Manufacturing Director (East) - Beverage Manufacturing

LASSONDE PAPPAS AND CO INC•Cherry Hill Township, NJ

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Manufacturing is a key leadership role responsible for overseeing multiple manufacturing facilities across the United States: Hendersonville, NC ; Seabrook, NJ ; Sparta, MI. Reporting to the Vice President, Manufacturing, this position serves as the critical link between corporate manufacturing strategy and plant-level execution. This role is accountable for driving operational excellence, ensuring alignment of plant performance with company objectives, and leading plant leadership teams to achieve safety, quality, service, and cost targets. The Director, Manufacturing will champion a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration while standardizing best practices across facilities and supporting the development of future operational leaders. Up to 50% travel required throughout the year.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Food Science, Operations, or related field
10–15 years of progressive manufacturing experience in food, beverage, or CPG environments
5+ years of leadership experience managing multiple sites or large-scale operations
Strong background in Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, and operational excellence
Proven ability to lead and influence teams across multiple locations
Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets and P&L performance

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree in a related field
Experience in multi-site manufacturing network optimization
Background in high-speed food or beverage manufacturing
Experience with capital project management and large-scale operational transformations
Demonstrated success leading change in complex, fast-paced environments

Responsibilities

Translate corporate manufacturing strategy into actionable plans across assigned plants, ensuring alignment with business goals
Drive consistent execution of operational priorities related to safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance across all sites
Partner with the VP, Manufacturing to support long-term capacity planning, capital deployment, and network optimization
Ensure operational consistency through standardization of processes, KPIs, and best practices across facilities
Oversee performance of multiple plants, ensuring achievement of KPIs including OEE, cost per unit, service levels, and first-run quality
Review plant-level financials, budgets, and forecasts; drive accountability for meeting P&L commitments
Identify gaps in performance and lead cross-site problem-solving and corrective action plans
Monitor capacity utilization and workforce planning to meet current and future demand
Champion Lean Manufacturing, TPM, and continuous improvement initiatives across all facilities
Drive cost reduction, waste elimination, and productivity improvements
Facilitate benchmarking and sharing of best practices between plants
Support capital project prioritization and execution to improve efficiency and throughput
Ensure all facilities maintain compliance with OSHA, food safety (SQF, HACCP, FSMA), and regulatory requirements
Promote a strong safety culture and lead initiatives to reduce incidents (OIR/LTIR)
Ensure product quality standards are consistently achieved and sustained across all plants
Reinforce a culture of accountability for food safety and product integrity
Lead, coach, and develop Plant Managers to strengthen leadership capabilities and build a strong succession pipeline
Partner with HR and senior leadership to drive talent development, engagement, and retention strategies
Promote alignment and collaboration across plant leadership teams
Foster a high-performance, results-oriented culture across sites
Act as a key liaison between plants and corporate functions (Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Finance, HR)
Ensure alignment between plant operations and broader organizational priorities
Support customer satisfaction and service excellence through strong execution
Provides regular updates to VP, Manufacturing on plant performance, risks, and opportunities
Supports special projects, transformation initiatives, and network expansion activities
Performs other duties as assigned
Directly manages Plant Managers across multiple facilities
Coaches and develops leaders to drive performance and engagement
Ensures alignment of goals, objectives, and performance expectations across sites
Supports hiring, performance management, and succession planning efforts