Complex Plant Manager

Job Description

The Complex Plant Manager is accountable for the overall operating performance of JM’s Defiance manufacturing complex—one of the company’s largest, most complex, and most visible operations. This role leads two manufacturing facilities, offsite warehouse and a customer service building, ensuring these operations consistently deliver safe, reliable, high‑quality, and cost‑competitive products that support both internal and external customers.

The Defiance complex is the sole producer of marbles, fiberglass pipe covers, and several critical OEM and performance material product lines, supplying multiple JM plants and external customers. The Plant Manager must sustain operational excellence while leading significant capital investments including furnace rebuilds, automation initiatives, and potential expansion projects.

Success in this role is defined by the ability to improve safety performance, increase engagement, raise throughput, improve quality, strengthen financial results, and execute capital projects on time and on budget—all while leading a unionized workforce of 600+ hourly and 60+ salaried employees in a highly visible, multi‑site environment.

Key Performance Outcomes

The Plant Manager is expected to:

Safety & Environmental Performance

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• Achieve year‑over‑year improvement in safety metrics, ensuring the Defiance complex meets or exceeds JM safety, health, and environmental commitments.
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• Maintain full regulatory compliance while reducing risk through proactive hazard identification, strong safety culture, and disciplined operating practices.
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Operational Excellence

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• Improve plant productivity, throughput, yield, and uptime through disciplined execution of lean manufacturing and continuous improvement systems.
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• Ensure Defiance remains a reliable, high‑quality supplier to internal JM plants and external customers, improving customer satisfaction and reducing quality escapes.
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• Balance short‑term operational demands with long‑term process stability and asset reliability.
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People & Culture

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• Build and sustain an engaged, accountable, performance‑driven culture aligned with JM values.
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• Develop leaders and succession pipelines by coaching, setting clear expectations, and holding leaders accountable for results.
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• Effectively lead within a union environment, maintaining productive labor relations while driving performance.
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Financial Performance

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• Deliver annual operating results against budget and forecast, including cost, working capital, and inventory performance.
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• Translate financial analysis into actionable operating decisions that improve profitability and asset efficiency.
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Capital & Strategic Execution

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• Lead major capital programs—including furnace rebuilds, automation, and capacity expansions—delivering projects safely, on schedule, and within approved funding.
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• Improve plant efficiency and strategic flexibility through disciplined evaluation and execution of capital investments.
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Systems, Governance & Reporting

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• Establish and maintain robust operating metrics, management routines, and reporting systems that drive accountability and continuous improvement.
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• Partner with senior leadership to align site execution with both near‑term business priorities and long‑range strategic objectives.
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External Leadership

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• Serve as the primary representative of JM for the Defiance complex with community stakeholders, regulatory agencies, customers, and corporate leadership.
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Why This Role Stands Out:

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• Enterprise‑Critical Leadership Role: Lead one of JM’s largest, most complex, and most visible manufacturing complexes with direct impact on network‑wide supply and performance.
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• True Scale and Accountability: Full responsibility for a multi‑site, capital‑intensive operation with 600+ hourly and 60+ salaried employees, multiple unions, and diverse product lines.
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• Transformation Opportunity: Drive major capital investments—including furnace rebuilds, automation, and potential expansion—shaping the future of the plant, not just maintaining it.
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• High Visibility, High Impact: Significant interaction with senior leadership and corporate stakeholders; success here is highly visible and career‑accelerating.
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• Career‑Defining Challenge: Ideal for a proven plant leader seeking complexity, influence, and the chance to leave a lasting operational and cultural legacy.
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Qualifications & Leadership Capabilities

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• Bachelor’s degree required (engineering or technical related degree preferred) with 12+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including 5+ years as a Plant Manager or equivalent senior site leadership role.
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• Demonstrated success leading large, complex, multi‑line manufacturing operations with union and salaried workforces.
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• Proven ability to deliver measurable improvements in safety, productivity, quality, cost, and employee engagement.
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• Strong financial acumen with experience managing P&L performance and capital programs.
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• Deep knowledge of continuous improvement disciplines (Lean, Six Sigma, Kepner‑Tregoe, or similar).
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• Experience with environmental permitting, regulatory agencies, and safety program leadership.
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• Strong technical and mechanical aptitude with the ability to challenge and improve manufacturing systems.
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• Highly effective communicator and collaborator, capable of influencing at all levels of the organization.
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• Demonstrated ability to set clear direction, prioritize competing demands, and drive disciplined execution.
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• Willingness to travel periodically (11–29 days per year).
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