Plant Manager

Who We Are

Since 1955, we have been on a mission To Passionately Feed Millions Daily with High Quality Food People Enjoy! We are a third-generation family-owned and professionally managed organization with a commitment to strategic growth. We continue to be successful because of talented people, just like you, who choose to join our family and call E.A. Sween home. We pride ourselves on fostering a welcoming, respectful, and rewarding culture where employees are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work each day. At E.A. Sween, our team members are seen, heard, and appreciated not just for what they do, but for who they are. We hope you’ll join us!

What We’re Seeking

A results-oriented, people-focused leader, reporting to the Senior Director of Operations, MN, who is passionate about building high-performing teams and driving operational excellence. The ideal candidate demonstrates strong leadership capabilities, business acumen, and a commitment to continuous improvement while maintaining the highest standards of safety, food safety, quality, employee engagement, and customer service.

This leader inspires trust, communicates effectively, develops talent, embraces change, and collaborates cross-functionally to achieve organizational objectives. The successful candidate will provide leadership across multiple shifts and facilities while driving alignment, accountability, and operational performance.

• Multi-site manufacturing operations.
• Multi-shift leadership responsibility.
• Direct leadership of production and warehouse functions.
• Accountability for safety, food safety, quality, service, cost, employee engagement, and operational performance.
• Cross-functional partnership with EHS, Maintenance, Quality, Continuous Improvement, Supply Chain, R&D, Engineering, Human Resources, and Safety.

Direct Reports

• 2nd Shift Operations Manager
• Production Supervisors
• Warehouse Supervisor

Key Cross-Functional Partners

• Onsite EHS Manager
• Sr. Maintenance Manager
• Quality Assurance Leadership
• Continuous Improvement Leadership
• Supply Chain Leadership
• Research & Development
• Engineering
• Human Resources
• Safety Team

Compensation:  The target annual salary for this position is $160,000.00, consistent with our internal compensation framework. This position is classified as Grade 17, with a full pay range of $112,800.00 to $180,457.00. Final pay will be determined by your experience, skills, internal equity, and available budget. This role is also Eligible for incentive comp bonus of 15% of your Annual Salary.

What Success Looks Like

The Plant Manager will serve as the senior operational leader for assigned Minnesota manufacturing operations and is responsible for translating business strategy into operational execution while developing organizational capability and driving sustainable results.

This role provides leadership across multiple shifts and facilities and is accountable for safety, food safety and quality, production, warehousing, shipping, and receiving, service, cost, employee engagement, and continuous improvement.

The Plant Manager achieves results through direct leadership of operations and warehouse teams and through strong cross-functional partnerships with the onsite EHS Manager, Maintenance, Quality, Continuous Improvement, Supply Chain, Engineering, Human Resources, Safety, and R&D.

This leader drives a culture of accountability, collaboration, operational excellence, and talent development while ensuring alignment to company objectives and customer expectations.

What You’ll Do (Responsibilities)

1. Health & Safety

• Champion a culture of safety and regulatory compliance across all facilities and shifts.
• Partner with the onsite EHS Manager to implement and continuously improve environmental, health, and safety programs.
• Lead incident investigations and ensure effective corrective actions are implemented.
• Monitor safety performance and drive accountability for achieving safety objectives.
• Lead emergency response and business continuity efforts as needed.

2. Food Safety & Quality

• Ensure compliance with all food safety, quality, regulatory, and company requirements.
• Partner with Quality Assurance and R&D to maintain product specifications, process controls, and quality standards.
• Lead corrective actions resulting from audits, customer complaints, and non-conforming products.
• Support customer, regulatory, and third-party audits.
• Foster a culture of food safety ownership throughout the operation.

3. Operations Leadership

• Lead production, warehouse, shipping, and receiving operations across assigned facilities.
• Ensure safe, efficient, and timely execution of production and customer service requirements.
• Drive operational excellence through labor optimization, waste reduction, inventory accuracy, and process standardization.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain and Logistics teams to align operational capabilities with customer demand.
• Ensure consistent execution of standards and best practices across all shifts and sites.
• Monitor operational performance and implement actions to achieve safety, quality, service, and cost objectives.

4. Financial Performance

• Develop and execute annual operating plans and budgets.
• Drive improvements in productivity, yield, inventory performance, and operating costs.
• Monitor key performance indicators and implement actions to improve business results.
• Support capital planning and execution of strategic projects.
• Lead regular reviews of operational scorecards, KPIs, and business metrics to assess performance, identify trends, prioritize improvement opportunities, and ensure timely execution of corrective action plans.

5. Maintenance & Asset Reliability

• Partner with the Sr. Maintenance Manager to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operation of facility assets.
• Support preventative, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance programs.
• Prioritize equipment and facility improvements based on business, safety, and food safety needs.
• Support asset reliability, equipment uptime, and capital improvement initiatives.

6. Leadership & Talent Development

• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing leadership team.
• Lead succession planning and workforce development initiatives.
• Establish accountability and performance expectations throughout the organization.
• Coach and develop managers, supervisors, and emerging leaders.
• Foster a culture of engagement, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

7. Continuous Improvement

• Champion a culture of continuous improvement across all facilities and shifts.
• Partner with Continuous Improvement leadership to identify and execute operational improvement initiatives.
• Support Lean Manufacturing and operational excellence programs.
• Promote data-driven decision making, structured problem solving, and standardization.

8. New Product Commercialization & R&D Collaboration

• Collaborate with R&D and cross-functional teams to successfully commercialize new and revised products.
• Support plant trials, process validation, and manufacturing readiness activities.
• Provide operational expertise to improve manufacturability, efficiency, quality, and cost.
• Partner on initiatives that support cost optimization, supply continuity, and process improvement.

What You’ll Need (Qualifications)

• Knowledge of electric and manual pallet jacks and forklifts
• Experience with ERP and manufacturing execution systems
• Productivity and compliance software experience
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, engineering, operations management, food science, or related field.
• 8–10+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
• 5+ years leading managers and supervisors in a food manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading multi-shift and multi-site operations.
• Demonstrated success improving safety, quality, service, cost, and people performance.
• Strong financial, leadership, communication, and employee relations skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• JD Edwards (preferred).
• HACCP, PCQI, Lean Six Sigma, or related certifications.
• SQF/GFSI audit experience.
• Advanced safety training.
• Experience in refrigerated food manufacturing environments.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Must be highly motivated and willing to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Must be able to work effectively with employees at all levels and from diverse backgrounds.
• Able to work in refrigerated temperatures (32°F–45°F) as required.
• Able to continuously stand, walk, or sit for extended periods.
• Able to occasionally bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, climb, balance, push, and pull.
• Able to occasionally lift and carry up to 45 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to focus.
• Travel to and from MN facilities.

How You’ll Find Success at EAS

• Value People Most of All: Show respect & care, embrace diversity, and empower others.
• Commit to Safety Everyday: See something say something do something, practice safe behavior, and celebrate safety success.
•   Invest in Our Company to Thrive: Share ideas to improve, learn & grow, and embrace change.
• Think Before Doing and Act Decisively: Make thoughtful decisions, work together to find solutions, and do what’s right.
• Welcome Constructive Straight Talk: Be honest and respectful even when difficult, be open to ideas and feedback, and ask questions to understand.
•   Serve Up Exceptional Experiences: Provide value to customers, take pride in your work, and help others to be successful.
• Enjoy What You Do! Have a positive attitude, Live the Spirit of E.A. Sween, and celebrate success.