Plant Manager

FedUp Foods•Marshall, NC

13d•Onsite

About The Position

The Plant Manager is responsible for the results and oversight of all manufacturing operations and personnel in our Marshall, NC and Erwin, TN facilities. This process-focused leader drives results via collective accountability by establishing and refining a meaningful operations system with clarity, consistency, and connectivity. The Plant Manager is accountable for delivering against KPIs and production goals while fostering a welcoming culture that prioritizes safety, people, quality, and compliance through responsibility, respect, and relentless improvement. The Plant Manager is directly responsible for leading and developing the functions of site packaging, brewing, product processing, warehousing, site projects, utilities, technical systems, and maintenance, while collaborating with the Food Quality and Safety, Finance, Supply Chain, and HR teams and various individuals from other FedUp Foods' facilities to attain production and company-wide goals. The ideal candidate is an engaging, results-driven leader with a growth-minded attitude, tenacity, and a commitment to agility with high standards of quality and integrity.

Requirements

Experience leading manufacturing operations (food/beverage required)
Demonstrated ability to lead and develop managers, hold teams accountable to KPIs, and drive operational excellence
Strong track record of achieving or exceeding production goals and performance metrics in a fast-paced, quality-driven environment
Demonstrated experience building, right-sizing, and implementing manufacturing program management systems such as TPM, QMS, LSS, etc.
Experience implementing or managing continuous improvement initiatives
Production planning, warehouse logistics, and inventory control understanding
Commitment to employee safety practices and maintaining food safety regulation compliance (e.g., GMP, HACCP, FSMA)
Experience fostering a positive, inclusive, and accountable workplace culture
Leadership style that is results-driven with empathetic engagement
Familiarity with sustainability practices in production and waste reduction
Strong data-driven analytical and problem-solving skills
Proficient in ERPs (Netsuite a plus), production scheduling tools, Google Workspace
Excellent cross-organizational level communication skills
Experience with SQF, FDA, HACCP, GMPs, SOPs, AIB, Organic, and Hazard Analysis
Knowledge of wastewater compliance, boiler compliance, and SWPPP Plan preferred
Bachelor's Degree required
Minimum 8–12 years of progressive experience in operations required
Experience in turnarounds, scale-up, or high-growth environments required
5-8 years of experience in an FDA regulated environment required
5-8 years of experience managing leaders of leaders in manufacturing required
5-8 years experience leading operational plans to budget required
3-5 years experience managing facility investment and capital expenditure projects

Responsibilities

Direct all plant operations, including brewing, processing, packaging, warehousing, and distribution, optimizing cost-to-service and customer fulfillment.
Drive quality execution, continuous improvement and asset reliability.
Model a leadership style that promotes collective accountability.
Establish clear performance expectations, provide coaching, and ensure managers build talent plans and self-directed work structures.
Partner with HR for recruitment and champion life-long learning and training.
Build and influence effective standard work at all levels of operations.
Collaborate cross-site and cross-functionally to deliver workflows and programs that reliably deliver against safety, quality, service, and cost metrics.
Create managed feedback loops for sustainment and improvement.
Ensure site compliance with all federal, state, and local laws, EHS policies, SQF, GMP, HACCP, and OSHA practices.
Proactively identify safety risks and ensure production practices align with food safety and quality assurance.
Develop a clear vision to drive production targets and operational KPIs.
Manage financial, operating, and capital budgets to deliver year-over-year savings and thoughtful ROI.
Develop strong, collaborative relationships with internal stakeholders, including commercialization, R&D, finance, planning, and supply chain to deliver end-to-end operational excellence.
Collaborate with external parties (vendors, community/government represnetatives, etc.) and drive supply chain efficiencies.
Provide senior sponsorship for maintenance and asset reliability strategy.
Follow GMP policy when in the production facility and encourage your team to do the same.
Understand our SQF policies relating to pest control, visitors, allergen management, and cleaning and sanitation.
Demonstrate awareness of Management's Commitment to SQF and work towards Food Safety and Quality and help the company meet this commitment.
If there is a problem that involves food quality and safety, partner with QC Manager so that the CAPA (corrective action, preventative action) log may be filled out, the situation be investigated, and resolved with the goal of continuous improvement of food quality and safety.