Plant Director

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

The Director of Manufacturing for our Owen, Wisconsin site will be accountable for leading an ambitious, change-oriented and forward-looking operational agenda focused on transformation and growth, responsive to a fast-changing world and becoming more consumer and customer centric though cost-efficient agile operations.

Reporting to the VP of Operations and working as part of the Food leadership team, you will be responsible for shaping the operational strategy which will focus on sustainable, profitable growth and performance while working closely with a broad cross-functional group of internal and external stakeholders.

Key responsibilities

• Create a compelling vision and strategy for Owen operation that aligns with the overall technology strategy and ensure that teams are highly engaged in delivery

• Develop proactive, responsive and effective relationships with key customers and suppliers – with a high degree of customer intimacy and supplier engagement

• Play a key leadership role on the Divisional Leadership Team, as a key contributor to the technology strategy development and business performance

• Develop and execute an operational strategy that drives business performance and is fully aligned to growth and margin expansion priorities

• Support the site leadership team to deliver excellent day-to-day operational performance across all key efficiency, service-level, safety, quality, and people indicators

• Create a high performance, collaborative and empowered leadership culture, influencing and engaging at all levels across the organizational matrix

• Ensure that the technology manufacturing footprint and capability is fit for purpose by proactively interpreting and planning timely response to changes in the market and in anticipating and responding to customer requirements

• Lead key strategic forward-looking change initiatives and operational projects around capital investment, performance and cultural change

• Key contributor to the development of an aligned approach to Operations best practice across the whole of Kerry

• Develop a pipeline of high performing & high potential talent within all functional areas of operations – with a positive, proactive and change oriented mind-set

• Lead by demonstrating the behavioral prerequisites that support the Kerry Production System and the Kerry Manufacturing Standard

You will already be a successful and dynamic leader or senior functional expert who has the capability and ambition to progress into a bigger or broader role over time with an existing track record of the following:

• Effective leadership and delivery of excellent operational performance and results through engagement and development of teams

• Experience of active engagement and partnership development with key external stakeholders including major customers and suppliers

• Track record of delivering key strategic change initiatives, and ideally of successfully managing major capital investment activity

• Leading-edge operations skill set including modern day operations best practice

• Deep and broad functional expertise in all aspects of Manufacturing Operations including Supply Chain, Technical, Engineering & Finance

Qualifications and skills

Bachelor Degree: Engineering, Chemistry or Manufacturing

10+ years experience with minimal of 5 years in a leadership role at Food or Beverage manufacturing facility

Demonstrated leadership excellence with the ability to strengthen the company’s operational capability through honed skills, a process-discipline-mindset, and impact that builds credibility and inspires confidence.

Commitment to operational excellence, where continuous improvement and cost-effective agility is key to driving success and natural market curiosity inspires strong partnerships with customers, suppliers and the broader business.

Strong commercial acumen and a breadth of business perspective with demonstrated experience of contributing to successful cross-functional leadership teams and ability to flex strategically and tactically.

Your personal characteristics include:

• Strategic thinking

• Passion for consumers and consumer behaviour

• Strong change agent, innovative, curious, agile and outward looking

• Positive, can-do attitude with strong action orientation

The typical base salary hiring range for this role is $129,000 to $211,850 annually and is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, location, etc. In addition to your pay, Kerry offers benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and retirement contribution (all benefits and incentives are subject to eligibility requirements).

Kerry is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. Kerry will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a background investigation and drug screen. Additional information can be found at: Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (dol.gov).

We may use artificial intelligence tools to support the review and assessment of applications and assist with scheduling interviews. We do not use AI to make decisions during the interview process. All candidate assessments and hiring decisions are made by our recruitment and leadership teams

Beware of scams online or from individuals claiming to represent us. A Kerry employee will not solicit candidates through a non-Kerry email address or phone number. In addition, Kerry does not currently utilise video chat rooms (e.g., Google Hangouts) to conduct interviews. Refuse any request that asks you to provide payment to participate in the hiring process (e.g., purchasing a “starter kit,” investing in training, or something similar). Kerry will not ask you to pay any money at any point in the hiring process with the exception of reimbursable travel expenses. In addition, any payments made by Kerry will be from official firm accounts bearing the Kerry name.