Operations Manager

Short Intro and About the Job

At Danone, Manufacturing the best products and supplying them to meet demand is a key driver for our plant teams.

We are seeking an Operations Manager based in Bridgeton, New Jersey!  In this role, you will be responsible for overseeing the manufacturing operations and directly supervise work of all plant supervisors and line leaders.  In this role, you will work closely with the Plant Director to direct and manage the day-to-day operations of the facility.  This is a 24/7 unionized production environment, with 3 production lines and approximately 100 employees, manufacturing our Silk beverage products.  

Additional Responsibilities:

• Provide sound administrative direction of supporting departments including, Distribution, Operations, Production, Purchasing, and others to ensure that objectives and goals are met and that employees are managed effectively.
• Responsible and accountable for the site's quality compliance, inventory control, efficiencies – with respect to labor, overhead, packaging and ingredients, operational budget, and profit and loss statements.
• Coach and counsel subordinate managers without “over managing” or “micromanaging” their decisions.  Works with this focus to define plant goals and plans to meet these goals with this group. 
• Create, develop and sustain a “can-do” climate and high levels of frequent communication, cooperation, rewards, training and mutual support among departments.
• Demonstrate an adequate understanding of plant machinery; equipment; processing; blending; extraction; shelf-stable products, quality, and/or other requisite technical knowledge to engage in overall direction, meaningful conversation across functions, and leadership of managers across the plant.
• Demonstrate clear integrity and a sense of ethics and responsibility to the plant and its employees on daily basis, serving as a model for others.
• Respond effectively and work cross-functionally within the organization particularly with other plants and corporate leadership.
• Coordinates production, distribution, warehousing and sales in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the Company. 
• Effectively partner with Human Resources and others in a union environment.
• Perform in a variety of capacities related to employment decisions throughout the employment life cycle.  i.e. hiring, firing, performance evaluation, salary recommendations, employee relations issues as appropriate etc.
• Understand and manage as appropriate capital project expenditures and/or the implementation of capital projects
• Effectively implement, improve, and reinforce the company’s environmental health and safety programs and product food safety programs.
• Other duties as assigned.

Danone North America additionally offers a performance-based bonus and has a strong benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Drug Coverage, 401k Plan, Wellness Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Flexible Time Off, and Paid Parental Bonding Leave, among other benefit plan options.

About You

• You have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, food science or related field, required. If no degree completed, equivalent combination of experience and education will be considered. 
• You have 8-12 years operational and management experience in food / beverage production environment, required, preferably within a consumer packaging environment.
• Preferred experience: 3 years' experience with UHT systems, and familiarity and understanding of TPM / IWS / Lean Manufacturing principles.  
• You have prior planning, scheduling and/or project management experience required.
• You have excellent communication skills, strong people management and team development ability, and change management ability.
• You have the ability to prioritize plant operations in light of multiple priorities and conflicting demands, under tight deadlines. 
• You have strong knowledge of GMP’s - to include regulations which govern food products.
• You are familiar with TQM and or statistical process control concepts
• You have knowledge of safety policies and procedures regarding chemicals, equipment/machinery
• You have a strong mechanical aptitude and have familiarity with how basic plant equipment functions (pumps, hydraulics, electricity, boiler, compressors, chillers etc.).
• You have the ability to support a 24/7 manufacturing environment, which could include day or night shift work schedules and work on weekends, as business needs dictate, required.

About Us, We offer and What's next

At Danone North America, you’ll work with some of the best-known food and beverage brands in the world like Activia, Silk, Two Good, Oikos, evian, and Happy Family. You’ll be part of the largest Certified B Corp™ in the world, working together to make sure our brands create real benefits for people, communities, and the planet. We have 6,000 employees across the U.S. and Canada. Come join our movement for a healthier world: One Planet. One Health BY YOU.

Danone North America doesn’t just welcome what makes you unique, we value it. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All hires to our team are based on qualifications, merit and business needs. We recruit, employ, train and promote regardless of race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, genetic characteristic or any other protected status. Faithful to our values of openness and humanism, all our employees share in the commitment to engage one another with dignity and respect.

#LI-NORAM #LI-ONSITE 

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