution that meet customer needs.
• Ensuring that good manufacturing practices (HACCP, GSFI Standards, Hygiene and Cleanness) are implemented and aligned with group quality policies.
• Ensuring that the factory is auditable every day at any time.
• Ensuring that all necessary operations records are accurate and updated in the system on time to guarantee reporting is available and accurate.
• Performing root cause analysis in case major incidents or complaints arise.
• Leading change management at the plant level.
• Ensuring that all assets are well maintained and proper records and identification are updated.  
• Ensuring that local environmental policies are communicated, implemented, and respected. 
• Managing and developing the skills and technical knowledge of the team.

The Candidate:

Applicants will be expected to demonstrate:

• A minimum bachelor’s or master’s degree or in management / industrial management or equivalent
• At least five years’ experience in a similar role in the food industry
• Strong knowledge of food hygiene, safety and quality standards
• Advanced leadership skills and product knowledge
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English and German