Plant Operations Leader

The Clorox Company • Burnside, KY

3d • $106,700 - $204,900 • Onsite

About The Position

The Operations Manager at the Kingsford Burnside plant is responsible for leading manufacturing operations to deliver safe, high-quality products while achieving performance targets in safety, quality, service, cost, and asset utilization. This role serves as a manufacturing generalist and people leader, accountable for daily execution while also driving longer-term operational excellence and continuous improvement. As a member of the Plant Leadership Team, the Operations Manager partners closely with Manufacturing, Maintenance, CI, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Quality to build capability, sustain gains, and embed a high-performance, continuous improvement culture.

Requirements

• Degree and/or 5 + years of manufacturing leadership experience
• Deep knowledge and background in Continuous Improvement (CI) and Total Productive
• Ability to drive continuous improvement initiatives, implement Lean methodologies, and lead cultural change to enhance operational performance and productivity.
• Focus on coaching, training, and mentoring team members
• Provides feedback that stretches individual development and fosters high-performing teams
• Challenges and supports the team to explore and develop new and innovative approaches to achieve enterprise and plant-level goals
• Experience with manufacturing execution systems (MES) pull systems and data systems integration to drive efficiency
• SAP experience preferred for seamless operational integration
• Stakeholder engagement is preferred, while collaboration with peers is essential to success
• Leverages data analytics for informed decision-making and maintains a strong presence on the plant floor to guide teams and resolve issues in real-time.
• Adopts a servant leadership approach, fostering team collaboration and growth, while applying critical thinking to solve problems and drive transformation within the plant.

Nice To Haves

• Elevates the knowledge of and sensitivity to CI-related topics and concerns into the broader business dialogue with plant leadership
• Focuses on building a comprehensive continuous improvement culture across the plant

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate daily manufacturing operations across assigned departments in a 24/7 operating environment, ensuring safety, quality, and production goals are met.
• Ensure strong daily management systems are in place, driving problem identification, root cause analysis, and timely countermeasures.
• Achieve weekly, monthly, and annual performance targets for Safety, OEE, Cost, Quality, Service, Inventory, and Capital effectiveness.
• Serve as the escalation point for operational issues beyond frontline and team-level resolution.
• Foster and maintain a safe working environment, ensuring compliance with OSHA and plant safety standards.
• Lead and sustain Lean, TPM, GME/TRACC practices aligned with plant and business strategies.
• Own and drive loss-elimination, waste reduction, and process improvement initiatives using PDCA and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Partner with CI resources to deploy improvement strategies, pilot new processes, and standardize best practices.
• Utilize data, metrics, and performance tracking to guide decisions and prioritize improvement opportunities.
• Lead, coach, and develop frontline leaders, team leads, and production teams; build accountability and engagement across shifts.
• Act as leader of the Cell Trio (Frontline Leadership Team) and oversee multiple production teams operating continuous processes.
• Develop bench strength and succession pipelines through coaching, feedback, and performance management.
• Promote a positive, inclusive culture aligned with Clorox values, fostering collaboration and trust across functions.
• Process and approve administrative actions for employees aligned under their leadership.
• Manage departmental costs and resources against budget, identifying opportunities for operational and financial optimization.
• Partner cross-functionally with Engineering, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Quality, and CI to execute plant initiatives and manage change.
• Leverage systems such as SAP/ERP, MES, and performance dashboards to support execution, visibility, and decision-making.
• Ensure consistency and standardization of tools, processes, and best practices across operations.

Benefits

• Robust health plans
• Market-leading 401(k) program with a company match
• Flexible time off benefits (including half-day summer Fridays depending on location)
• Inclusive fertility/adoption benefits

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager