**WHO YOU ARE:** We are seeking a strategic and hands-on Director of Plant Operations to lead and optimize our facility’s operations, ensuring efficiency, safety, and compliance. This role oversees daily plant functions, drives continuous improvement, and fosters a culture of collaboration and excellence. If you are a results-driven leader with a passion for operational excellence, we invite you to apply and make a meaningful impact. **WHO WE ARE:** + Leader in food safety solutions for both contract sanitation and chemistry in the food processing industry. + Over 10,000 dedicated team members across North America. + Corporate headquarters in Atlanta, GA with team members working in over 250 plants throughout North America. + Over 50+ years of experience in creating long-lasting partnerships. **OUR MISSION:** We protect the food supply by eliminating risks so families everywhere can eat without fear. + Protect What Matters: We are in service of safety at every step, ensuring the health of everyone is central to all we do – from plant team members to consumers. + Deliver On Our Promises: We speak honestly and are dedicated to doing the right thing by upholding ethical standards and following through on our commitments to our teams, our customers, and our business. + Win as a Team: We believe in the power of collaboration, uniting our diverse strengths while working hand-in-hand with our team members and customers to unlock potential and achieve stronger results together. + Advance a Safer Future: We are committed to innovating more effective, sustainable, and cost-efficient food safety solutions to develop a safer world for all. **WHAT YOU WILL DO:** The Director of Plant Operations-Kieler has direct oversight and responsibility for ensuring safe, efficient, and effective chemical manufacturing operations for the Kieler manufacturing facility. The site has approximately 60 team members and is seeking to expand. Job performance will be evaluated against defined and measured Key Initiatives for this position. Some of these metrics will include, but not be limited to: + Exemplify the company’s core values in your work and interaction with others and cultivate those values and behaviors within your team. + Work collaboratively with all departments to drive a high performing safety culture. + Oversee all aspects of the chemical operations and quality control teams at your facility: safety performance, procedure development/revision and adherence, training, continual improvement, production planning, production execution, quality control, and product packaging. + Plan, organize, direct, and run optimum day-to-day operations at the site. + Drive continual improvement by increasing production, assets capacity and flexibility while minimizing unnecessary costs and maintaining quality standards. + Facilitate production output, product quality, and on-time shipping. + Allocate resources effectively and fully utilize assets to produce optimal results. + Implement strategies in alignment with strategic initiatives and provide a clear sense of direction and focus. + Develop an environment that values diversity and utilizes various individuals’ strengths to benefit the site and organization. + Promote team member involvement and engagement in site programs and processes. + Collect and drive data to find places of waste or overtime and work to reduce them. + Define and implement capital projects and training programs to attain volume, cost, and productivity goals. + Develop and ensure execution of site budgets. + Work collaboratively with all departments (Safety, Procurement, Quality Control, Quality Assurance, Regulatory, Maintenance, Engineering, and Order Fulfillment to name a few) to optimize production and maximize customer experience. + Inspire, motivate, and develop the operations team. + Set strategic goals for operational efficiency and increased productivity. + Strengthen enterprise relationships through effective communications to accomplish joint initiatives across divisions and departments. + Work with other departments and drive your team to ensure Chemical Operation’s compliance with all pertinent standards and regulations, such as but not limited to, OSHA, SQF, EPA, Corporate Compliance, et al. + Supervise your team in the coordination of equipment maintenance activities which includes writing special instructions for preparing equipment to be worked on and defining the lock out tag out procedure for each job. + Ensure incident reports and action items generated from them are completed in a timely and thorough manner for incidents that occur within chemical operations. + Work with R&D, engineering, and maintenance to develop production plans for new products. + Ensure physical and ERP system inventories of raw materials, packaging, and finished products are reconciled at the close of each financial period. + Perform other duties as assigned. **YOUR MUST HAVES:** + Must be 18 years of age or older. + Bachelor's degree in related field. + 10+ years of progressive operations management and with proven track record of demonstrating success in leading a facility and managing a facility through a turnaround or growth events. + Analytical with high emotional intelligence. + Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. + The ability to effectively engage team members at all levels in a positive manner that fosters team building and community and help identify succession plans for high potential team members. + Effective, strong communications and analytical skills, be persuasive and have good general management instincts. + Experience maintaining a safety culture, and developing programs related to EHS. + Proven ability to collaborate across the enterprise to solve complex problems and gain alignment. + Experience defining and implementing capital projects in a manufacturing environment following management of change principles. **WHAT WE PREFER YOU HAVE:** + 4-year degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or Operations Management. A technical degree is preferred. + Ability to read and comprehend common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, process and instrument drawings, and legal documents. + Ability to respond to complex or difficult inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. + Process Control and Quality Control experience. + Exposure to applications using continuous improvement techniques; TQM, Problem Solving DMAIC, Fault Tree Analysis, FMEA’s, Lean Manufacturing, 5S, and Value Stream mapping. **OUR ENVIRONMENT:** The work environment includes a combination of a quiet office and manufacturing environments. Periodic standing, setting, pushing, pulling, carrying or lifting materials up to 25 pounds can be required. Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”) must be worn in applicable settings. **WHAT WE OFFER:** + Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance + Basic Life Insurance + Short Term Disability + Company Paid Long-Term Disability + Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plant (409a) + Paid Holidays + Paid Vacation + Paid Sick Time + Employee Assistance Program (“EAP”) + Training & Development Opportunities Safe Foods, a Division of Fortrex Solutions is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, creed, sex, gender, gender identity, national origin, citizenship status, uniform service member status, veteran status, age, genetic information, disability, or any other protected status, in accordance with all applicable federal state, and local laws. Safe Foods is committed to complying with the laws protecting qualified individuals with disabilities. Safe Foods will provide a reasonable accommodation for any known physical or mental disability of a qualified individual with a disability to the extent required by law, provided the requested accommodation does not create an undue hardship for the Company and/or does not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others in the workplace and/or to the individual. If a team member requires an accommodation, they must notify the site manager or the Corporate Human Resources Department. If an applicant requires an accommodation, they must notify the hiring manager and/or the Recruiter hiring for the position. **YOUR NEXT STEPS:** APPLY! All applications will be reviewed, and qualified candidates will be contacted to continue into the interview process. If you feel like you are a good fit for this position, APPLY! If you want to be a part of a large organization that treats you like family, APPLY NOW!