Plant Manager - Minerals Technologies

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Oversees the practice of all health, safety & environmental procedures, ensuring that safety is a fundamental value in all that is done and that the plant complies with all legal, legislative, corporate and business unit EH&S requirements and expectations. Provides for effective and on-going plant safety programs.
• Responsible for achieving sustainable results and improvement goals in safety, customer service, quality, operational excellence, cost & productivity, inventory management and organizational capability.
• Participates in the establishment of plant goals to achieve annual operating plans and ensure priorities and accountabilities are clear to all levels, resources are available, and obstacles are removed in order to ensure success.
• Understands and manages to the annual operating plan based on the business strategy, and use it as the foundation for Hoshin planning and meeting objectives
• Identifies and implements customer-driven activities that create improved customer satisfaction, flexibility, responsiveness, and innovations.
• Drives positive cultural change as a change agent within the plants to engage employees towards a high-performance work systems culture.
• Ensures tracking, daily management and use of key performance indicators to promote improved operational and business results.
• Ensures reliability and efficiency of the plant and equipment: drive execution of maintenance improvement plans and recommends process/equipment modification for upgrades that improve safety, quality, and cost and productivity performance.
• Leverages OE knowledge and tools to drive continuous improvement with the plant team.
• Be a progressive thinker and role model: Enable productivity enhancing tools such as Lean manufacturing, cycle time reduction through standard work and Kaizens, improved maintenance reliability through Total Productive Maintenance, leveraging control system technology, and utilizing systems to support knowledge management and to disseminate best practices for rapid improvement (multiplier effect)
• Provides leadership for root cause determination and problem resolution to facilitate faster improvements
• Leads, supports, and achieves Operational Excellence/lean goals and initiatives, including but not limited to 5S, inventory reduction, process flow mapping, value stream mapping, standard work, Kaizens, Total Productive Maintenance, etc. with the team
• Supports quality teams and management with OE initiatives and actively suggests opportunities for improvements.
• Directs the manufacture of products in the plant. Controls all direct and indirect labor and material costs.
• Maintains adequate controls over the flow of production to ensure that schedules will be attained through effective internal production planning and control systems and procedures. Provides for the maintenance of all equipment, buildings and facilities. 
• Ensures that the products of the plant meet established quality standards and customer specifications utilizing adequate quality control systems and procedures. Initiates and/or coordinates the documentation of customer concerns in accordance to the Customer Concern Procedure.
• Develops the capital and operating budgets.  Recommends new equipment and facilities, together with the disposition of worn or obsolete equipment.  Participates in the development, review and approval of all CPA's.
• Plans and executes special projects and/or trials.
• Continuously strives to create a customer focused, team-based organization that encourages and engages employees to drive continuous improvement in our processes
• Ensures annual goals are communicated and achieved and lead through daily management and Gemba activities
• Ensures Performance Management System is up to date and regular feedback is provided to all employees. Monitor and evaluate team member performance and capabilities, and adjust training where needed.
• Develops and maintains an effective organization structure within the plant and properly staffs all positions as required.  Anticipates future labor needs to ensure proper depth of quality personnel as required.
• Motivates, trains, develops, and supervises all production associates.
• Supports commercial team discussions, evaluate new opportunities objectively and innovatively, analyze and communicate business benefit/risk probability, equipment capability, storage, cost and staffing needs
• Participates in NPPD Stage gate to commercialization process
• Manages plant expense budgets with appropriate accounting information and support
• Develops short and long-term cost containment/reduction strategies
• Acts as a gatekeeper, evaluating and executing projects
• Regularly and effectively uses reward and recognition program

Qualifications/Requirements

The requirements listed in the sections that follow are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or abilities required to perform the duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions (primary duties) of the job.

Education & Experience

• High School Diploma or equivalent required. Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred (Engineering Discipline preferred)
• 10+ years Operations/Manufacturing experience with strong leadership experience.
• Prior Management experience strongly preferred.
• Must have ability to speak and read English

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: 

Must have a well-developed understanding of and proven experience in a Lean Manufacturing environment including 5S, PDCA, Standard Work, Kaizen, TPM, and other CI methodologies.  Must have financial management experience and proven analytical and problem-solving skills.  Effective communication skills as well as strong organizational and PC skills are required.   Must have a proven track record of being a change agent and leader and have the ability to empower employees.  Incumbent must have good technical skills and the ability to develop the plant processes.  Incumbent must have a well-developed business understanding, excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills, strong inter-personal skills, and the ability to communicate effectively with, to motivate others and to promote a positive work atmosphere.    Must be able to work effectively with all levels of employees within the company.  Incumbent must be a self-starter who seeks responsibility and is able to work with minimal direction.  Incumbent must have demonstrated a willingness to challenge conventional ideas, to be a flexible, innovative & creative individual and one who can function effectively in a team format.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is typically required to have the ability to work in an office environment, read, write, listen, speak, and understand English, follow and provide instructions and other oral/written information, compose correspondence in a professional manner, complete documentation accurately, analyze information/situations, be organized and detail-oriented, be able to identify/judge the urgency of a situation, use judgment in decision making and negotiation when necessary.  Constant contact with individuals internal and external to the organization occurs via various methods of communication typically including face-to-face discussions, electronic mail, phone calls, and/or written letters.  Incumbent must also have the ability to climb flights of stairs, work at various heights above the ground, stand, walk, bend, squat, reach, twist, lift, climb, push and pull to evaluate equipment and processes in a production environment.

The employee is expected to be self-directed, take initiative and be persistent when appropriate to accomplish necessary duties without prompting.  Additionally, the employee is expected to be adaptable/flexible to changing work assignments, have a high level of integrity, motivate and lead others/provide direction in a timely manner, have dependability and self-control to maintain composure, perform multiple tasks at once, learn and memorize procedures, manage time effectively and efficiently, meet established deadlines, display a cooperative demeanor, read, understand and follow all company, job specific and safety policies/procedures, and attend/use all required training.

Travel:          Must have ability to travel occasionally as needed.

Working Conditions:  Although the incumbent is required to regularly conduct work in a controlled office environment, on a daily basis there will be exposure to plant production areas, which includes exposure to outside weather conditions as well as loud noise from equipment and dust from production processes.  Exposure to plant areas requires the use of appropriate safety equipment.  Personal protective equipment is available for employee use in these circumstances.

Work Hours: This exempt role involves working the number of hours needed to fulfill job expectations.

Safety Equipment: Personal Protective equipment must be worn in plant environments, as required by Company policy and practice/procedure that may be applicable to a given work location/department.

Safety Training Required: A new employee hired to perform the duties of this position is required to be provided New Employee Training by a qualified individual or through the online training system.  Additionally, an employee must be provided further training if a job duty/task has changes that will affect the health and safety aspects of that employee’s position.

Additional refresher safety training will be required as management deems appropriate or as dictated by government regulations.