Plant Manager

Vanguard Renewables, based in Weston, Massachusetts, is a national leader in environmental services and the development of food and dairy waste-to-renewable energy projects. The Company builds, owns, and operates on-farm anaerobic digestion facilities and is continuing to scale through an extensive national expansion of its Farm Powered ® platform. It is committed to advancing decarbonization by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farms and food waste, generating renewable energy, and supporting regenerative agriculture on partner farms. Vanguard Renewables is a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock.

The Plant Manager will provide organizational leadership, technical support, oversight and project management for the waste-to-energy company. This role will report directly to the EVP of Operations and will work closely with each of their own direct reports (site operations managers) as well as department heads of other divisions - including Engineering, Supply Chain, Biology, and Finance/Accounting.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Conduct operational, regulatory, technical and commercial risk management
• Improve performance, availability and reliability and maximize cash flow returns by creating action plan
• Address technology issues with the mindset of constant improvement, this includes equipment testing and schedules to maximize plant performance and document business cases for improvement
• Oversee operations and maintenance of all operating assets
• Manage third party O&M providers
• Assure high level of safety at all plants
• Maximize revenue and control costs
• Budgeting, forecasting, timely accounting input and reporting
• Meet the annual expected cash flow, return targets and profitability
• Ensure all employees at plants comply with EH&S policies
• Interface with O&M teams to track monitor and report key performance indicators
• Assist onsite field operations staff by problem solving and troubleshooting issues that may arise in RNG production
• Prepare regular operations reports as required
• Negotiate contracts and budgets with third party O&M vendors
• Assist with a smooth transition from commissioning of plant to operations to ensure highest level of performance including assisting with preparation of commissioning reports, built drawings and certificates
• Work with stakeholders including partners to build a close relationship and develop a clear understanding of their needs
• Drive operational excellence initiatives using LEAN, continuous improvement, and reliability-centered maintenance principles
• Partner closely with Engineering and Maintenance teams to develop, standardize, and optimize preventive and predictive maintenance programs across all facilities
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action processes for equipment failures, downtime events, and safety incidents
• Support engineering-driven capital improvement projects, equipment upgrades, and process optimization efforts to improve uptime, efficiency, and long-term asset performance
• Establish and track maintenance and engineering KPIs to improve asset reliability, lifecycle cost management, and operational consistency across the fleet
• Consistent and on-time attendance
• Other duties as assigned.

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Willingness to travel 25%
• Experience with SCADA systems
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Bachelors in relevant field (chemical or mechanical engineering)
• Minimum of 10 years experience in industrial process systems design, optimization, and operation. Practical knowledge of anaerobic digestion and biogas conditioning, upgrading and compression preferred.
• Familiarity with LEAN manufacturing, problem-solving, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Hands-on experience leading maintenance organizations or partnering closely with engineering and maintenance teams in asset-intensive, industrial environments
• Technical expertise with mechanical and process engineering concepts related to rotating equipment, process systems, and plant infrastructure
• Demonstrated servant leadership and strong people skills
• Willingness to support the operation at any level
• Results-oriented with the ability to work independently in an entrepreneurial environment
• Experience and knowledge of financial business concepts including financial analysis
• Experience with cross-functional leadership and management
• Experience with basic software like MS office

WHAT WE OFFER:

• Comprehensive health insurance benefits, including HSA option, with substantial employer premium contributions.
• Competitive, employer-sponsored (100% paid) dental, vision, and wellness benefits.
• Basic employer-paid life and disability insurance, with optional supplemental life and AD&D coverage.
• 401(k) retirement program with employer match and immediate eligibility.
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options to support healthcare and dependent care expenses.
• Education and adoption assistance programs to support personal and family goals.
• Discretionary performance-based bonus opportunity in addition to competitive base salary.
• Robust paid time off supporting flexibility and work-life balance.
• Monthly cell phone and business expense reimbursement.

Vanguard Renewables is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to a work environment that supports, inspires, and respects all individuals and in which personnel processes are merit-based and applied without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, disability, national or ethnic origin, military service status, citizenship, or other protected characteristic.